NEW ORLEANS – A scheduling alliance in men's and women's basketball, the MAC-SBC Challenge enters its fourth season and will tip off the 2026-27 campaign on opening night, Monday, Nov. 2, with 12 Sun Belt Conference (SBC) men's basketball programs hosting Mid-American Conference (MAC) teams and 12 Sun Belt women's basketball teams visiting MAC opponents.

The Coastal Carolina men's basketball team will host Eastern Michigan at the HTC Center in its 2026-27 season opener, while the women's team will travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., to face Western Michigan.

The second MAC-SBC Challenge matchup for each team will be announced in January before tipping off in early February. Sun Belt women's teams and MAC men's teams will host the February contests, as each participating MAC and Sun Belt program is guaranteed one home and one away game each season.

Coastal Carolina and Eastern Michigan will meet for the first time since squaring off at the 1991 Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska, where the Eagles earned a 76-58 victory. The Chanticleers are 2-2 in the MAC-SBC Challenge, including a 2-0 record at the HTC Center with wins over Western Michigan and UMass.

On the women's side, Coastal will face Western Michigan for the first time in program history. Last season, the Chanticleers dropped a 63-53 decision to Miami (Ohio) in their season opener before falling 93-82 to Bowling Green in the second round of the MAC-SBC Challenge. Coastal enters this year's challenge with a 2-2 all-time record.

Each MAC-SBC Challenge game will be carried on an ESPN platform.

The complete 2026-27 Coastal Carolina men's and women's basketball schedules will be announced at a later date.

MAC-SBC CHALLENGE

Men's Basketball Matchups
Toledo at Arkansas State
Eastern Michigan at Coastal Carolina
Ball State at Georgia Southern
Bowling Green at Georgia State
Miami (Ohio) at James Madison
Akron at Louisiana
Central Michigan at ULM
Kent State at Louisiana Tech
Buffalo at Marshall
Western Michigan at Old Dominion
Ohio at South Alabama
UMass at Troy

Women's Basketball Matchups
App State at Eastern Michigan
Arkansas State at Ball State
Coastal Carolina at Western Michigan
Georgia Southern at Bowling Green
Georgia State at Buffalo
James Madison at Miami (Ohio)
Louisiana Tech at Toledo
ULM at Ohio
Marshall at UMass
Old Dominion at Central Michigan
South Alabama at Akron
Troy at Kent State