‘26-27 Schedule

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

https://x.com/MattNorlander/status/2066631758599135253?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2066631758599135253%7Ctwgr%5E7a42e5e4b0481fe564547113cf948a5edacdb8e4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2F247sports.com%2Fcollege%2Fmarquette%2Fboard%2F104085%2Fcontents%2Finterview-w-71-c-josh-clarkwhat-he-is-working-on-new-players-287677739%2F

Marquette will play TAMU and Virginia in Atlantis.

So at Michigan, neutrals vs. Mizzou, TAMU, and Virginia, and homes vs. Wisconsin, Mississippi State, and New Hampshire.  Any others we know of yet?

This is the first year teams can schedule up to 32 regular season games. I assume we will use are full allotment, meaning we need to schedule 12 non-conference games. I wonder what the breakdown will be. We already have 6 high-major games. Do we balance that with 6 cupcakes? 7 and 5? 8 and 4?

[The Sultan]

They're just games. You aren't playing for anything, which has been the point of Feast Week for 40+ years. No stakes.

For you to call them "just games" when you are one who constantly talks about the importance of putting together a solid schedule is interesting. Yeah, it would be nice if MTEs went back to their glory days, but it doesn't look like the clock is going to be turned back. In the end it's great that they are playing two quality opponents at a neutral site.

[wadesworld]

This is the first year teams can schedule up to 32 regular season games. I assume we will use are full allotment, meaning we need to schedule 12 non-conference games. I wonder what the breakdown will be. We already have 6 high-major games. Do we balance that with 6 cupcakes? 7 and 5? 8 and 4?

I was wondering if we would add one more high major true road game.

[Nukem2]

I was wondering if we would add one more high major true road game.

Yup, far better use of that extra game.

[brewcity77]

For you to call them "just games" when you are one who constantly talks about the importance of putting together a solid schedule is interesting. Yeah, it would be nice if MTEs went back to their glory days, but it doesn't look like the clock is going to be turned back. In the end it's great that they are playing two quality opponents at a neutral site.

It's the abject laziness of it that really pisses me off. Swap Xavier for Memphis or Penn State, make it a bracket. It's not like I'm asking for them to reinvent the wheel. Just don't be trash at your job.

[The Sultan]

It's the abject laziness of it that really pisses me off. Swap Xavier for Memphis or Penn State, make it a bracket. It's not like I'm asking for them to reinvent the wheel. Just don't be trash at your job.

Do you really think they are doing this simply because they are lazy? Or do you know what the media partners and programs involved actually want?

It feels like you are making assumptions without knowing all of the information.

[IrwinFletcher]

It feels like you are making assumptions without knowing all of the information.

So...ummm...ya know...

[brewcity77]

Do you really think they are doing this simply because they are lazy? Or do you know what the media partners and programs involved actually want?

It feels like you are making assumptions without knowing all of the information.

Laziness or trash at their jobs. Doesn't really matter. Destroying Feast Week for greed.

Frankly, I don't give a damn about the media partners and programs. I care about the fan experience, and this diminishes it. The entire sport grew its popularity and interest on single elimination tournaments.

The point of Feast Week is to play games that matter. That beating UCLA gives you the chance to face Kansas, and beating Kansas gives you the chance to face Purdue. It's not just about good games, it's the matchups that show up because of Feast Week.

Tournament play is the reason CBB is as interesting as it is. Choosing to kill that is dumb. The NCAA Tournament, Championship Week, and Feast Week should always be tournament play.

[wadesworld]

Laziness or trash at their jobs. Doesn't really matter. Destroying Feast Week for greed.

Frankly, I don't give a damn about the media partners and programs. I care about the fan experience, and this diminishes it. The entire sport grew its popularity and interest on single elimination tournaments.

The point of Feast Week is to play games that matter. That beating UCLA gives you the chance to face Kansas, and beating Kansas gives you the chance to face Purdue. It's not just about good games, it's the matchups that show up because of Feast Week.

Tournament play is the reason CBB is as interesting as it is. Choosing to kill that is dumb. The NCAA Tournament, Championship Week, and Feast Week should always be tournament play.

Couldn't tell you who won basically any tournament prior to the NCAA Tournament in basically any year, other than maybe Maui 3 years ago?  Because Marquette lost to Purdue in the finals.

Whether the good opponents on a neutral court come because we beat (or lost to) someone first, or because they're schedule ahead of time doesn't matter to me, and I doubt it matters to that many people.  Getting to hang a Great Alaska Shootout banner doesn't matter to me either.

[brewcity77]

I'm going to guess you know who won the 2023 Big East Tournament. And you know who won Maui because it mattered to you. Which is the point. Tournament play makes a better fan experience.

[The Sultan]

Laziness or trash at their jobs. Doesn't really matter. Destroying Feast Week for greed.

Frankly, I don't give a damn about the media partners and programs. I care about the fan experience, and this diminishes it. The entire sport grew its popularity and interest on single elimination tournaments.

The point of Feast Week is to play games that matter. That beating UCLA gives you the chance to face Kansas, and beating Kansas gives you the chance to face Purdue. It's not just about good games, it's the matchups that show up because of Feast Week.

Tournament play is the reason CBB is as interesting as it is. Choosing to kill that is dumb. The NCAA Tournament, Championship Week, and Feast Week should always be tournament play.

Their job is to attract top programs who will drive viewership for their media partners. For you to say "you don't give a damn about the media partners and programs" is just a silly rant. MTEs have been falling out of favor for years. Marquette did their own in 2024 and didn't play in one at all last year. This year's Maui Invitational has one top program in Arizona and a decent one in BYU. The rest are all lower level P5 programs and mid-majors.

Like it or not, they are dying - especially with the scheduling change. Getting top programs to play a couple non-bracketed games may be the best thing they can do.

[Shooter McGavin]

I agree with Brew.  I'm not going to lose sleep over it, nor is he I'm sure, but those tournament style November games are fun. 

[The Sultan]

I agree with Brew.  I'm not going to lose sleep over it, nor is he I'm sure, but those tournament style November games are fun. 

Oh, I agree with you that they are more fun and better for the fan experience. I just think he is making assumptions that may not be accurate.

[Uncle Rico]

The next time college athletics care about the fan experience will be the first time in a LONG time

[Billy Hoyle]

Laziness or trash at their jobs. Doesn't really matter. Destroying Feast Week for greed.

Frankly, I don't give a damn about the media partners and programs. I care about the fan experience, and this diminishes it. The entire sport grew its popularity and interest on single elimination tournaments.

The point of Feast Week is to play games that matter. That beating UCLA gives you the chance to face Kansas, and beating Kansas gives you the chance to face Purdue. It's not just about good games, it's the matchups that show up because of Feast Week.

Tournament play is the reason CBB is as interesting as it is. Choosing to kill that is dumb. The NCAA Tournament, Championship Week, and Feast Week should always be tournament play.

The coaches want this though. They want to know who they are playing before going or even accepting to go.

When I went to Alaska in '01, the biggest thing we talked about was beating Tennessee the first game so we would face Indiana and not Anchorage. Coaches don't want the chance that they're going to face a drain on the strength of schedule any more. When Kentucky lost to Gardner-Webb in 2007, costing them a spot in the pre-season NIT, the format was changed to ensure the top names made it to NYC. It sucks, but that's college ball now.

[We R Final Four]

I agree with Brew.  I'm not going to lose sleep over it, nor is he I'm sure, but those tournament style November games are fun. 

It certainly sounds like he is.

[brewcity77]

The coaches want this though. They want to know who they are playing before going or even accepting to go.

When I went to Alaska in '01, the biggest thing we talked about was beating Tennessee the first game so we would face Indiana and not Anchorage. Coaches don't want the chance that they're going to face a drain on the strength of schedule any more. When Kentucky lost to Gardner-Webb in 2007, costing them a spot in the pre-season NIT, the format was changed to ensure the top names made it to NYC. It sucks, but that's college ball now.

That's dumb on the coaches then. You don't know who you're going to face in your conference tournament or the NCAA tournament either. Being able to adapt and plan on a short turnaround is a skill, and skills get better with practice. There's a reason Izzo does so well in the second game of a tournament weekend.

Maybe I'm the old man shouting at the cloud, but it's a mistake by the coaches, the administrators, and the organizers to just pump out lesser experiences because they can incrementally increase a profit margin or prep a game plan a couple days earlier. They don't understand what makes the sport interesting in the first place. But hey, maybe they'll get a bonus for revenue generated.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

This is the first year teams can schedule up to 32 regular season games. I assume we will use are full allotment, meaning we need to schedule 12 non-conference games. I wonder what the breakdown will be. We already have 6 high-major games. Do we balance that with 6 cupcakes? 7 and 5? 8 and 4?

ABD back on the schedule.

[mug644]

That's dumb on the coaches then. You don't know who you're going to face in your conference tournament or the NCAA tournament either. Being able to adapt and plan on a short turnaround is a skill, and skills get better with practice. There's a reason Izzo does so well in the second game of a tournament weekend.

Maybe I'm the old man shouting at the cloud, but it's a mistake by the coaches, the administrators, and the organizers to just pump out lesser experiences because they can incrementally increase a profit margin or prep a game plan a couple days earlier. They don't understand what makes the sport interesting in the first place. But hey, maybe they'll get a bonus for revenue generated.

C'mon Brew...I agree with your sentiment that we fans have lost a lot with the marginalization of the MTEs. But to compare scheduling as it relates to an in-season tournament to a conference tourney or to the NCAA tournament, well, that's just crazy. Every coach and program is and must be scheduling early season games in order to position themselves for Selection Sunday. Conference games are fixed, and the conference tourney is either too late or an opportunity for a shocker. Even you would acknowledge that the pre-conference season can be make or break for a team, as it essentially was for MU last year.

And, the reason they are so particular about that scheduling is because coaches and programs are evaluated--fairly or unfairly--by fans on whether they make March Madness or not. And if the team doesn't make the tournament because they ended up playing a weaker SOS due to an upset in an MTE, the fans will only remember that they didn't make the tournament, not that they didn't have the expected "fan experience" at the MTE.

Brew, you know better than to hold to this silly position. Unless you are choosing it to be this off-season's version of "no hot dogs at the scrimmage." And if that's the case, then you have become an old man, and deserve a sweater vest.

[Mu8891]

As for the overall NC schedule...

It's shaping up pretty well.  But, like last year it's multiple ( 3 ) neutral site games.  As Michigan is on the road, they really need another decent NC
home game for the season ticket holders
( like myself ) cuz the home schedule will otherwise be pretty bad for the 2d straight season.

[brewcity77]

As for the overall NC schedule...

It's shaping up pretty well.  But, like last year it's multiple ( 3 ) neutral site games.  As Michigan is on the road, they really need another decent NC
home game for the season ticket holders
( like myself ) cuz the home schedule will otherwise be pretty bad for the 2d straight season.

I think the planned home draws are Wisconsin and Mississippi State. I'd be mildly surprised if there was another prominent home game, unless B4A gives us a home game against a Group 2 school (Wake, Memphis, Penn State would seem most likely with us already having Mississippi State as a H/H).

[MUDPT]

I think the planned home draws are Wisconsin and Mississippi State. I'd be mildly surprised if there was another prominent home game, unless B4A gives us a home game against a Group 2 school (Wake, Memphis, Penn State would seem most likely with us already having Mississippi State as a H/H).

Mississippi State is not going to draw many people.

[brewcity77]

Mississippi State is not going to draw many people.

I don't disagree.

[Billy Hoyle]

I don't disagree.

I agree with you, but it's still a P4 opponent, which is better for us than playing Mississippi VALLEY State.

[Nukem2]

Crowd rather depends on whether it's a weekend game or a Tuesday/Wednesday kind of date.  Likely a weeknight?