The official 2025-2026 Schedule Thread

[mkaufman1]

I'll try to update this post with what is public information from Rothstein-bot or whomever.

Right now we have our return game with JMU, probably sometime early December but otherwise we're pretty open since Tulane/ECU series ended.

For Nonconf: We'll probably do something around:

MTE (3 games)-
4-5 buy games
1-2 buy games at P5s
Look for 2 new home/home opportunities

Discuss and complain on who we will play, who we should play and who we want to see Mason play but refuses to play us.

Mte- Fau/Ohio/Lmu plus an extra home game
Jmu at home

A10 pairings- home and home in bold.

Atlantic 10 Announces 2025-26 Men's Basketball Conference Pairings - George Mason University Athletics

FAIRFAX, Va. – The Atlantic 10 has announced the men's basketball home/away schedule pairings for the 2025-26 campaign.

gomason.com

A-10 Opponents
Home: Saint Louis, Dayton, Duquesne, Davidson, George Washington, vcu, Saint Joseph's, Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure
Away: Loyola Chicago, Richmond, La Salle, Fordham, George Washington, vcu, Saint Joseph's, Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure

 

[smhardwick]

I hope we play providence.

 

[mkaufman1]

I hope we play providence.

We can start the discussion with a "who we want to see Mason play but refuses to play us."

 

[Patriotsince81]

We can start the discussion with a "who we want to see Mason play but refuses to play us."

We play:
Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow
Sister Teresa's School for the Blind
BRYC All-Stars

We want to see, but won't play us:
Any SEC school
Any ACC school
Any Big 10 or Big 12 school
Any Power 5 school

 

[2011WinOverVillanova]

I hope we play providence.

I think he’ll need as many guaranteed wins as he can get to save his butt at the conclusion of next year. We wouldn’t be a guaranteed win. We’d give him a battle and a portion of the fans would heckle Him.

Realistic teams I’d like us to at least TRY to get: unlv, Nevada Reno, San Francisco, Wichita State, Florida Atlantic, Tulane, New Mexico, and Mount Saint Mary’s.

 

[GMUgemini]

Realistic teams I’d like us to at least TRY to get: unlv, Nevada Reno, San Francisco, Wichita State, Florida Atlantic, Tulane, New Mexico, and Mount Saint Mary’s.

That’s a lot of traveling west (or east).

I’m sure we could get Mt. St. Mary’s pretty easily. We’ve played them many times

We should give American a game.

Drake (home and home), Ohio State (do us a solid here), Charleston (home and home), Hofstra or Drexel or Wilmington (old CAA days), any P5 I don’t care.

 

[GMUYoda]

I think he’ll need as many guaranteed wins as he can get to save his butt at the conclusion of next year. We wouldn’t be a guaranteed win. We’d give him a battle and a portion of the fans would heckle Him.

Realistic teams I’d like us to at least TRY to get: unlv, Nevada Reno, San Francisco, Wichita State, Florida Atlantic, Tulane, New Mexico, and Mount Saint Mary’s.

Colorado State and Boise State too... travel might be an issue, but Montana and South Dakota State

I dunno if Maryland would give us a game. Georgetown or Navy would be decent

 

[MasonSAE4]

I hope we play providence.

lol after complaining all year about playing quad 3/4 teams

 

[jessej]

1) the best Ivy League School - Yale? or Harvard? (HC Amaker is from NoVa) or Cornell?
2) The best MEAC school - Norfolk State
3) Home and away with a Mountain West conference team in the top third of the conference
4) Double header vs American/or? with the Men and Women's teams
5) Any ACC School - North Carolina if their Head coach keeps his job as he is from Northern Va
6) Any Big East school - Seton Hall?
7) Any Big 10 School - Ohio State?
8) Any SEC School
9) for recruiting purpose - one school in the Houston area
10) a school not in the area with the largest GMU Alumni base outside of the DMV
11) no Div II/III schools
12) total schedule development such that the average KenPom is 150 or better
13) Develop local rivalries and increased fan base by playing the "DC Invitational"
Doubleheaders alternating on campuses
GMU, American, Howard, GWU and ask Georgetown and Maryland,
(same for the women)
and maybe a triple header of DC basketball by including
Catholic, UDC, and Gallaudet

Strategic focus on quality, name recognition, building SoS, building and expanding fan base

 

[GunstonsGhost]

Just a couple games off the top for nostalgia or local appeal. Would be nice to be able to pull in coworkers and get the DMV community out to a game.

UNC Wilmington/Towson/Charleston
American
Virginia Tech/UVA
Georgetown/Villanova
Maryland

 

[jessej]

League Schedule of 14 + 4 sucks and puts the best teams at a competitive disadvantage as you could end up playing the bottom of the league twice and damaging the SoS metric

UMass is gone - 14 league team
1) Balanced 13 game schedule - each team plays every other team once
2) Mini in season tourney - 2 games
1, 2 , 3 = 1 home and 1 away for each
4, 5, 6 etc
3) Challenge match - starting with the first place team - they challenge any other team to one game, game played at the opposite location that the regular season was played
4) Rivalry game - teams choose their rival to play as the last game of the season

17 game conference schedule - but dynamic in nature
frees up one game for a non-conference league - vs league matchup
would like a conference ranked higher than A-10
A-10 vs Moutain West, New Pac-12?

 

[2011WinOverVillanova]

1) the best Ivy League School - Yale? or Harvard? (HC Amaker is from NoVa) or Cornell?
2) The best MEAC school - Norfolk State
3) Home and away with a Mountain West conference team in the top third of the conference
4) Double header vs American/or? with the Men and Women's teams
5) Any ACC School - North Carolina if their Head coach keeps his job as he is from Northern Va
6) Any Big East school - Seton Hall?
7) Any Big 10 School - Ohio State?
8) Any SEC School
9) for recruiting purpose - one school in the Houston area
10) a school not in the area with the largest GMU Alumni base outside of the DMV
11) no Div II/III schools
12) total schedule development such that the average KenPom is 150 or better
13) Develop local rivalries and increased fan base by playing the "DC Invitational"
Doubleheaders alternating on campuses
GMU, American, Howard, GWU and ask Georgetown and Maryland,
(same for the women)
and maybe a triple header of DC basketball by including
Catholic, UDC, and Gallaudet

Strategic focus on quality, name recognition, building SoS, building and expanding fan base

I remember we had a great Mason alumni crowd when we played @ Santa Clara in the CBI final.

 

[jessej]

I remember we had a great Mason alumni crowd when we played @ Santa Clara in the CBI final.

wow - i didn't know there was a large GMU alumni base in the Bay Area - I would have guessed NYC as the largest alumni base outside of the DMV

 

[mkaufman1]

Just a couple games off the top for nostalgia or local appeal. Would be nice to be able to pull in coworkers and get the DMV community out to a game.

UNC Wilmington/Towson/Charleston
American
Virginia Tech/UVA
Georgetown/Villanova
Maryland

Have to be careful with CAA games because the league is not very good. Some of those games could be drains unless we buy a game. If we buy a game it has to be more likely a win than a risk. We can buy a game from American.

UVA and tech haven’t played us in years. Id love to see them interested.

Georgetown refuses for years. Maryland we wont play probably because of Tony’s relationship with KW. If we are going to take a paycheck and beating let it be some team from a p4 in the NE (Nova, Rutgers, St John’s) or Acc (Pitt cuse etc).

Give me a home and home with a Missouri Valley team and maybe like the AAC. Hopefully a better MTE with top 100 opportunities.

 

[Old Ram]

League Schedule of 14 + 4 sucks and puts the best teams at a competitive disadvantage as you could end up playing the bottom of the league twice and damaging the SoS metric

UMass is gone - 14 league team
1) Balanced 13 game schedule - each team plays every other team once
2) Mini in season tourney - 2 games
1, 2 , 3 = 1 home and 1 away for each
4, 5, 6 etc
3) Challenge match - starting with the first place team - they challenge any other team to one game, game played at the opposite location that the regular season was played
4) Rivalry game - teams choose their rival to play as the last game of the season

17 game conference schedule - but dynamic in nature
frees up one game for a non-conference league - vs league matchup
would like a conference ranked higher than A-10
A-10 vs Moutain West, New Pac-12?

The A-10’s scheduling formula for who you play twice was tweaked approximately 3-4 years ago to reflect a greater influence on the expected top teams playing each other twice with geography being less important.

Mason should reap some rewards from this season when next year’s A-10 schedule comes out.

Have to be careful with CAA games because the league is not very good. Some of those games could be drains unless we buy a game. If we buy a game it has to be more likely a win than a risk. We can buy a game from American.

UVA and tech haven’t played us in years. Id love to see them interested.

Georgetown refuses for years. Maryland we wont play probably because of Tony’s relationship with KW. If we are going to take a paycheck and beating let it be some team from a p4 in the NE (Nova, Rutgers, St John’s) or Acc (Pitt cuse etc).

Give me a home and home with a Missouri Valley team and maybe like the AAC. Hopefully a better MTE with top 100 opportunities.

Don’t believe UVA’s new coach has any interest in playing us.

 

[mkaufman1]

Don’t believe UVA’s new coach has any interest in playing us.

Hes been on the job for like a day, officially. Hopefully he will be interested at some point.

 

[jessej]

The A-10’s scheduling formula for who you play twice was tweaked approximately 3-4 years ago to reflect a greater influence on the expected top teams playing each other twice with geography being less important.

Mason should reap some rewards from this season when next year’s A-10 schedule comes out.

Expected, when with dynamic scheduling it could be actual

The Conference should do everything at its disposal to increase the chance of the best teams making it into the NCAA Tourney

 

[TheStringer]

Would love to see a Georgia Tech or NC State game. Also would love to see us play ole Miss but that’s for selfish reasons

 

[jessej]

Would love to see a Georgia Tech or NC State game. Also would love to see us play ole Miss but that’s for selfish reasons

Our new AD was in the Final Four for Ga Tech in the 90's - I wonder if he could make it happen - if CTS wanted it???

 

[TheStringer]

Our new AD was in the Final Four for Ga Tech in the 90's - I wonder if he could make it happen - if CTS wanted it???

Atlanta is such a hot bed for talent, really good players often get over looked down there so it would be a great way to get the mason name down there in tandem with KD having a good time with us