UConn releases 2025-26 non-conference schedule

UConn women’s basketball’s 2025-26 non-conference schedule is set. The Huskies will play 11 contests (plus two exhibitions), with five at home and another two at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.

Before the action begins in earnest, UConn will face Boston College on Oct. 13 at Mohegan Sun Arena as part of a doubleheader with the men’s squads. After that, the Huskies will get one final tune-up against Southern Connecticut State on Oct. 26 (venue TBA).

The regular season begins in Germany when UConn battles Louisville in the Armed Forces Classic at Ramstein Air Base. The Huskies then return stateside for their home opener against Florida State on Nov. 9 at Gampel Pavilion. That kicks off a three-game homestand that includes matchups with Loyola Chicago on Nov. 12 (venue TBA) and Ohio State at PeoplesBank Arena (formerly the XL Center) on Nov. 16.

From there, UConn remains in the state for the Women’s Hall of Fame Showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Huskies will play Michigan on Nov. 21 followed by Utah on Nov. 23 — a recent change after the event switched from a tournament-style format.

UConn’s first true road contest won’t come until December when it returns to Tampa — the site of its recent national championship victory — to play former conference foe USF on the 3rd. 10 days later, the Huskies will go cross-country for an Elite Eight rematch with USC.

Later in the month, UConn will line up against Iowa in the Champions Classic at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Dec. 20. While the Huskies won’t play in a Thanksgiving week tournament this season, they have three high-profile neutral site events with the Armed Forces Classic, Hall of Fame Showcase and Champions Classic.

UConn’s two arch-rivals both come to Connecticut after the new year. Notre Dame will venture to Gampel Pavilion for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day showdown on Jan. 19 while Tennessee will travel to the XL Center on Feb. 1.

One notable series omitted from the Huskies’ non-conference slate is South Carolina, which had been a feature in every regular season over the last decade. Geno Auriemma previously hinted that the annual meeting wouldn’t be renewed when they faced off back in February, though.

“We've always been pretty good at trying to spread our brand around, not get stuck just playing regional type games,” he said. “So we've got the USC thing, right? That's a new one. You want to try to keep adding new ones.”

UConn also has two fewer non-conference openings than recent years after the Big East decided to move from an 18-game conference schedule to a 20-game, double round robin. On top of that, Auriemma wanted to play fewer marquee matchups after the new year so his team could get a break over the second half of the season. In 2024-25, the Huskies didn’t have more than three days between contests during a stretch from Dec. 29 and Mar. 2.

“In a real world, I’d like to keep all of [the big non-conference games] but there has to be enough time so that we don't have to do two of these in February,” Auriemma said ahead of the trip to South Carolina.

Tip-times and television designations will be released at a later date, as will the venues for Southern Connecticut and Loyola Chicago.