ABILENE — Men's basketball officially revealed its non-conference schedule for the 2024-25 season on Thursday, including two road Power 4 matchups, five games against Group of Five schools, a tournament in Montana and the continuation of ACU's storied rivalry with Stephen F. Austin.
"We are really excited about the schedule we have this year," head coach Brette Tanner said. "We have quality Division I opponents coming to Moody Coliseum and we have a few road games that our fans can travel to as well. This schedule will prepare us for the always tough WAC schedule."
The Wildcats will start the season inside Moody Coliseum for five straight games.
First, on October 26, the Wildcats will play an exhibition game against Texas A&M - Corpus Christi. Then, the Wildcats will officially begin their 2024-25 campaign on November 4 against Howard Payne. ACU will finish their opening week on Nov. 9 with against Conference USA team, Middle Tennessee.
The 'Cats will then renew their rivalry with cross-town rival, the McMurry Warhawks, on Nov. 12. The program will close out the home stretch on Nov. 16 against the Sun Belt Conference's Texas State, the first matchup between the two teams since 2019.
For the rest of November, the Wildcats will be on the road. To start the road stretch, ACU will head to Kennesaw, Georgia, on Nov. 20 to take on Kennesaw State, a newcomer to Conference USA, for the first time in program history.
The program will head to Bozeman, Montana, for two straight games on Nov. 25-26. First, they face off against Southern Mississippi, the second matchup against a Sun Belt Conference team ACU has this season. Then, they play against the Montana State Bobcats. ACU finishes the month of November against Nebraska-Omaha on Nov. 30.
To start December, ACU will be on the road for two more games. The program first heads to Las Cruces, New Mexico, to take on former WAC rival turned Conference USA team, New Mexico State. This will also be the first time the two teams have faced each other since the 2022 WAC Tournament Championship game. The Aggies defeated the Wildcats 66-52 in Tanner's first season as head coach.
Next, ACU heads to Waco on Dec. 9 to take on their first Power 4 team of the season and 2021 NCAA national champion, Baylor, in Foster Pavillon. This will be the first time the Wildcats will face off against the Bears during their Division I history.
ACU will return home after nearly a month on the road on Dec. 14 to take on another Abilene rival, Hardin Simmons. The Wildcats then head to Commerce on Dec. 18 to take on Texas A&M-Commerce. The program then returns to Abilene for its last game before Christmas on Dec. 21 to take on Texas Southern.
After the Christmas holiday, the 'Cats have two more games before they ring in 2025 with the beginning of WAC play. ACU will head to College Station for the third time in four seasons to take on the Texas A&M Aggies. The Aggies have made the NCAA tournament for the past two seasons.
Finally, ACU will finish its non-conference slate in Moody Coliseum on Dec. 31 against Stephen F. Austin. This will be the 21st meeting between the two teams in ACU Div. I era, but the first time as non-conference teams. Both teams were in the Southland Conference from 2013-21 and in the WAC together from 2021-24 before the Lumberjacks announced they were moving back to the Southland starting the 2024-25 season.
"We need everyone to get to Moody Coliseum for our non-conference games just as much as we need them for the WAC slate," Tanner said. "This is the fans' team, they truly do impact winning and losing. I can't wait to see everyone in November."
