LEBANON, Ill. – The men's basketball team announced its full 2025-26 season schedule on Monday, August 8th, for year number 14 as a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) and year number five in the George Suggs era.
The program finished last season 14-14 overall with an 11-9 mark in conference play, as they made their way to an appearance at the GLVC Championship Tournament for the fifth year in a row and sixth time overall. It is also the sixth straight year the team finished with a 50% or better win percentage in the regular season.
Suggs gave his thoughts on this year's schedule:
"This season's schedule will be full of opportunities for our young group. Our non-conference schedule will provide challenges throughout November and December that will prepare us for the heart of our GLVC schedule. As always, our league will be a huge test, and I look forward to seeing how we meet that challenge. We are fortunate to return nine guys who understand that challenge, along with six newcomers who I believe will help us take a step forward this season. All of us are eager to get to work and compete."
To begin the regular season, they will play the first of their two multi-team events by participating in their third straight GLVC/G-MAC Crossover Challenge. McKendree will face both the host Tiffin University and Malone University on November 14th and 15th, respectively, in Tiffin, Ohio.
Fans will get to see their Bearcats at home for the first time when they take on Hannibal-LaGrange University at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center on Friday, November 21st, with tipoff at 7:00 PM CT.
The Bearcats will start to close out the month of November by participating in the DoubleTree by Hilton Thanksgiving Classic (hosted by Drury University) in Springfield, Missouri. There, the team will face the University of Central Missouri and Concordia University, St. Paul, both at 5:30 PM CT on Tuesday, November 25th, and Wednesday, November 26th.
The team will get its first GLVC matchup on Saturday, November 29th, when they travel a short distance to Maryville University for a 3:00 PM CT tip. The next game will be its conference home opener against the Hawks of Rockhurst University on Monday, December 4th at 7:30 PM CT.
McKendree will round out the remaining non-conference slate with a road trip to the Wolverine State of Michigan for games against Ferris State University and Hillsdale College on December 19th and 21st, respectively.
Conference play will resume as the Bearcats will find themselves back home in a little over a month with an in-state clash against Lewis University at 7:30 PM CT on Friday, January 4th. A couple of days later, they will host the University of Indianapolis on their home floor on Sunday, January 4th at 3:00 PM.
The team will go on to start the GLVC's routine Thursday-and-Saturday schedule as the Bearcats will alternate weeks at home and on the road against conference opponents.
McKendree will get a three-game home stand towards the end of January, where they will host the University of Missouri-St. Louis on January 29th, Maryville on January 31st, and the University of Illinois Springfield on February 7th.
Senior Day will be slated for the squad's last home event of the year, when they play in-state foe Quincy University at 3:00 PM on Saturday, February 21st.
Should the Bearcats clinch the top eight in the conference's final standings, they will earn a spot in the GLVC Championship Tournament, which will take place from Thursday, March 5th to Sunday, March 8th, with location and venue to still be determined.
Live streams, live statistics, and tickets (when made available) can be found on the schedule page and will be updated throughout the season.
To view the full 2025-26 season schedule, click HERE.
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