BALTIMORE - The UMBC men's basketball team has announced its 2026-27 schedule, featuring a demanding non-conference lineup, marquee road matchups against nationally recognized programs, and an eight-game home conference schedule as the Retrievers prepare to defend their America East Conference championship.

The schedule begins in October with exhibition contests against LIU (home) and Fordham (away), providing valuable opportunities for the Retrievers to prepare for the regular season. The game against LIU will precede a match-up between former ACC rivals Maryland and Georgia Tech.  Both games will be played at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena beginning at 2:30 p.m.

UMBC officially opens the season on Nov. 2 with a road game at George Mason before embarking on a challenging non-conference schedule. The Retrievers will travel to Marist, Ohio State, Iowa, George Washington, Army, Delaware State, Wagner, and Grand Canyon while welcoming McDaniel, Iona, Lancaster Bible, Bucknell, and Coppin State to Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.  In addition, two more non-conference games are expected to be announced soon.

The non-conference schedule is highlighted by road contests against Big Ten opponents Ohio State and Iowa, providing early tests as UMBC prepares for conference play.

America East action begins in Baltimore on Jan. 2 against NJIT. The Retrievers will host UAlbany, Vermont, UMass Lowell, Bryant, Maine, New Hampshire, and Binghamton during conference play while making return trips to each league opponent. The regular season concludes on March 2 when UMBC hosts Binghamton.

All conference games will air on ESPN+ as part of AE on ESPN.
 
The regular season ends on Tuesday, March 2, and the top eight programs advance to the #AEPlayoffs quarterfinals on Saturday, March 6, where the top four seeds will host contests in their home gyms. The two highest seeded winners will host semifinal games on Tuesday, March 9 and the winners will advance to play the championship at the highest remaining seed on Saturday, March 13 at 11 a.m.  

Game times, ticket information, promotional schedules, and broadcast details will be announced at a later date.

2026-27 UMBC Men's Basketball Schedule

October
Oct. 11 – LIU (Exhibition) followed by Maryland vs. Georgia Tech
Oct. 21 – at Fordham (Exhibition)

November
Nov. 2 – at George Mason
Nov. 5 – at Marist (America East/MAAC Challenge)
Nov. 9 – McDaniel
Nov. 12 – TBA
Nov. 14 – TBA
Nov. 16 – Iona (America East/MAAC Challenge)
Nov. 19 – at Ohio State
Nov. 22 – Lancaster Bible
Nov. 24 – at Iowa
Nov. 27 – at George Washington

December
Dec. 2 – at Army
Dec. 5 – at Delaware State
Dec. 8 – Bucknell
Dec. 12 – at Wagner
Dec. 22 – at Grand Canyon
Dec. 29 – Coppin State

January
Jan. 2 – NJIT *
Jan. 7 – at New Hampshire *
Jan. 9 – at Maine *
Jan. 14 – at Bryant *
Jan. 18 – UAlbany *
Jan. 21 – Vermont *
Jan. 23 – UMass Lowell *
Jan. 28 – at Binghamton *

February
Feb. 4 – Bryant *
Feb. 6 – at UAlbany *
Feb. 11 – Maine *
Feb. 13 – New Hampshire *
Feb. 18 – at Vermont *
Feb. 20 – at UMass Lowell *
Feb. 25 – at NJIT *

March
Mar. 2 – Binghamton *

* America East Conference contests
Game times, ticket information, promotional schedules, and broadcast details will be announced at a later date.