LOWELL, Mass. – UMass Lowell Men's Basketball Head Coach
Pat Duquette unveiled his team's complete 2025-26 schedule on Tuesday. The new campaign opens at home on Monday, November 3 against Rivier at the Kennedy Family Athletic Complex.
The River Hawks close opening week at Big East foe UConn on Nov. 7 before returning to Lowell for their final home game of the month on Nov. 10 when they host New Haven.
"This year's schedule will by far be the most challenging schedule we've had since I got to Lowell," said Duquette. "With 11 of our 15 non-conference games on the road, including five, mid- to high-major opponents, we are going to have our hands full."
The team is set to embark on a program-record, seven-game road trip that spans 24 days. That trek will include stops at opponents from six different conferences beginning with Columbia of the Ivy League on Nov. 13. Visits to Wake Forest (Nov. 16) and Bradley (Nov. 19) follow ahead of games at Saint Peter's (Nov. 22) and Stonehill (Nov. 26) leading up to Thanksgiving. UMass Lowell then wraps up the road swing after the holiday when the team heads to LIU on Nov. 29 and in-state foe Massachusetts for a Kennedy Cup clash on December 6.
After the challenging and lengthy road trip, the River Hawks are set to play two home matchups in the month of December, including against Fisher on Dec. 10 and Sacred Heart on Dec. 16. Quick trips to Quinnipiac (Dec. 13) and Boston University (Dec. 21) lead up to a visit to Iowa of the Big Ten just before the new year on Dec. 29 to finish up the non-conference slate.
"Returning just three players from last year's roster, all of who redshirted, and welcoming 10 new players will also be incredibly challenging, but we hope that the non-conference schedule will provide the right balance to once against prepare us for our conference play in January," added Duquette.
The America East Conference portion of the slate will once again be set up in a home-and-home format against each opponent and maintain the Thursday/Saturday weekly game schedule that was instituted in 2023-24. The River Hawks welcome UAlbany on January 3 before heading to Bryant (Jan. 8) and Binghamton (Jan. 10). NJIT (Jan. 15), Vermont (Jan. 22) and Maine (Jan. 31) will all also come to Lowell in the first month of conference action.
Despite February beginning with a road trip to NJIT (Feb. 5) and UAlbany (Feb. 7), the River Hawks quickly head back to Kennedy for a three-game homestand as part of a stretch of four-out-of-five at home to end the month. Bryant (Feb. 12), New Hampshire (Feb. 19), Binghamton (Feb. 21) and UMBC (Feb. 28) all visit UMass Lowell during that run of matchups.
The River Hawks will then head to Maine to close out the regular season for the second consecutive year on March 3.
The top eight teams in the standings will qualify for the 2025-26 America East Playoffs, which are set to begin with the quarterfinal round on Saturday, March 7. The semifinals will follow on Tuesday, March 10 to determine the championship matchup on Saturday, March 14. All rounds will be played at the higher seed.
Though the building locations are still be scheduled, it is anticipated the large majority of the schedule will be played at the Kennedy Family Athletic Complex, formerly Costello Gymnasium. Season Ticket Membership is limited, due to capacity, and a limited amount of new memberships are available. Packages start at just $75, which includes a deep discount on tickets, a membership gift, membership exclusive events, preferred ticket access for playoffs and more.
Learn how you can join the club or sign-up today!
The 2025-26 schedule is subject to change. Updates can be found at www.goriverhawks.com.
