BYU Basketball Builds Excitement With Major Schedule Announcements
BYU men's basketball is building a non-conference schedule to match the program's high expectations for the 2025-26 season.
Advertisement
Athletic Director Brian Santiago announced at BYU's Fathers and Sons Basketball Camp that the Cougars will face North Carolina in an exhibition game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The game will reportedly be in late October and will be the second of BYU's two preseason exhibitions. The Cougars will also travel to Nebraska as part of a home-and-home exhibition series.
New NCAA rule allowing schools to play two Division I teams in public, televised exhibitions. As it stood previously, exhibitions were either closed to fans or had to be labeled as charity events. Now, programs can generate NIL revenue from these games, opening the door for high-profile matchups ahead of the regular season.
The North Carolina and Nebraska games will not count toward BYU's record but mark the start of what is expected to be the most anticipated season in program history. BYU is likely to enter the season ranked in the preseason top 10.
The regular season begins Nov. 3 when BYU faces Villanova in Las Vegas as part of the Hall of Fame Series. Villanova will debut new head coach Kevin Willard, who took over in April.
Advertisement
Related: AJ Dybantsa admits BYU wasn't top school, blown away by NBA ready program
On Thursday, BYU added another marquee opponent with recent two-time national champion UConn. The Cougars will face the Huskies in Boston at TD Garden on Nov. 14 or 15, a homecoming for BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa.
The Cougars will also meet Clemson in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. The Tigers reached the Elite Eight in 2024 before suffering a first-round exit eariler this year. BYU is also scheduled to face Wisconsin on Nov. 21 in Salt Lake City, a rematch of their thrilling 91-89 win in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Related: Big 12 Coach Catches Attention for Blunt Message About BYU
A week after the Wisconsin matchup, BYU will participate in a multi-team event at Disney World. They'll play two games against a trio of Miami, Georgetown, and Dayton over Thanksgiving weekend.
Advertisement
In total, BYU has six high-profile non-conference games scheduled, building momentum for a historic campaign in Kevin Young's second year in Provo.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Newsweek
Big Prediction Just Dropped on Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Kansas City Chiefs lost handily to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, and now there are plenty of stories regarding their ability to return to the big game in 2025. To be fair, the Chiefs may have seen some changes, but they still remain the team to beat in the AFC. More news: Report: Raiders Emerging as Frontrunner for Blockbuster Trade Patrick Mahomes and company might be receiving more criticism considering the Super Bowl loss, the fact that they won 10 games by one score or fewer, and the offensive line taking a big hit by losing Joe Thuney. Either way, the Chiefs remain a clutch team, and they should remain an upper-echelon Super Bowl favorite. That said, the "First Take" crew decided to predict the Chiefs' win record, which comes with some surprises. According to the "First Take" team, the Chiefs are set for a 12-5 record. What is interesting about this prediction is that the team will start off slow, going 3-2 in their first five games. These first two losses include dropping a game to the Eagles again and the Baltimore Ravens. Additional losses to the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills indicate the Chiefs might have trouble with all the perceived playoff contenders in 2025. Rashee Rice #4 and Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs walk off the field after a win over the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Rashee Rice #4 and Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs walk off the field after a win over the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Atlanta, news: Colts' Anthony Richardson Breaks Silence on Losing Starting QB Job The good news for this prediction is that the Chiefs may have a slow start at the beginning of the season, but they are slated to go on a massive run heading into the postseason. The "First Take" crew believes a seven-game win streak could end the regular season, with the Chiefs defeating the Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys (on Thanksgiving), Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans, the Denver Broncos, and Las Vegas Raiders. Currently, the Chiefs' over/under win tally presented by "First Take" is 11.5 wins. The crew explained how that figure is likely to come true. The confusing aspect of this prediction is that the Chiefs drop down from a 15-win record to a 12-win record. It will be interesting to see if this is how things shake out for the Chiefs, but betting on their win total now might be a bit premature. For more on the Chiefs and NFL, head to Newsweek Sports.
Boston Globe
4 hours ago
- Boston Globe
At 90, pianist Ran Blake has countless mentees - and an immeasurable legacy
To celebrate Blake's 10th decade, a few of his favorite mentees, including Dominique Eade and Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'Ran gave me the freedom to find myself in jazz standards,' said Portuguese singer Sara Serpa, who studied with Blake at NEC and made an album, 'Camera Obscura,' with him in 2009. As a European, she said, she was leery of approaching 'this sacred American art form. Ran really gave me permission to find myself in the songs, to create my own stories.' Advertisement Before coming to NEC, where he ran the Department of Third Stream (named for Schuller's idea of a 'third stream' of music between jazz and classical), Blake befriended and studied with Oscar Peterson, Mal Waldron, Charles Mingus, and other jazz greats. On a video call from his Brookline apartment, Blake laughed as he mentioned all of the musicians who didn't 'get' his idiosyncratic style: 'JJ Johnson wasn't impressed. Ray Brown was very nice to me, but not impressed. Bob Brookmeyer hated me.' Advertisement But his reliance on his own instincts – eventually laid out in his philosophy, 'the primacy of the ear' – also won him countless admirers. 'Everyone I've met has a profound admiration for his sound,' said Serpa, who has a tradition of bringing her family to visit him each Thanksgiving, cooking for him. (She will perform with pianist Matt Mitchell at NEC on October 2.) 'He's just so original,' Serpa said. 'And it's hard to be original, to be different. And build a career mostly on solo records. That can get quite lonely, I think.' Blake's longtime NEC colleague Hankus Netsky, who chairs the department Blake once led (now called the Department of Contemporary Improvisation), explained the idea behind his friend's philosophy in an email: 'Take in a diverse diet of great music, learn it through detailed listening to the fine points of each artist's interpretation, and then use it as a springboard for your own creative musical imagination.' Through a faculty professional development program, Netsky said, Blake recently recorded a solo piano album called 'Voices,' honoring some of his favorite singers, among them Aretha Franklin, Edith Piaf, Mahalia Jackson, and Al Green. That's expected to come out in early 2026. Archivists also continue to release material from Blake's earliest collaboration, with the singer Jeanne Lee, whom he met while both were students at Bard College in the late 1950s. Their joint debut, 'The Newest Sound Around' (1961), remains one of his most notable releases. Advertisement Before taking over the new Third Stream department at NEC, Blake served for a few years as the school's community services director. They brought music programming to the public — to institutions including a retirement community and the prison then known as MCI-Walpole. They also ran night classes in ear training, studying artists from Messiaen and Mingus, to one of Blake's favorite jazz singers, Chris Connor. 'The whole semester cost $20,' Blake recalled. Those programs were especially meaningful to him, he said: 'It was very important to send music to where the people are and encourage them to play.' And not just for the students' own sake. The educators, Blake said, learned plenty from the students. It was an early lesson in a belief he still holds – that making music is really about a heightened ability to listen. RAN BLAKE'S 90TH CELEBRATION At the Square Root, 2 Corinth St., Boston, Sunday, Aug. 24, 4 p.m. Tickets available at the door. James Sullivan can be reached at jamesgsullivan@
USA Today
8 hours ago
- USA Today
Circle K is offering 40 cents off gas. Here's when – and why.
Convenience store chain Circle K has a back-to-school deal that's good for your gas tank and wallet. Circle K, which has more than 4,000 stores in 22 states, is giving members of its Inner Circle loyalty program 40 cents off per gallon on Thursday, Aug. 21. The Inner Circle Fuel Day deal is good that day from 6 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. local time. To get the Inner Circle Fuel Day deal, customers must enter the phone number associated with their Inner Circle account at the gas pump or inside the store at checkout before their transaction. (Offer good at participating Circle K Fuel locations; one-time use only.) Over the past 12 months, Circle K has had 40-cent price reduction Fuel Day promotions for Memorial Day, Thanksgiving and Labor Day. 'The back-to-school season is exciting, but it can also bring extra financial strain, which is why it's the right time for us to bring back Fuel Day for our valued customers, new and existing,' said Louise Warner, Circle K's executive vice president of operations for North America, in a news release. 'We want to be a trusted member of the communities we serve, so we are pleased to make it a little easier for families with great savings all day at the pump as well as the everyday value of Inner Circle." Back-to-school season: See deals at Walmart, Target, more How to join Circle K's Inner Circle to get 40 cents off per gallon of gas You can join the Inner Circle loyalty program to instantly get the Aug. 21 40-cent price discount on gas. You can go to the Circle K website or download the Circle K app to create an account. Members also save 3 cents per gallon every day and when you have spent $500 on gasoline, food or beverages at Circle K, you get upgraded to being a Premium Member and save 5¢ per gallon. Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @ & @mikesnider & msnider@ What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
