Air Force men’s basketball has announced its non-conference schedule for the 2025-26 season. The schedule, released by head coach Joe Scott, includes 11 games and features a renewal of the rivalry with Navy. Eight of these games will be played at Clune Arena.
“We have a challenging non-conference schedule with high-quality opponents,” Scott said. “These teams are coming off strong seasons and we expect this to challenge our young team and prepare us for the daily battles that the Mountain West schedule will bring.”
According to ESPN college basketball bracketologist Joe Lunardi, four of Air Force’s non-conference opponents—LIU, Miami (Ohio), Navy, and Northern Colorado—are projected either to win their conference or reach the NCAA Tournament in 2025-26.
The Falcons will begin their season on November 3 with an away game at Belmont. Belmont finished last season with 22 wins and has achieved at least 20 wins in each of the past 15 seasons along with seven conference championships during that period.
Following the opener, Air Force will play seven consecutive home games starting with Austin Peay on November 8. The next match-up is against Long Island on November 11 for Veteran’s Day.
Other home games include Miami (Ohio) on November 15 and Alabama State on November 19. Miami (Ohio) was both regular season and tournament runner-up in the Mid-American Conference last year, winning 25 games. Alabama State won the SWAC Tournament and secured a victory in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
The Air Force Classic will take place at Clune Arena on November 21 and 23. Air Force faces SIUE on November 21 and IU Indianapolis on November 23. Neutral-site games during this event include Alabama State versus IU Indianapolis (November 21) and Alabama State versus SIU-Edwardsville (November 23). SIUE was Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Champion last year, made it to the NCAA Tournament, and recorded a total of 22 wins.
On November 26, Air Force concludes its home stand against Northern Colorado. Northern Colorado won the Big Sky regular season title in 2025, finished as conference tournament runner-up, participated in the NIT, and ended their campaign with a total of 25 victories.
The Falcons then travel for a neutral-site game against South Dakota at The Monument in Rapid City, SD on November 29. South Dakota had a winning record last year in Summit League play with a total of nineteen victories.
Air Force returns home to face Pacific from the West Coast Conference on December 3 before ending its non-conference slate away at Navy on December 7. This marks their first meeting since November 27, 2005; it is also part of a two-game series that will see Navy visit Clune Arena in 2026.
Details regarding Mountain West Conference play are expected soon.
