NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont University women's basketball program and 10th-year leader
Bart Brooks announced the Bruins' stunning 2026-27 non-conference schedule Tuesday morning. Unveiling six of the Bruins' remaining eight opponents, Belmont will once again play one of the most impressive non-conference schedules in the nation.
In addition to taking on South Florida, Columbia, and Tennessee at home and nearby Vanderbilt in a neutral-site game at Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville, as previously announced, the Bruins will face Princeton, Troy, Dayton, 2023 national champion LSU, Lipscomb, and Middle Tennessee during their non-conference slate.
For the second consecutive year, Belmont will head to Nassau, Bahamas, for a Baha Mar Hoops tournament. The Bruins will play in two games across Thanksgiving weekend on Friday, Nov. 27 and Sunday, Nov. 29 as part of a prestigious MTE (multi-team event). The tournament field and Belmont's first-round opponent will be announced soon.
"We recruit players who love the challenge of competing, and every year with our non-conference schedule we work hard to give them an opportunity to showcase their talents against elite programs," spoke head coach Brooks. "I'm extremely grateful to our administration for giving us the resources to schedule in this manner. I'm excited for the opportunities ahead of us this season to compete against NCAA Tournament teams early and often as we prepare for our Missouri Valley Conference schedule."
Seven of the Bruins' 10 known opponents reached national postseason play last season with Princton, Tennessee, LSU and Vanderbilt making the 2026 NCAA Tournament. The Tigers and the Commodores were both Sweet 16 teams last season, while Columbia won the 2026 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT).
Belmont will take on at least seven teams who were ranked in the top 100 of last year's NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, including five who were in the top 50 – LSU (No. 3), Vanderbilt (No. 7), Tennessee (No. 25), Princeton (No. 37) and Columbia (No. 45). Additionally, nine of the Bruins' 10 announced opponents had a winning record in 2025-26 and six reached at least 20 wins. In fact, Belmont's first four opponents this fall were 20-win programs a season ago.
The Bruins begin their new journey on Monday, Nov. 2 at reigning Ivy League regular season and tournament champion Princeton before welcoming South Florida (Nov. 6) and Columbia (No. 8) to the Curb Event Center for the inaugural MVC, American Conference, Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) and Ivy League scheduling alliance. A-10 member Rhode Island will also visit the Curb as part of the scheduling partnership but will only play Columbia and South Florida, not Belmont.
On Friday, Nov. 13, the Bruins continue a five-game homestand with Troy. The Trojans were a WBIT at-large team last season after winning 25 games.
The eight-time national champion Lady Volunteers visit Belmont on Tuesday, Nov. 17 for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff between two of the most storied programs in Tennessee.
The Bruins wrap up their lengthy November homestand on Friday, Nov. 20 with Dayton before heading to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to take on LSU the following Monday, Nov. 23. The Tigers have reached each of the last four Sweet 16s and played in three of the last four Elite Eights.
Following its trip to the Bahamas for the Baha Mar Hoops MTE, Belmont will begin December with the 80th Battle of the Boulevard at local rival Lipscomb on Thursday, Dec. 3. The Bruins have won 16 straight against the Bisons and are 30-9 versus Lipscomb in Belmont's NCAA era.
After a 10-day break from game action, the Bruins will host mid-state foe Middle Tennessee on Sunday, Dec. 13. Belmont has won four straight against the Blue Raiders and coach Brooks is 7-1 versus Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders received an at-large bid to last season's WNIT.
Closing out their non-conference schedule with three consecutive middle Tennessee opponents, the Bruins will make the short trek to Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville, where they will face Vanderbilt as part of the Bad Boy Mowers Series on Friday, Dec. 18. The first game of a neutral-site doubleheader, Tennessee and Baylor will follow. The Commodores put together a 29-win campaign last season and reached the Sweet 16 as a No. 2 seed this past March.
Tipoff times for all of Belmont's home games can be found on the Bruins'
schedule page.
The Bruins have recorded seven national postseason wins over the last six seasons, including two NCAA Tournament round of 32 appearances in 2021 and 2022.
Belmont is one of only seven programs in the nation to have won 10 or more conference championships (regular season and tournament combined) over the last 10 seasons – UConn (20), Florida Gulf Coast (16), South Carolina (14), Princeton (12), South Dakota State (12), Belmont (11) and Green Bay (10).
The Bruins are also one of only seven programs in the country to have won 20-plus games for 11-straight seasons. UConn, South Carolina, Baylor, Iowa, NC State and South Dakota State are the others.
Basketball season tickets, which include all Belmont women's and men's home games, are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting
BelmontBruins.com/Tickets.
Bruin Club memberships are also available.
How to Follow
Follow Belmont women's basketball on social media -
@BelmontWBB on X, formerly Twitter,
@belmontwbb on Instagram and
Belmont Women's Basketball on Facebook - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the
official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
#ItsBruinTime
