CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Road trips to Power Five opponents Wake Forest and Tennessee, as well as a visit to traditional basketball power Marquette highlight Western Carolina's 2024-25 men's basketball schedule announced Tuesday by first-year Catamount head coach Tim Craft. In conjunction, The Southern Conference unveiled its 18-game, home-and-home league schedule that begins on Jan. 1, 2025.
WCU's announced 28-game schedule includes 14 home dates on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. Official tipoff times, game day promotions, and all broadcast information will be announced closer to the season, though WCU's home games will air on ESPN+ if not selected for national or regional broadcast. Western Carolina's schedule is subject to change.
The Catamounts open the Tim Craft era inside the friendly confines of Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center hosting Bob Jones in a home hoops doubleheader on Monday, Nov. 4. It's the third time in the past four seasons that WCU opens the year with a home game. Later that week In its road opener, WCU ventures to Charlotte to battle Queens University on Friday, Nov. 8 in the first of two games in the SoCon-ASUN scheduling alliance. The final home contest of the opening month is five days later with a matchup against Truett McConnell in Cullowhee.
The Catamounts close out November with a pair of road matchups, traveling down Tobacco Road for an in-state matchup against Wake Forest at LJVM Coliseum on Nov. 19. The month concludes with a post-holiday trip to Milwaukee, Wis., to battle Marquette (Nov. 30). The Golden Eagles advanced to the Sweet 16 last season before falling to Final Four participant, NC State.
December commences with a pair of home contests, first against Bellarmine (Dec. 4) in the second SoCon-ASUN matchup before hosting Big South conference foe USC Upstate (Dec. 7). A post-exam road showdown against mountain rival UNC Asheville at Kimmel Arena awaits the Catamounts on Dec. 14. The final nonconference road contest of the 2024 season sees the Catamounts head to Rocky Top to battle Tennessee which advanced to the Elite Eight last season. WCU's pre-holiday slate closes with a visit from Milligan University on Dec. 19 from the Ramsey Center.
Western Carolina opens with four of its first six SoCon games at home beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 1, against chromatic rival Furman in a rematch of last year's overtime quarterfinal matchup. Tournament champion Samford ventures to Cullowhee on Saturday, Jan. 4. Last season, the two nationally-ranked mid-major squads played a nationally-televised thriller in the Ramsey Center with the Bulldogs escaping with a four-point win.
The Catamounts' first road contest in league play occurs on Wednesday, Jan. 8, in Spartanburg, S.C., against the Wofford Terriers.
The Catamounts return home on Saturday, Jan. 11, against Mercer before hitting the road to VMI (Jan. 15). The home-heavy portion of the slate finishes on Saturday, Jan. 18, against instate SoCon foe UNCG. A short two-game road trip against rival ETSU (Jan. 22) and The Citadel (Jan. 25) precedes a home contest against Chattanooga (Jan. 29) to conclude the first half of the SoCon schedule.
WCU begins both February and the second half of the slate with a home bout against VMI on Feb. 1. Following the home bout against the Keydets, the Catamounts start a road-heavy portion of the schedule where five of the final eight games will be played away from Cullowhee beginning on Feb. 5 at Furman before heading to UNCG three days later.
The Catamounts return to Cullowhee to face ETSU (Feb. 12) and The Citadel (Feb. 15) followed by back-to-back road trips to Chattanooga (Feb. 19) and Samford (Feb. 22). The final home contest of the regular season takes place on Feb. 26 with Wofford. WCU's regular-season finale is set for the opening day of March in Macon against Mercer.
The 2025 Ingles Southern Conference Basketball Championship at the Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville is scheduled for March 7-10.
Season tickets for Catamount basketball at Ingles Court in the Ramsey Center will go on sale later this fall. For more information, contact the Catamount Ticket Office at (828) 227-2401. Fans will also be able to purchase or renew their season tickets online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets.
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