Cullowhee, N.C. – The Southern Conference today rolled out its 2026-27 league women's basketball schedule, prompting Western Carolina to unveil its traditional home-and-home conference slate, which remains in place with the addition of league newcomer, Tennessee Tech.
Additionally announced Tuesday, the SoCon schedule is shifting, moving to a Tuesday and Saturday model for most of its league games in the upcoming campaign.
The full Western Carolina women's basketball schedule, including road games, as well as game times and season ticket information, will be released at a later date.
The newly adopted 16-game conference schedule opens in late December for the Catamounts, hosting the Mercer Bears on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center to open the league slate for a second consecutive season. Scheduled for Dec. 29, the 2026-27 SoCon opener is the earliest for WCU since 2013-14, when the Catamounts opened in November against Appalachian State.
Following WCU's conference home opener, the Catamounts hit the road for back-to-back games, at ETSU and UNCG on Jan. 2 and Jan. 5. They'll then return home to host Wofford on Jan. 9, before hitting the road again on Jan. 12 for a visit to Birmingham, Ala., and the Samford Bulldogs before their first of two seasonal bye weeks.
Only 17 days after their first meeting of the SoCon slate, the Catamounts host the ETSU Buccaneers on Jan. 19 for their first of seven consecutive games. WCU returns to the road for two straight games, battling Chattanooga and Furman on Jan. 23 and 26, respectively, before closing January by hosting Tennessee Tech in the first league meeting between the two. The teams have crossed paths only 10 times in program history, with TTU claiming eight of those matchups. WCU is still searching for its first home win in the series, taking a neutral site victory in Honolulu, Hawaii in 2007-08 and a road victory in Cookeville in 2011-12.
WCU closes out its only two-game homestand of the conference season on Feb. 2, hosting UNCG. The Catamounts return to the road to take on Wofford on Feb. 6 in Spartanburg, S.C., before coming home to host the reigning SoCon tournament champions, Samford, on Feb. 9.
Following the final bye week of the regular season, the Catamounts evenly split their final four games with two on the road and two at home. After another quick turnaround, the Catamounts travel to Cookeville to close out their first series with Tennessee Tech on Feb. 16, before returning home on Feb. 20 to host the Furman Paladins. The game with Furman is WCU's lone conference doubleheader game for the season, as the men's team hosts UNCG in Cullowhee.
The final Tuesday/Saturday swing of the season sees the Catamounts head to Macon, Ga. to take on the Mercer Bears on Feb. 23. They'll return home on Feb. 27 to host the Chattanooga Mocs before taking on the 2027 Southern Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.
Full 2026 Southern Conference Schedule:
Dec. 29 | vs Mercer | Cullowhee, N.C.
Jan. 2 | at ETSU | Johnson City, Tenn.
Jan. 5 | at UNCG | Greensboro, N.C.
Jan. 9 | vs Wofford | Cullowhee, N.C.
Jan. 12 | at Samford | Birmingham, Ala.
Jan. 16 | BYE WEEK
Jan. 19 | vs ETSU | Cullowhee, N.C.
Jan. 23 | at Chattanooga | Chattanooga, Tenn.
Jan. 26 | at Furman | Greenville, S.C.
Jan. 30 | vs Tennessee Tech | Cullowhee, N.C.
Feb. 2 | vs UNCG | Cullowhee, N.C.
Feb. 6 | at Wofford | Spartanburg, S.C.
Feb. 9 | vs Samford | Cullowhee, N.C.
Feb. 13 | BYE WEEK
Feb. 16 | at Tennessee Tech | Cookeville, Tenn.
Feb. 20 | vs Furman (DH) | Cullowhee, N.C.
Feb. 23 | at Mercer | Macon, Ga.
Feb. 27 | vs Chattanooga | Cullowhee, N.C.
