Rice Women's Basketball Part of Multi-Conference Scheduling Alliance

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POSTED: July 9, 2026 -- 10:58 a.m. CT

The American Conference has announced a two-year scheduling partnership with the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10), Ivy League and the Missouri Valley Conference, with Rice women's basketball, along with South Florida, representing the conference.

The Owls will face Murray State (Nov. 6) and Richmond (Nov. 8) at the Robins Center in Richmond, Va.

"The alliance between American, A-10, MVC and Ivy is very exciting," said Rice Head Coach Lindsay Edmonds. "This alliance will create incredible opportunities to play high-quality games that can strengthen our schedules and hopefully boost our NET resumes for NCAA tournament selection. I am very grateful to be a part of this partnership/alliance in its inaugural season."

The two-year partnership for the 2026–27 and 2027–28 seasons features a tournament-style event on opening weekend each year, bringing together top programs from the four highly competitive conferences. Each league designates its top two teams to participate annually, creating a high-level showcase that provides non-conference resume-building opportunities for each conference and enhances national visibility for women's basketball.

The eight teams competing are Rice and South Florida (American), Princeton and Columbia (Ivy), Richmond and Rhode Island (A-10), and Murray State and Belmont (MVC).

Rice's first opponent of the series, Murray State, is coming off a historic season, posting a 31-4 (19-1 MVC) record, winning both the MVC regular season and tournament titles. The Racers earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but fell to Maryland in the opening round.

Game two will feature the host school, Richmond, which is coming off a 26-8 (15-3 A-10) season last year. The Spiders earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to Nebraska in the first round.

2026 Matchups

Site 1: Richmond, Virginia – Robins Center

Day 1 (Friday, November 6)

Rice (American) vs. Murray State (MVC)

Richmond (A-10) vs. Princeton (Ivy League)

Day 2 (Sunday, November 8)

Richmond (A-10) vs. Rice (American)

Princeton (Ivy League) vs. Murray State (MVC)

Site 2: Belmont, Tennessee – Curb Event Center

Day 1 (Friday, November 6)

South Florida (American) vs. Belmont (MVC)

Rhode Island (A-10) vs. Columbia (Ivy League)

Day 2 (Sunday, November 8)

Rhode Island (A-10) vs. South Florida (American)

Columbia (Ivy League) vs. Belmont (MVC)

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