CHICAGO (Oct. 2, 2025) – The majority of the missing pieces for the 2025-26 UIC men's basketball schedule fell into place Thursday when the Missouri Valley Conference announced the 20-game league schedule for each of its 11 members. Thursday's announcement complements the Flames' full non-conference docket that was released last month.
Schools will once again play 10 home games and 10 road games during conference play, but in a change from prior years, each team will now face all of its Valley opponents twice (home-and-away) in a truly balanced conference format.
The majority of MVC schools, including UIC, will play two conference games prior to the Christmas holiday, with the Flames being part of the first Valley game of the '25-26 campaign, when they open conference play Dec. 13 at Belmont. Four days later on Dec. 17, UIC returns to Credit Union 1 Arena and, for the second year in a row, will face UNI in its MVC home opener. That game will be the start of a Flames basketball doubleheader, with the UIC women playing host to crosstown rival DePaul in the nightcap.
The full 2025-26 UIC men's basketball schedule can be found
here, while tipoff times and broadcast information will be released shortly.
UIC is beginning its second season under head coach
Rob Ehsan, following a solid showing in 2024-25 when the Flames finished with a 17-14 record and tied for fifth place in the MVC standings. Under Ehsan's leadership, UIC also had its best regular-season winning percentage (.567) since 2004 and picked up four Quad 1-2 wins (second-best in the Valley). What's more, the Flames posted five wins over teams that competed in the postseason, including victories over Drake, Yale, Bradley and Illinois State, and they produced UIC's second-highest scoring offense (76.0 ppg. – fourth in MVC) in the past 30 years.
The 2025-26 season will be UIC's fourth as a member of the MVC, which once again showed its strength by finishing among the top 10 conferences nationally in the NCAA NET rankings and sending four teams to postseason play, highlighted by Illinois State winning the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) title, Drake reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament and Bradley advancing to the NIT quarterfinals.
Among some of the highlights for UIC during this year's MVC schedule:
- For the second year in a row, UIC will play host to a New Year's Day matchup, as the Flames welcome Murray State to Credit Union 1 Arena on Jan. 1. Last year, UIC rang in the new year in historic fashion, defeating the No. 1-ranked mid-major team in the country (and eventual MVC champion and NCAA second-round participant) Drake, 74-70. Prior to last year, the Flames had not hosted a New Year's Day game in their NCAA Division I era (1981-82 to present) and now they will do so in consecutive seasons.
- Counting that Murray State game and the Dec. 17 MVC home opener against UNI, seven of the Flames' 10 Valley home games will take place on weekdays, highlighted by other matchups with Southern Illinois (Jan. 7) and Bradley (Feb. 24, the regular-season home finale).
- UIC will have a pair of two-game MVC road trips this year — Jan. 10-13 (Illinois State/UNI) and Jan. 31-Feb. 3 (Southern Illinois/Murray State).
- Both of UIC's matchups with Valparaiso, its nearest geographical rival in the MVC, will take place on the weekend. The Flames will visit Valpo on Sunday, Jan. 4, and welcome the Beacons to Chicago on Saturday, Feb. 21.
- The 2026 State Farm MVC Tournament (known as "Arch Madness") will take place March 5-8 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Last year, the Flames earned their highest tournament seed (No. 6) in their first three appearances at Arch Madness. Tickets and additional information on this year's MVC Tournament will be announced at a later date.
All UIC home games are played at the Flames' historic Credit Union 1 Arena, and fans can learn more about purchasing season tickets and securing access to the spacious and elite Courtside Club by contacting the UIC Athletics Ticket Office (312.413.UIC1;
athleticsticketing@uic.edu). Special ticketing plans and single-game tickets for the 2025-26 UIC basketball season will go on sale in the coming weeks, along with announcements on game promotions, tip times and TV coverage.
For more information on UIC men's basketball, fans are encouraged to visit
UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (
@UIC_MBB and
@UICFlames) and Instagram (
@uic_mbb and
@uicflames).
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