CHICAGO (Oct. 22, 2026) – UIC has announced the full slate of television coverage plans for its 2026-27 men's and women's basketball seasons that get underway in the coming weeks. Game promotions for all Flames' home basketball games will be announced shortly.
 
At press time, nearly all regular-season UIC basketball games will be televised on either ESPN+ or part of the Missouri Valley Conference television package. Both Flames' squads will also make at least two linear television appearances this season on Marquee Sports Network as part of UIC's expanded agreement with the Chicago-based network, appearing in approximately three million homes across six Midwestern states — the UIC men will play host to Indiana State on Dec. 15 (6 p.m. CT) and Evansville on Feb. 18 (6 p.m. CT), while the Flames' women will welcome Chicagoland rival Chicago State to Credit Union 1 Arena on Nov. 11 (7 p.m. CT) and Southern Illinois on Jan. 28 (7 p.m. CT).
 
In addition, the UIC men will have their Jan. 27 game at Northern Iowa (8 p.m. CT) and Feb. 24 game at Southern Illinois (8 p.m. CT), broadcast live on the MVC TV Network, a combination of Gray Media-owned and non-Gray affiliated over-the-air stations within the Valley footprint. A handful of additional UIC men's and women's basketball games will air as part of The Valley on ESPN package, produced by UIC Athletics broadcasting unit and distributed through ESPN+ via the ESPN app.
 
What's more, the MVC has designated several UIC men's and women's basketball conference games for possible broadcast by ESPN networks, CBS Sports Network, the MVC TV Network or The Valley on ESPN. The official TV clearances for those games will come no later than 14 days prior to their respective tipoffs.
 
The UIC men will open the regular season on Monday, Nov. 2, playing host to St. Francis (Ill.) at 4 p.m. (CT) at Credit Union 1 Arena. Four days later, the Flames will welcome Robert Morris to town for their annual Homecoming Game, which will tip off at 7 p.m. (CT), preceded by the UIC Homecoming Tailgate in Lot 1 (across Harrison Street from Credit Union 1 Arena).
 
The UIC women will get their home schedule underway on Sunday, Nov. 8, against crosstown rival Northwestern on Homecoming Weekend. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. (CT) at Credit Union 1 Arena, with a pregame Flames Force student tailgate scheduled for 11 a.m. (CT) in Lot 1 across from the arena.
 
The full 2026-27 UIC men's basketball schedule can be found here, while the 2026-27 Flames' women's basketball schedule is listed here. Fans should keep these pages bookmarked throughout the season and follow both teams' social media accounts for any updates on game times and/or broadcast coverage plans.
 
Fans can purchase UIC basketball tickets (single-game or season packages) by going online through Ticketmaster or by contacting the UIC Athletics Ticket Office at (312) 413-UIC1 (8421) or athleticsticketing@uic.edu. Once again this season, all UIC students are admitted FREE to all home games with their student ID.
 
The UIC men's basketball team welcomes back four starters and a fifth part-time starter (accounting for a league-high 59 percent of minutes returning) and adds 10 newcomers (five transfers/five freshmen) to a squad that won 19 games last year and earned a third-place finish in the MVC, capped off by the school's first NIT berth since 2003, and the Flames' first-ever appearance in the Arch Madness championship game. UIC also posted its highest overall KenPom rating since 2004 (No. 110) and highest defensive efficiency mark since 2008 (No. 91), along with its highest-ever NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) ranking at No. 115. What's more, during head coach Rob Ehsan's first two years at UIC, the Flames have collected eight Quad 1 & 2 wins, the second-most in the MVC, as well as six wins over teams ranked in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll (four against top-10 squads).
 
The UIC women's basketball team enters its fifth season under head coach Ashleen Bracey, coming off a 14-18 campaign in 2025-26 that included a 9-11 record in MVC play. The Flames have reached the postseason three times in Bracey's first four years at the helm and totaled 66 wins in that span – the second-highest four-year win total in program history.
 
This season's squad will be a mix of five returning veterans and nine newcomers. Among the returnees is junior Julia Coleman, who was a triple MVC award winner last year, making the All-MVC Third Team, as well as the conference's All-Defensive and All-Newcomer teams. Coleman ranked eighth in conference play with 16.3 points per game and was one of 12 Valley players to record at least 200 rebounds, finishing with 238 boards.
 
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).
 
For more information on UIC women's basketball, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_WBB and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_wbb and @uicflames).