BYU Basketball to Face North Carolina in October Exhibition at Delta Center
BYU Athletic Director Brian Santiago announced Friday at BYU’s Fathers and Sons Basketball Camp that the Cougars will face North Carolina in an exhibition game this upcoming season. The matchup will take place in late October at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, according to sources. This will be the second of BYU’s two exhibition contests.
Before taking on the Tar Heels, BYU will travel to Nebraska as part of a home-and-home exhibition series. The game in Salt Lake City marks a high-profile opportunity for BYU fans to see their team against one of college basketball’s premier programs.
The game comes in the wake of a recent NCAA rule change allowing teams to play up to two exhibition games against Division I opponents that are open to the public and can be televised. Previously, such games had to be either closed-door scrimmages, played against non-D1 teams, or designated as charity events to be attended by fans. Under the new policy, schools can now use exhibition revenue at their discretion, leading to a rise in marquee preseason matchups—such as Purdue vs. Kentucky, also scheduled for October.
These exhibition games do not count toward the regular season record but provide valuable tune-ups against elite competition.
As previously reported in March, BYU and North Carolina have been exploring a neutral-site series, beginning with this game in Salt Lake City. While not yet confirmed, a return exhibition game near UNC is likely in the works.
Sources also indicate this will be the first of three games BYU will play at the Delta Center this season. The Cougars are close to finalizing another high-profile matchup there—this time against Wisconsin. For more on BYU’s evolving non-conference schedule, you can read my full breakdown [
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