The Valparaiso University men's basketball team has announced its 2026-2027 nonconference schedule as the Beacons begin a highly-anticipated fourth season under head coach Roger Powell Jr.
 
The team, which combines a strong returning group of six scholarship players who were on the roster last season with eight scholarship newcomers, tuned up for the upcoming campaign with a pair of victories over Canadian competition at the Baha Mar Summer League in Nassau, The Bahamas in early August. Last season, Valpo achieved its highest Missouri Valley Conference win total since joining the league.
 
After an Oct. 27 exhibition game against Olivet Nazarene, the 2026-2027 regular season will get underway on the opening night of college basketball across the country, as the Beacons host Western Illinois at the Athletics-Recreation Center on Tuesday, Nov. 2. The former Mid-Continent Conference adversaries will lock horns for the 59^th all-time matchup and first since a 73-66 Valpo victory on Nov. 21, 2023, part of the first season of the Powell Era.
 
The game against the Leathernecks is the first of six regular-season, nonconference home games at the ARC. Valpo will also host CCSJ (Nov. 16), Toledo (Nov. 28), Saint Xavier (Dec. 8) Chicago State (Dec. 12) and SIUE (Dec. 18). Valpo and Saint Xavier will get together for the first time since 1984. Under the direction of Valpo alum Jason Hawkins, CCSJ will come to the ARC for the third straight season.
 
A member of the Mid-American Conference, Toledo is back on the schedule for the first time since 2019-2022, when the Rockets and Beacons matched up in four straight seasons. Valpo is 6-9 all-time against the Rockets including a 1-3 mark during that most recent four-year series. Toledo was one victory shy of a 20-win season a year ago. Former conference foes in the Mid-Con, Valpo and Chicago State have played 38 times, with the Brown & Gold prevailing in 33 of those matchups. The Cougars have won the last two contests between the two teams, most recently Dec. 16, 2023 at the ARC. Valpo is 4-0 all-time against SIUE, most recently winning 80-58 on Dec. 9, 2020 at the ARC.
 
Coincidentally, the final three nonconference home games will be against teams known as the Cougars – Saint Xavier, Chicago State and SIUE.
 
Valpo will play three true road games during the nonconference slate – at Purdue (Nov. 6), at South Dakota State (Nov. 11) and at UNCW (Dec. 5). A powerhouse in the Big Ten Conference, the Boilermakers won 30 games last season and made the program's third Elite Eight appearance in the last seven years. Valpo will play Purdue for the 19^th time and first since Dec. 4, 2020.
 
The Beacons and Jackrabbits will get together for just the fourth time as Valpo makes its first trip to South Dakota State since Dec. 22, 1975. The two programs have met only once in recent years, a 61-50 Valpo defeat on Nov. 25, 2022 as part of a multi-team event in Savannah, Ga. South Dakota State has made seven NCAA Tournament appearances since 2012, going to the Big Dance as recently as 2024.
 
Valpo will make its first-ever trip to UNCW, playing the Seahawks for just the fourth time. This is a return trip as part of a home-and-home series that saw Valpo fall 73-70 on Dec. 13, 2025 at the ARC. UNCW is coming off a glowing 27-7 record and 15-3 conference mark en route to a Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title and NIT appearance.
 
For the first time in the Powell Era, Valpo's November multi-team event will take place at a neutral site, with the Beacons heading to Pensacola, Fla. to face off with Troy (Nov. 21) and Southern Miss (Nov. 22). Valpo will play Troy for the eighth time and first since 2009, while Southern Miss is on the schedule for the first time ever. The Trojans went 22-12 overall and 12-6 in league play last season on their way to a Sun Belt title and NCAA Tournament appearance. The Golden Eagles won three Sun Belt Tournament games before falling to top-seeded Troy, closing out a winning season with 19 victories.