GREENSBORO, N.C. – Looking to re-establish themselves as an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) power, the Guilford College men's basketball team set their 2026-27 schedule packed with national and regional powers as announced on Thursday afternoon.
Led by a new head coach for the first time in over two decades, transitioning to a radically different system, and featuring a veteran yet untested cast of contributors, the 2025-26 Quakers piled up points at a record rate by posting their highest points per game mark for a season ever as the headline of a bevvy of record book-rewrites in their first year under Head Coach
Jesse DeLoof. While rebounding woes restricted them, they did still manage a .500 record for the 20
th-straight season, at 13-13, and a berth to the ODAC Tournament for the 25
th-consecutive year despite it clearly being a clear winter of transition for the program. Now with a full recruiting cycle and offseason of workouts with his squad, optimism is in abundance entering year-two of DeLoof.
"We are excited that we were able to put together such a competitive schedule," Head Coach
Jesse DeLoof said. "Playing in a league like the ODAC will always test you, but having the defending national champs and runners-up on the schedule just takes it to another level. It will be important that we take the season one game at a time, but we will be challenged by the very best Division-III basketball has to offer, and look forward to the opportunity to compete at that level."
Guilford will play host to a single open-gym tune-up on Wednesday, November 4, when they host Fayetteville Technical Community College for a scrimmage, tipping off at 7:00 PM, but they will need to be ready to compete immediately after, following that with clashes against the top of the USA South to open the regular season.
For the second time in three years, the Quakers open the season down in Misenheimer, N.C., visiting the defending USA South Regular Season Champions, Pfeiffer University on the evening of Saturday, November 7, tipping off at 7:00 PM. GC's follow-up is an encounter with the USA South Tournament Champions, North Carolina Wesleyan University on the ensuing Wednesday, November 11 starting at 7:00 PM for their home opener.
Guilford hosts Southern Virginia University on Saturday, November 14 at 3:00 PM before one of their premier events annually, the clash at the coliseum opposite Greensboro College. The neutral hardwood matchup at the First Horizon Coliseum will be played on Wednesday, November 18 this year with the Quakers men's squad as the late game, tipping off at 7:30 PM.
What follows is arguably the most-difficult four-game stretch of competition that any Division-III program will play all year, as Guilford battles a trio of top-10 nationally ranked squads in that span. They start by visiting the National Runners-Up and postseason No. 2 nationally ranked Emory University on Sunday, November 22 for a 2:00 PM tip in Atlanta. The "light game" of the span is just perennial power and rival Hampden-Sydney College 10 days later as the primetime matchup of the Quakers ODAC opening doubleheader on Wednesday, December 2 at 7:00 PM inside the Ragan-Brown FieldHouse. A trip to Ashland, Va. to battle postseason No. 9 nationally ranked Randolph-Macon College in the very venue and victor that ended GC's season in the ODAC Quarterfinals last winter follows, as they head into one of the best home-court advantages in DIII on Saturday, December 5 at 2:00 PM. The other bookend of the stretch is the 2026 Division-III Men's Basketball National Champions, as the postseason No. 1 nationally ranked University of Mary Washington comes down to clash on Jack Jensen Court on Monday, December 14 starting at 7:00 PM.
The UMW matchup is the first of a back-to-back, as Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte then visits on Tuesday, December 15, also at 7:00 PM before Guilford breaks for Christmas, returning between the holidays for the fifth annual and 11
th ever Springhill Suites Guilford Holiday Classic on Monday, December 28 and Tuesday, December 29. The Quakers draw Mary Baldwin University on the evening of the opening night, tipping off at 7:30 PM before battling Southern Virginia University for the second time on the season on the Tuesday at 2:00 PM. While Guilford will not matchup with them, the fourth team in attendance will be Centre College, so be sure to budget some extra time on those afternoons to catch some extra hoops action.
The Quakers settle into league play from there, with midweek matchups at 7:00 PM and weekend games at 2:00 PM. The headliners through January include Batten University (formerly Virginia Wesleyan University) visiting on Saturday, January 9, GC seeking to avenge a season-sweep at the hands of Washington & Lee University on Saturday, January 16, and a twin bill against their nearest ODAC rival, Averett University on Wednesday, January 20 with the men in the late game. Guilford ends 2027's initial month with a big one, hosting R-MC on Saturday, January 30, ushering in another great stretch of competition, following that up by traveling to the reigning ODAC Champions and postseason No. 17 nationally ranked Roanoke College on Wednesday, February 3 and then Hampden-Sydney College on Saturday, February 6. The University of Lynchburg on Wednesday, February 10 is their final midweek home game before their Senior Day and Alumni Game on Saturday, February 20 against Eastern Mennonite University.
If the Quakers extend their streak of postseason play to 26 years in-a-row, the ODAC Tournament would open on Wednesday, February 24 with the Quarterfinals hosted by the higher seed before play would shift to the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va. for the Semifinals round on Saturday, February 27 and the Championship Game on Sunday, February 28.
| DATE |
OPPONENT (EVENT) |
TIME |
| Nov. 4 |
Fayetteville Tech (SCRIMMAGE) |
7 PM |
| Nov. 7 |
Pfeiffer |
7 PM |
| Nov. 11 |
North Carolina Wesleyan |
7 PM |
| Nov. 14 |
Southern Virginia |
3 PM |
| Nov. 18 |
Greensboro (First Horizon Coliseum Game) |
7:30 PM |
| Nov. 22 |
Emory |
2 PM |
| Dec. 2 |
Hampden-Sydney* |
7 PM |
| Dec. 5 |
Randolph-Macon* |
2 PM |
| Dec. 14 |
Mary Washington |
7 PM |
| Dec. 15 |
Johnson & Wales (N.C.) |
7 PM |
| Dec. 28 |
Mary Baldwin (Springhill Suites Guilford Holiday Classic) |
7:30 PM |
| Dec. 29 |
Southern Virginia (Springhill Suites Guilford Holiday Classic) |
2 PM |
| Jan. 6 |
Bridgewater* |
7 PM |
| Jan. 9 |
Batten* |
2 PM |
| Jan. 13 |
Eastern Mennonite* |
7 PM |
| Jan. 16 |
Washington & Lee* |
2 PM |
| Jan. 20 |
Averett* |
7 PM |
| Jan. 23 |
Shenandoah* |
2 PM |
| Jan. 27 |
Randolph* |
7 PM |
| Jan. 30 |
Randolph-Macon* |
2 PM |
| Feb. 3 |
Roanoke* |
7 PM |
| Feb. 6 |
Hampden-Sydney* |
2 PM |
| Feb. 10 |
Lynchburg* |
7 PM |
| Feb. 13 |
Bridgewater* |
2 PM |
| Feb. 17 |
Averett* |
7 PM |
| Feb. 20 |
Eastern Mennonite* (Senior Day) |
2 PM |
| BOLD- Home Game |
*- ODAC Game |
Game times and dates are subject to change, check back on GuilfordQuakers.com to stay up to date on the latest on schedule information.
#GoQuakes
