Vanderbilt Basketball’s SEC/ACC Challenge Opponent Revealed

The Commodores will hit the road next season for the newest edition of the SEC/ACC basketball challenge.

Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner (3) drives against SMU guard Boopie Miller (2) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. | Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Vanderbilt men’s basketball learned another piece to its 2026-2027 schedule Thursday night.

Per a Twitter/X post from college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, the matchups for next season’s SEC/ACC Challenge are officially set. On that list, Vanderbilt will travel up to South Bend, Indiana to take on Notre Dame.

The game will take place Dec. 2, but an official time and television network has not been determined as of the time of the report.

A season ago, Vanderbilt hosted SMU in the SEC/ACC Challenge and beat the Mustangs by a convincing 88-69 score. The win helped Vanderbilt continue its undefeated start that it held through the first three games of SEC play a season ago.

The 2026-2027 season will be the third edition of the challenge between the two power conferences. The Commodores are 2-0 in the now-annual challenge. In 2024, Vanderbilt won at Virginia Tech 80-64.

Notre Dame is now the fourth opponent that has been set for Vanderbilt’s 2026-2027 nonconference schedule. The Commodores know they will be hosting Wake Forest Nov. 5, Memphis Nov. 10 and UCF on Nov. 20.

Vanderbilt is coming off back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament and its first NCAA Tournament win since 2012. The Commodores earned a No. 5 seed in last season’s tournament and took down No. 12 seed McNeese State in the Round of 64 before seeing their season end against No. 4 seed Nebraska in the Round of 32.

Vanderbilt is hoping it has the roster to go further into the postseason in 2026-2027. The Commodores may have lost some of their key pieces from last season’s roster, but they return their biggest piece with the return of point guard Tyler Tanner.

Tanner returning cements Vanderbilt as a team that can compete at the top of the SEC for at least another season. Tanner led Vanderbilt to fourth in the conference last season and a spot in the SEC Tournament Championship.

Notre Dame is coming off a 13-18 season in which it failed to make the ACC Tournament. The Fighting Irish have been trying to get back to where the program used to be, but Vanderbilt is looking to avoid falling victim to that mission.

The other pieces of Vanderbilt’s schedule next season have yet to be filled in, but it does know that it will be facing power conference competition that could challenge it early on.

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