Ole Miss Women’s Basketball to Participate in 2016 SEC/Big 12 Challenge

Photo courtesy Joshua McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics

The Ole Miss women’s basketball team has been selected to participate in the 2016 SEC/Big 12 Challenge, it was announced by the conference office on Thursday. The Rebels will travel to Morgantown, W. Va., to take on West Virginia in 2016.

The Southeastern and Big 12 conferences have announced the extension of the women’s basketball challenge, which started in 2014, and will expand to 10 games in 2016 and 2017.

Ten teams from the SEC will participate while every team from the Big 12 will take part in the Challenge each season. The format features five home games on campus sites for each conference per year. Teams will not face the same opponent twice.

In 2016, games will be scheduled over the dates of Thursday, December 1 through Sunday, December 4. Exact dates of matchups and television designation will be released when available.

“We are excited to see the SEC/Big 12 Challenge expand in women’s basketball,” said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. “The matchups on these four days, each year, will showcase the strength and depth of our women’s basketball teams and provide the fans of both conferences with exhilarating games.”

The inaugural challenge was held in 2014 in Little Rock, Ark., and featured a top-5 matchup with No. 3 Texas squaring off against No. 4 Texas A&M. Oklahoma and Arkansas, who were both receiving votes in the Associated Press Poll, played in the second game.  The conferences split the Challenge with the two games decided by a total of nine points.

The 2015 version will be contested in Oklahoma City on Sunday, December 20, 2015, with the opponents reversed. Texas will play Arkansas while Oklahoma entertains Texas A&M.

The 2016 Challenge will be the fourth meeting between, Ole Miss and West Virginia and the first since 2013-14 when the teams met in the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. Ole Miss leads the series 2-1 although West Virginia won the last meeting. This will be Ole Miss’ first trip to Morgantown.

2016 SEC/Big 12 Women’s Basketball Challenge Matchups

Baylor at Tennessee

Mississippi State at Iowa State

Kansas at Alabama

Auburn at Kansas State

Oklahoma at Kentucky

Georgia at Oklahoma State

TCU at Florida

South Carolina at Texas

Texas Tech at Arkansas

Ole Miss at West Virginia

2017 Big 12/SEC Women’s Basketball Challenge Matchups

Kentucky at Baylor

Iowa State at Vanderbilt

Arkansas at Kansas

Kansas State at Missouri

Florida at Oklahoma

Oklahoma State at Mississippi State

Alabama at TCU

Texas at Georgia

LSU at Texas Tech

West Virginia at Texas A&M

For further ticket information go to OleMissTix.com or call the Ole Miss Ticket Office at 1-888-REB-TKTS (732-8587). For all Ole Miss women’s basketball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com, and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWBB and on Facebook at Ole Miss Women’s Basketball. Fans can also follow Ole Miss women’s basketball head coach Matt Insell on Twitter at @minsell.