LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Chattanooga Mocs begin the 2026-27 men’s basketball season on Monday night with about as tough an opener as a mid-major can draw: a road trip to No. 11 Louisville. Tip-off at the KFC Yum! Center is set for 9 p.m. ET, and the game airs on the ACC Network.
It is a milestone year for the program, which is starting its 50th Division I campaign after joining the top level in 1977-78. Chattanooga has not started a season against a ranked team since Nov. 12, 2010, when it fell 82-62 to No. 20 Tennessee, and the Cardinals are the highest-ranked opening-night foe for the Mocs since they played at No. 6 Kansas in 2003.
Chattanooga does have a recent memory to lean on in this building. The Mocs won 81-71 at Louisville on Nov. 10, 2023, a result that leveled the all-time series between the schools at 6-6.
This year’s Mocs look very different from that group. Chattanooga went 13-19 last winter, including 6-9 away from home, while scoring 76.7 points a game and giving up 75.3. The roster now has 11 newcomers and only one returning starter, with players drawn from five countries and 11 U.S. states.
Louisville, by contrast, was hard to beat at home last season, going 15-2 in its own arena on the way to a 24-11 record. The Cardinals averaged 6.8 steals and 3.3 blocks per game, so ball security will be an early test for a Chattanooga backcourt still learning to play together.
After Monday, the Mocs return to Chattanooga to start their home schedule at McKenzie Arena, where season and single-game tickets are on sale through the UTC ticket office.
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