American collegiate basketball season
The 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began on November 3, 2025. The regular season will end on March 15, 2026, with the 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament beginning with the first four on March 18 and ending with the championship game on April 5, at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona .
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(September 2025 )
May 6 – New Haven announced that it had accepted an invite to join the Northeast Conference effective July 1, 2025, and begin reclassification from NCAA Division II to be eligible for postseason play in 2028–29.[ 1]
June 4 – Utah Valley announced it would join the Big West Conference from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 2026–27.[ 2]
June 18 – Sacramento State announced it would join the Big West Conference from the Big Sky Conference in 2026–27.[ 3]
June 25 – Southern Utah and Utah Tech announced that they would both join the Big Sky Conference from the WAC in 2026–27.[ 4]
June 26 – The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) announced a strategic alliance under which the WAC will rebrand as the United Athletic Conference (UAC) beginning with the 2026–27 academic year. The rebranding will allow the continuing conference to retain the WAC’s automatic qualification status for NCAA championship events, including basketball. Under the announced alignment:[ 5]
June 30 – Texas State announced it would join the Pac-12 Conference from the Sun Belt Conference in 2026–27, bringing the Pac-12 to the 8-member minimum threshold required to maintain its Division I FBS status.[ 6] [ a]
July 15 – Louisiana Tech announced it would replace Texas State in the Sun Belt Conference from Conference USA . Louisiana Tech will join the Sun Belt no later than July 1, 2027.[ 10]
July 21 – The American Athletic Conference announced it had dropped the word "Athletic" from its name, becoming simply the American Conference . The conference also retired the "AAC" initialism, which had been used more by media than by the conference itself; the official short form is now simply the word "American".[ 11]
August 13 – Tennessee Tech announced it would join the Southern Conference from the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in 2026–27.[ 12]
September 3 – UC San Diego announced it would join the West Coast Conference (WCC) from the Big West Conference in 2027–28.[ 13]
September 24 – The Loyola Phoenix , the student newspaper of Loyola University Chicago , announced that 106-year-old Sister Jean , who began her tenure at Loyola in 1991, and had been chaplain of the men's basketball team since 1994,[ 14] [ 15]
October 2 – The Northeast Conference adopted its longstanding abbreviation of NEC as its official name.[ 16]
October 9 – Loyola Chicago announced that Sister Jean had died at the age of 106.[ 17]
October 10 – Little Rock announced that it would join the United Athletic Conference (UAC) from the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in 2026–27.[ 18]
October 21 – The Associated Press named its preseason All-America team. The leading vote-getters were UCLA center Lauren Betts and Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo . The other honorees were Texas forward Madison Booker , UConn forward Sarah Strong , and South Carolina guard Ta'Niya Latson .[ 19]
October 31 – The WCC announced that Denver would join from the Summit League in 2026–27.[ 20]
January 14, 2026 – At the annual NCAA convention, the Division I Cabinet approved changes to the transfer portal for several sports, including men's and women's basketball. Effective immediately:[ 21] A single 15-day portal was adopted for all D-I teams, opening the day after the final game of the NCAA tournament.
For players on teams undergoing a head coaching change, the portal will open for 15 days, starting 5 days after a new head coach is hired or publicly announced. If 30 days pass without the announcement of a new head coach, the portal will open for those players on the 31st day, as long as it falls after the championship game. This additional window is available only after the start of the standard portal.
Mid-year transfers will not be eligible to play for their new school during that season if they were enrolled at another NCAA member institution during the first academic term, regardless of whether or not they competed.
^ While the NCAA requires that FBS conferences have eight full members that sponsor football at that level,[ 7] [ 8] [ 9]
Milestones and records [ edit ] November 12 – Hannah Hidalgo set a single-game Division I record with 16 steals, as well as a school record of 44 points, in Notre Dame 's 85–58 win over Akron .[ 22]
December 3 – Mikayla Blakes became the 9th player to score 1,000 career points in 42 or fewer games after dropping 28 points in Vanderbilt 's 81–68 win over Virginia .[ 23]
January 22 – Hannah Hidalgo became the fastest women's basketball player in ACC history to reach 2,000 points, doing so in 86 games (the previous record was 89), after scoring 27 points in Notre Dame's 74–66 win over Miami (FL) .[ 24]
February 14 – South Carolina coach Dawn Staley earned her 500th win as head coach of the Gamecocks following their 79–72 road win over LSU .[ 25] Conference membership changes [ edit ] A total of 6 schools joined new conferences for the 2025–26 season. Of these, 5 moved within Division I, 1 began reclassification from NCAA Division II .
The 2025–26 will be the last season in their respective conferences for at least 28 Division I schools.
Arena of new D-I teams [ edit ] Other arena changes [ edit ] The Top 25 from the AP and USA Today Coaching polls
Rankings reflect the AP poll Top 25.
Nov. 4, 2025
Nov. 10
Nov. 15
Nov. 21
Nov. 26
Nov. 27
No. 4 Texas defeated No. 2 South Carolina, 66–64 (Players Era Festival – Michelob Ultra Arena, Paradise, NV)
Jan. 11, 2026
Jan. 15
Jan. 19
Jan. 25
No. 2 South Carolina defeated No. 5 Vanderbilt, 103–74 (Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, SC)
Feb. 1
Feb. 5
No. 4 Texas defeated No. 5 LSU, 77–64 (Moody Center, Austin, TX)
Feb. 8
Feb. 9
Feb. 12
No. 5 Vanderbilt defeated No. 4 Texas, 86–70 (Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, TN)
Feb. 14
Conference tournament [ edit ] Postseason tournament [ edit ] Early-season tournaments [ edit ]
Names
Dates
Location
Teams
Champion
Runner-up
3rd-place winner
Raising the B.A.R. Invitational
November 15–16, 2025
Haas Pavilion (Berkeley, CA )
4
California
Harvard
Charlotte
DePaul MTE
November 21–22, 2025
Wintrust Arena (Chicago, IL )
4
Northern Colorado DePaul
Campbell
Great Alaska Shootout
November 21–22, 2025
Alaska Airlines Center (Anchorage, AK )
4
UC Irvine
St. Thomas (MN) Bowling Green
Emerald Coast Classic
November 24–25, 2025
Raider Arena (Niceville, FL )
8
Mississippi State (Bay ) Nebraska (Beach )
Middle Tennessee (Bay ) Virginia (Beach )
Providence (Bay ) Purdue Fort Wayne (Beach )
Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship
November 24–26, 2025
Baha Mar Convention Center (Nassau, Bahamas )
8
Ohio State (Goombay ) Alabama (Junkanoo )
West Virginia (Goombay ) Minnesota (Junkanoo )
McNeese (Goombay ) South Florida (Junkanoo )
Players Era Championship
November 26–27, 2025
Michelob Ultra Arena (Paradise, NV )
4
Texas
South Carolina
UCLA
Paradise Jam
November 27–29, 2025
Sports and Fitness Center (Charlotte Amalie West, VI )
12
Boise State (Harbor ) Vanderbilt (Island ) LSU (Reef )
Tulane (Harbor ) BYU (Island ) Washington State (Reef ) Elon (Harbor ) Virginia Tech (Island ) Miami (OH) (Reef )
CBU Classic
November 28–29, 2025
Fowler Events Center (Riverside, CA )
4
UC Santa Barbara
Chattanooga
California Baptist
Iona Turkey Tip-Off
November 28–29, 2025
Hynes Athletic Center (New Rochelle, NY )
4
Iona
UIC
Maine
FIU Thanksgiving Classic
November 28–30, 2025
Ocean Bank Convocation Center (University Park, FL )
4
FIU
Seattle
UMBC
Coconut Hoops
November 28–30, 2025
Alico Arena (Fort Myers, FL )
8
Iowa State (Blue Heron ) Oklahoma (Great Egret )
Indiana (Blue Heron ) Florida State (Great Egret ) Gonzaga (Blue Heron ) Missouri State (Great Egret )
Baha Mar Nassau Championship
November 28–30, 2025
Baha Mar Convention Center (Nassau, Bahamas)
8
Arkansas State (Goombay ) Michigan State (Junkanoo )
Kent State (Goombay ) Clemson (Junkanoo )
Houston (Goombay ) Temple (Junkanoo )
HBCU Hoops Invitational
December 5–6, 2025
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex (Bay Lake, FL )
4
Hampton
Edward Waters
Bethune–Cookman
Big 5 Classic
November 12–December 7, 2025
Finneran Pavilion (Villanova, PA )
6
Villanova
Saint Joseph's
Drexel
Tulane Holiday Tournament
December 20–21, 2025
Devlin Fieldhouse (New Orleans, LA )
4
Mercer
Tulane
Detroit Mercy
Hawk Classic
December 20–21, 2025
Hagan Arena (Philadelphia, PA )
4
Saint Joseph's
Delaware
Akron
Cherokee Invitational
December 21–22, 2025
Harrah's Cherokee (Cherokee, NC )
4
Michigan State
Ole Miss
Old Dominion
FDU Christmas Classic
December 29–30, 2025
Bogota Savings Bank Center (Hackensack, NJ )
4
Penn
Binghamton
Fairleigh Dickinson
Head-to-head conference challenges [ edit ]
Conference matchup
Dates
Conference winner
Conference loser
Record
ACC–SEC Challenge
December 3–4
SEC
ACC
13–3
Big Sky–Summit Challenge
December 3–6
Big Sky
Summit
10–8
MAC –SBC Challenge
November 3, 2025 – February 8, 2026
Tied
13–13
An upset is a victory by an underdog team. In the context of NCAA Division I women's basketball, this generally constitutes an unranked team defeating a team currently ranked in the top 25. This list will highlight those upsets of ranked teams by unranked teams as well as upsets of No. 1 teams. Rankings are from the AP poll. Bold type indicates winning teams in "true road games"—i.e., those played on an opponent's home court (including secondary homes). Italics type indicates winning teams in an early season tournament (or event). Early season tournaments are tournaments played in the early season. Events are the tournaments with the same teams in it every year (even rivalry games).
Winner
Score
Loser
Date
Tournament/event
Notes
West Virginia 57–47
No. 15 Duke
November 14, 2025
Greenbrier Tip-Off
St. John's
74–67
No. 18 Oklahoma State
November 19, 2025
Rhode Island 68–63
No. 16 NC State
November 23, 2025
Ohio State 83–81
No. 21 West Virginia
November 26, 2025
Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship
Villanova 81–59
No. 25 West Virginia
December 1, 2025
Kansas State 61–60
No. 13 Ole Miss
December 7, 2025
Bill Snyder Classic
Game played in St. Joseph, MO
Wisconsin
78–64
No. 20 Michigan State
Stanford
67–62
No. 22 Washington
December 19, 2025
Texas Tech 61–60
No. 15 Baylor
December 21, 2025
Georgia Tech
95–902OT
No. 18 Notre Dame
January 1, 2026
Illinois
73–70
No. 7 Maryland
Washington
64–52
No. 6 Michigan
Utah
87–77OT
No. 8 TCU
January 3, 2026
Duke
82–68
No. 18 Notre Dame
January 4, 2026
Stanford
77–71OT
No. 16 North Carolina
Oregon 71–66
No. 21 USC
January 7, 2026
Cincinnati
71–63
No. 11 Iowa State
January 8, 2026
Alabama
64–51
No. 6 Kentucky
January 9, 2026
Notre Dame
73–50
No. 22 North Carolina
January 11, 2026
Purdue
78–72OT
No. 23 Washington
West Virginia
83–70
No. 11 Iowa State
Minnesota
63–62
No. 21 USC
Colorado
68–62
No. 19 Iowa State
January 14, 2026
Auburn 58–54
No. 21 Alabama
January 15, 2026
We Back Pat
Kansas State
65–59
No. 17 Texas Tech
January 17, 2026
Georgia 82–59
No. 16 Ole Miss
January 18, 2026
We Back Pat
Oklahoma State
86–58
No. 19 Iowa State
Mississippi State
71–59
No. 7 Kentucky
Wisconsin
63–60
No. 24 Nebraska
January 21, 2026
BYU
73–61
No. 19 Texas Tech
Georgia
72–67
No. 11 Kentucky
January 24, 2026
Utah
71–64
No. 22 West Virginia
January 27, 2026
Iowa State
84–70
No. 21 Texas Tech
January 28, 2026
Mississippi State
77–62
No. 15 Tennessee
January 29, 2026
USC
81–69
No. 8 Iowa
Columbia 73–67
No. 19 Princeton
January 30, 2026
Oregon
68–61
No. 16 Maryland
January 31, 2026
Illinois
75–66
No. 25 Washington
February 1, 2026
Minnesota
91–85
No. 10 Iowa
February 5, 2026
Colorado
80–79
No. 14 TCU
February 8, 2026
Texas A&M 72–69
No. 21 Alabama
Play4Kay
Columbia
70–56
No. 24 Princeton
February 13, 2026
Oklahoma State
75–65
No. 16 Texas Tech
February 14, 2026
Georgia
76–74
No. 5 Vanderbilt
February 15, 2026
Texas A&M
82–74
No. 21 Tennessee
February 19, 2026
Colorado
75–68
No. 20 Texas Tech
February 21, 2026
Virginia 74–72
No. 8 Louisville
February 22, 2026
Clemson
53–51
No. 9 Duke
Kansas
68–59
No. 20 Texas Tech
February 25, 2026
Florida
74–67
No. 19 Ole Miss
February 26, 2026
Texas A&M
66–58
March 1, 2026
Notre Dame
65–62
No. 10 Louisville
Kansas State
58–51
No. 21 Texas Tech
March 5, 2026
Big 12 tournament
Illinois
71–69
No. 18 Michigan State
Big 10 tournament
Oregon
73–68
No. 14 Maryland
Non-Division I wins over Division I teams [ edit ] In addition to the above listed upsets in which an unranked team defeated a ranked team, there have been ten non-Division I teams that defeated a Division I team so far this season. Bold type indicates winning teams in "true road games"—i.e., those played on an opponent's home court (including secondary homes). Italics type indicates winning teams in an early season tournament (or event). Early season tournaments are tournaments played in the early season. Events are the tournaments with the same teams in it every year (even rivalry games).
Winner
Score
Loser
Date
Tournament/event
Notes
West Alabama (Division II)
62–59
UAB
November 3, 2025[ 29]
Delta State (Division II)
76–68
Louisiana
November 7, 2025[ 30]
Scranton (Division III)
69–63
Pittsburgh
November 16, 2025[ 31]
First time ever that a Division III team beat a power conference school in women's basketball[ 32]
Faulkner (NAIA)
77–71
Alabama State
November 16, 2025[ 33]
Carnegie Mellon (Division III) 55–53
Saint Francis
November 18, 2025[ 34]
Johns Hopkins (Division III)
75–59
Morgan State
November 18, 2025[ 35]
Loyola New Orleans (NAIA)
73–65
New Orleans
November 19, 2025[ 36]
Roosevelt (Division II)
82–70OT
Western Michigan
November 25, 2025[ 37]
Edward Waters (Division II)
55–46
Bethune–Cookman
December 5, 2025[ 38]
HBCU Hoops Invitational
Rochester Christian (NAIA)
86–80
Detroit Mercy
December 29, 2025[ 39]
Conference winners and tournaments [ edit ] Each of the 31 Division I athletic conferences will end its regular season with a single-elimination tournament . The team with the best regular-season record in each conference receives the number one seed in each tournament, with tiebreakers used as needed in the case of ties for the top seeding. Unless otherwise noted, the winners of these tournaments will receive automatic invitations to the 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament .
Conference
Regular
Conference
Conference
Conference
Tournament
Tournament
America East Conference
Vermont
Adrianna Smith, Maine [ 40]
Alisa Kresge , Vermont[ 40] 2026 America East women's basketball tournament
Campus sites
American Conference
Rice
2026 American Conference women's basketball tournament
Legacy Arena Birmingham, AL
Atlantic Sun Conference
Eastern Kentucky
Priscilla Williams, Jacksonville [ 41]
Greg Todd , Eastern Kentucky[ 41] 2026 ASUN women's basketball tournament
VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena Jacksonville, FL )
Atlantic 10 Conference
George Mason & Rhode Island [ a] Maggie Doogan, Richmond [ 42]
Tammi Reiss , Rhode Island[ 42] 2026 Atlantic 10 women's basketball tournament
Henrico Sports & Events Center Henrico, VA )
Atlantic Coast Conference
Duke
Hannah Hidalgo , Notre Dame [ 43] Kara Lawson , Duke[ 43] 2026 ACC women's basketball tournament
Gas South Arena Duluth, GA )
Big 12 Conference
TCU
Olivia Miles , TCU[ 44] Krista Gerlich , Texas Tech [ 44] 2026 Big 12 Conference women's basketball tournament
T-Mobile Center Kansas City, MO )
Big East Conference
UConn
Sarah Strong , UConn[ 45] Geno Auriemma , UConn[ 45] 2026 Big East women's basketball tournament
Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT )
Big Sky Conference
Idaho
2026 Big Sky Conference women's basketball tournament
Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID )
Big South Conference
High Point
Macy Spencer, High Point[ 46]
Mike McGuire , Radford &Terri Williams , Gardner–Webb [ 46] 2026 Big South Conference women's basketball tournament
Freedom Hall Civic Center Johnson City, TN )
Big Ten Conference
UCLA
Lauren Betts , UCLA[ 47] Cori Close , UCLA[ 47] 2026 Big Ten women's basketball tournament
Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN )
Big West Conference
2026 Big West Conference women's basketball tournament
Lee's Family Forum Henderson, NV )
Coastal Athletic Association
Charleston
2026 CAA women's basketball tournament
CareFirst Arena Washington, D.C. )
Conference USA
Louisiana Tech
2026 Conference USA women's basketball tournament
Von Braun Center Huntsville, AL )
Horizon League
Green Bay
Jenna Guyer, Green Bay[ 48]
Kayla Karius , Green Bay[ 48] 2026 Horizon League women's basketball tournament
Quarterfinals: Campus sitesSemifinals and final: Corteva Coliseum (Indianapolis, IN)
Ivy League
2026 Ivy League women's basketball tournament
Newman Arena Ithaca, NY )
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Fairfield & Quinnipiac [ a] Kaety L’Amoreaux, Fairfield[ 49]
Kelly Morrone, Merrimack [ 49]
2026 MAAC women's basketball tournament
Boardwalk Hall Atlantic City, NJ )
Mid-American Conference
Miami (OH)
2026 Mid-American Conference women's basketball tournament
Rocket Arena Cleveland, OH )
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Howard
2026 MEAC women's basketball tournament
Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA )
Missouri Valley Conference
Murray State
2026 Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament
Xtream Arena Coralville, IA )
Mountain West Conference
San Diego State
2026 Mountain West Conference women's basketball tournament
Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV )
NEC
Fairleigh Dickinson
2026 NEC women's basketball tournament
Campus sites
Ohio Valley Conference
Lindenwood & Western Illinois [ a] Mia Nicastro, Western Illinois[ 50]
J. D. Gravina , Western Illinois[ 50] 2026 Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball tournament
Ford Center Evansville, IN )
Patriot League
Navy
2026 Patriot League women's basketball tournament
Campus sites
Southeastern Conference
South Carolina
Mikayla Blakes , Vanderbilt [ 51] Shea Ralph , Vanderbilt[ 51] 2026 SEC women's basketball tournament
Bon Secours Wellness Arena Greenville, SC )
Southern Conference
Chattanooga ,[ a] East Tennessee State , & Wofford
Caia Elisaldez, Chattanooga[ 52]
Brenda Mock Brown , ETSU[ 52] 2026 Southern Conference women's basketball tournament
Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, NC )
Southland Conference
McNeese
2026 Southland Conference women's basketball tournament
Townsley Law Arena Lake Charles, LA )
Southwestern Athletic Conference
Alabama A&M
2026 SWAC women's basketball tournament
Gateway Center Arena College Park, GA )
Summit League
North Dakota State
Avery Koenen, North Dakota State[ 53]
Jory Collins , North Dakota State[ 53] 2026 Summit League women's basketball tournament
Denny Sanford Premier Center Sioux Falls, SD )
Sun Belt Conference
Georgia Southern
2026 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball tournament
Pensacola Bay Center Pensacola, FL )
West Coast Conference
Loyola Marymount
Lauren Whittaker, Gonzaga [ 54]
Aarika Hughes , Loyola Marymount[ 54] 2026 West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament
Orleans Arena
Western Athletic Conference
California Baptist
2026 WAC women's basketball tournament
^ a b c d Top seed in conference tournament.
Conference standings [ edit ] Postseason tournaments [ edit ] The NCAA tournament tipped off on March 18, 2026, with the First Four , and will conclude on April 5 at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona . A total of 68 teams entered the tournament. Thirty-one of the teams earned automatic bids by winning their conferences tournaments. The remaining 37 teams were granted "at-large" bids, which were extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.
Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona , will host the NCAA women's Final Four.Semifinals
Finals
1
4
3
2
Per the NCAA, an upset occurs when the losing team in an NCAA tournament game was seeded at least two seed lines better than the winning team."[ 56]
Upsets in the 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
Round
TBD Regional 1
TBD Regional 2
TBD Regional 3
TBD Regional 4
First Four
None
Round of 64
None
Round of 32
None
Sweet 16
None
Elite 8
None
Final 4
None
National Championship
None
[ edit ] After the NCAA tournament field is announced, the NCAA invites 32 teams to the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament . The teams determined by the NCAA tournament selection committee to be the "first four out" of the NCAA tournament receive the top four seeds in the WBIT. Also, teams that won regular-season conference titles but did not receive NCAA tournament invitations, if otherwise eligible for NCAA-sponsored postseason play, receive automatic bids. All WBIT games through the quarterfinals are held at campus sites, with the semifinals and finals taking place in Wichita, Kansas at Charles Koch Arena .
Semifinals and finals [ edit ] 2026 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament
[ edit ] After the NCAA tournament and WBIT fields are announced, the Women's National Invitation Tournament will invite 48 teams to participate. WNIT participants and sites will be announced when the field is set on March 16.
Semifinals and finals [ edit ] 2026 Women's National Invitation Tournament
2026 Consensus All-Americans [ edit ] The NCAA has never recognized a consensus All-America team in women's basketball. This differs from the practice in men's basketball, in which the NCAA uses a combination of selections by the Associated Press (AP), the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), The Sporting News United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) to determine a consensus All-America team. The selection of a consensus team is possible because all four organizations select at least a first and second team, with only the USBWA not selecting a third team.
Consensus First Team
Player
Position
Class
Team
Consensus Second Team
Player
Position
Class
Team
Major player of the year awards [ edit ] Major freshman of the year awards [ edit ] Major coach of the year awards [ edit ] Many teams will change coaches during the season and after it ends.
Team
Former
Interim
New
Reason
Boston College
Joanna Bernabei-McNamee
BC announced on March 1, 2026, that Bernabei-McNamee's contract will not be renewed, ending her 8-year tenure with a 113–132 record.[ 57]
Northwestern
Joe McKeown
— N/a
McKeown announced on March 24, 2025, that he will retire at the end of the 2025–26 season , his 18th at Northwestern.[ 58]
Penn State
Carolyn Kieger
Kieger was fired by Penn State on March 5, 2026, after an 84–123 record and no NCAA tournament appearances in seven seasons.[ 59]
Pittsburgh
Tory Verdi
Pitt fired Verdi, who had been accused by former players of Title IX violations,[ 60] [ 61]
Rutgers
Coquese Washington
Rutgers fired Washington on March 2, 2026, after a 42–84 record in four seasons.[ 62]
Seattle
Skyler Young
Young's contract with Seattle was not renewed on March 2, 2026, after three seasons.[ 63]
South Florida
Jose Fernandez
Michele Woods-Baxter
Fernandez left USF on October 23, 2025, just 11 days before beginning his 26th season as head coach, to become head coach of the WNBA 's Dallas Wings , which became official 4 days later.[ 64] 2025–26 season .[ 65]
St. Thomas
Ruth Sinn
Sinn, currently in her 21st season as head coach of her alma mater, announced on February 10, 2026, that she will retire at the end of the season.[ 66]
VCU
Beth O'Boyle
Kirk Crawford
VCU announced on February 2, 2026, that O'Boyle, who was in her 12th season as head coach of the program, will not have her contract renewed and that she would be relieved of her duties effective immediately. Rams assistant coach Crawford was named interim head coach for the rest of the season.[ 67]
The top 30 NCAA Division I women's basketball teams by average home attendance:
Television viewers and ratings [ edit ] This section is empty. You can help by
adding to it .
(September 2025 )
^ "Charging Ahead: University of New Haven accepts Northeast Conference membership invite" . newhavenchargers.com . New Haven Chargers. May 6, 2025. Retrieved May 6, 2025 .^ "Utah Valley University Joins The Big West" (Press release). June 4, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2025 .^ "Sacramento State Joins The Big West" (Press release). June 18, 2025. Retrieved June 18, 2025 .^ "The Big Sky Conference Welcomes Southern Utah, Utah Tech Starting in 2026" (Press release). June 25, 2025. Retrieved June 25, 2025 .^ "Atlantic Sun Conference and Western Athletic Conference to Forge Strategic Alliance: WAC to Rebrand as United Athletic Conference" (Press release). United Athletic Conference. June 25, 2025. Retrieved June 25, 2025 .^ "Texas State becomes ninth member of reborn Pac-12" (Press release). June 30, 2025. Retrieved June 30, 2025 .^ "Bylaw 20.02.9: Football Bowl Subdivision Conference" (PDF) . 2024–25 NCAA Division I Manual . NCAA. August 9, 2024. p. 359. 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Retrieved August 13, 2025 .^ "West Coast Conference Welcomes UC San Diego" . West Coast Conference . September 3, 2025. Retrieved September 3, 2025 .^ Lang, Cady (March 16, 2018). "Why This 98-Year-Old Nun is Already a March Madness MVP" . Time . Retrieved September 24, 2025 . ^ "Loyola's Sister Jean announces retirement due to health concerns" . ESPN.com . September 24, 2025. Retrieved September 24, 2025 .^ "New Look, Same Mission: NEC Begins Fresh Chapter" (Press release). NEC. October 2, 2025. Retrieved October 7, 2025 .^ "A Loyola Icon with an Enduring Legacy, Sister Jean Dies at 106" (Press release). Loyola University Chicago. October 9, 2025. Retrieved October 9, 2025 .^ "Trojans Make History: Little Rock to Join United Athletic Conference" (Press release). Little Rock Trojans Athletics. October 10, 2025. Retrieved October 10, 2025 .^ Feinberg, Doug (October 21, 2025). "Purdue's Smith earns unanimous AP preseason All-America honors, joined by Texas Tech's Toppin" . 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