The University of Maine men’s and women’s basketball teams have their opponents set as part of the new America East-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference challenge series in November.
The UMaine women’s team will host Siena (N.Y.) on Nov. 5 and visit Merrimack on Nov. 8 while the men’s team will travel to Sacred Heart (CT) on Nov. 5 and entertain Manhattan (N.Y.) on Nov. 8.
Game times will be established by the host schools.
In July, 2025, the two conferences announced the creation of a challenge, an early-season showcase that is part of a two-year agreement for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons.
This will be the first ever basketball challenge between two Northeast-based Division I leagues who share a regional footprint, a mutual broadcast partner in ESPN, a common sponsorship rights holder in Van Wagner and the same men’s basketball officiating coordinator.
Both UMaine teams played MAAC teams last season but not the ones they will be facing this coming campaign.
The UMaine women faced Quinnipiac and Fairfield, who finished atop the MAAC regular season standings 19-1 league records, beating Quinnipiac 64-55 and losing to Fairfield 74-51. Both games for UMaine were on the road.
Second seed Fairfield wound up beating top seed Quinnipiac 51-44 in the tourney title game.
Siena finished tied for fifth in the league standings with an 11-9 mark and lost to No. 4 Iona 59-50 in the MAAC quarterfinals.
Siena finished at 13-17 overall.
Merrimack went 15-5 and was the third seed during the regular season before beating sixth seed Mount St. Mary’s (MD) 62-48 in the quarterfinals and losing to Fairfield 65-48 in the semifinals.
Merrimack posted a 19-13 overall record.
The UMaine women went 19-13 overall and 12-4 during the America East regular season to earn the second seed and lost to top seed Vermont 61-43 in the league tourney title game after topping No. 7 New Hampshire 77-58 in the quarterfinals and No. 3 Binghamton 60-56 in the semis.
The UMaine men went 0-4 vs. MAAC teams last season but three were by seven points or less.
The Black Bears lost to regular season champion Merrimack (72-65), third-place finisher Siena (64-60), fourth-place Quinnipiac (70-64) and 12th-place Canisius from New York (70-43).
Sacred Heart finished ninth in the 13-team league with a 9-11 conference mark and wound up 14-19 overall. Sacred Heart beat eight seed Iona 91-80 in the first round of the tourney before losing to Merrimack 70-48 in the quarterfinals.
Manhattan wound up 10th (8-12) and lost to seventh seed Fairfield (71-60) in its first round contest. Manhattan was 12-20 overall.
The Black Bears, America East tourney finalists two years ago, went 8-24 overall and 6-10 in the conference to finish sixth in the nine-team league and lost to No. 3 the New Jersey Institute of Technology 60-58 in the quarterfinals.