There is nothing quite like a rivalry to kick off a season.
Kamloops and Â鶹AV will renew their Presidents Cup battle to kick off the 2025-26 Canada West basketball season.
The UBC Okanagan Heat will host Kamloops' Thompson Rivers University WolfPack for the first of 20 regular-season games, on Friday, Oct. 24.
This season will see both men's and women's teams compete in 20 games, with 11 at home. After the home openers, both teams will be away for their next five games, visiting Victoria, University of Fraser Valley, University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) and UBC.
Both teams will return home for a weekend doubleheader against the UNBC Timberwolves on Nov. 14 and 15, before venturing to Langley the following weekend to battle the Trinity Western Spartans.
Highlight home games include a sister-school matchup against the UBC Thunderbirds on Nov. 28 and 29. The men's team is 0-24 lifetime against the vaunted Thunderbirds, but pushed them hard in an 85-80 loss last year.
The women's team is 3-26 against UBC, with their last win coming in January of 2023.
Both squads will finish the season with six straight at home, from Jan. 16 onward.
UBC Okanagan will contest the majority (18 of 20) of matches against teams in the seven-deep Pacific division.
The top five teams from the Pacific division will then advance to the Canada West single-elimination postseason, beginning on Feb. 13.
Last season, the men's team finished with a 4-16 record, missing out on the playoffs. The women's team finished 7-13 and lost in the first round of the playoffs, 64-56 to the Regina Cougars.
This year's U Sports women's national championship is in Quebec City, hosted by Laval from March 5 to 8. The Calgary Dinos will welcome the men's tournament from March 6 to 8.
