SPEARFISH, S.D. - The Black Hills State University men's basketball team and head coach Ryan Thompson announced the 29-game 2026-27 schedule on Tuesday afternoon. The slate features another 20-game RMAC schedule with an accompanying 9-game non-conference schedule. Highlighting the non-conference portion of the schedule will be season-opening games in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Lakeland, Florida, and an additional three games against in-state competition.
The 2026-27 season tips off in NCAA Division II's most prestigious in-season tournament as the Yellow Jackets make their first-ever appearance in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, which features six of the eight 2026 Elite Eight programs. The Green & Gold open the classic by facing reigning national runners-up, Lander, on Saturday, November 7, and then they will end the weekend by challenging the hosts of Florida Southern, who also qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament a year ago, on Sunday, November 8. Both games will be played at FSC's George W. Jenkins Field House in Lakeland, Florida.
The week after returning from the Sunshine State, Black Hills State will host its first pair of home games inside of A2 Arena, a venue that has been among the top home court advantages in DII as a year ago BHSU went 13-1 and held the third largest attendance average nationally (1,961). Facing North Dakota foes, the home slate tips off against Minot State on Friday, November 13, and against UMary on Saturday, November 14.
After just one weekend at home in the opening month of action, the Yellow Jackets return to the road for four consecutive games to round out November. The road swing begins in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with another pair of NSIC foes as they visit Augustana on Friday, November 20, and Sioux Falls on Saturday, November 21. The next weekend of travel will then see Black Hills State visit the Pacific Northwest, including a trip to "The Great White North" to visit Simon Fraser in Burnaby, British Columbia, on Thursday, November 26, before returning to the states to face Western Washington in Bellingham, Washington, on Saturday, November 28.
With four of five games in the month of December in Spearfish, the Yellow Jackets begin the final month of 2026 with three consecutive games against RMAC competition in A2 Arena. The conference slate starts with games against Western Colorado on Thursday, December 3, Westminster on Saturday, December 5, and Chadron State on Tuesday, December 8, all in the Queen City. The final game before the holiday break pits together the state's two West River rivals, as the Green & Gold make the trip down I-90 to Rapid City on Thursday, December 10, to face South Dakota Mines. The 2026 calendar year then comes to a close back in A2 Arena with Northern State making the return trip of a home-and-home series on Wednesday, December 30.
The 2027 portion of the schedule tips off on the road with the first of four weekend trips to Colorado in conference play as Black Hills State travels to Colorado Christian on Thursday, January 7, and CSU Pueblo on Saturday, January 9. The Green & Gold then returns to A2 Arena for the lone home action in the month of January with match-ups against MSU Denver on Thursday, January 14, and Colorado School of Mines on Saturday, January 16.
A string of five consecutive road games close out the opening month of the new year and pushes the team into February. A trip to southern Colorado with visits to Fort Lewis on Thursday, January 21, and Adams State on Saturday, January 23, precedes a trip to the western slope of Colorado. The western slope road trip then includes a game against the RMAC's other national qualifier last season in Colorado Mesa on Thursday, January 28, and concludes at Western Colorado on Saturday, January 30. The final game of the 5-game road swing will be a visit to Chadron State on Tuesday, February 2.
As the season begins to wind down, the Yellow Jackets play five of their final seven games of the regular season in the friendly confines of A2 Arena. Beginning that stretch is a second battle with rival South Dakota Mines, on Saturday, February 6. Three of the last four match-ups with the Hardrockers in A2 Arena have drawn more than 3,000 fans and ranked among the top-30 nationally for single game attendance. The ensuing weekend in Spearfish, the Green & Gold will host UCCS on Thursday, February 11, and Colorado Christian on Saturday, February 13.
The final weekend of road games in the regular season is another visit to the Denver metro area, with games against Regis on Thursday, February 18, and MSU Denver on Saturday, February 20. A week later, the final week of the regular season, the Yellow Jackets will once again be back at home as they host Adams State on Thursday, February 25, and New Mexico Highlands on Saturday, February 27.
The RMAC Men's Basketball Tournament will once again feature the top-8 teams in the regular season standings, with quarterfinal games being played on the campus sites of the top-4 teams on Tuesday, March 2. The highest seeded team remaining following the quarterfinals will again host the semifinals on Friday, March 5, and the championship on Saturday, March 6.
The South Central Regional will be played at the region's No. 1 seed, with the first round being played on Friday, March 12, the second round on Saturday, March 13, and the regional championship and Sweet 16 game on Monday, March 15. The winning team then advances to Fort Wayne, Indiana, for the 2027 NCAA Division II Elite Eight. Elite Eight games are slated for Tuesday, March 23, the Final Four games on Thursday, March 25, and the national championship game will be Saturday, March 27.
