Want to know how the lights stay on at the low-major ranks of college basketball? Mississippi Valley State's 2026-27 nonconference schedule tells the tale. The Delta Devils -- fresh off a miserable 3-30 season -- will not play a home game until Jan. 9. Instead, they have 16 consecutive road games to kick-start the 2026-27 schedule with buy games galore.
Mississippi Valley State will earn upward of $100,000 apiece to get smoked by the likes of Oklahoma, Washington, Oregon, Arkansas, Michigan, UConn, Ohio State, Texas Tech and Baylor.
Yep, you read that right. The stacked schedule includes matchups against the reigning national champion and reloaded Michigan Wolverines and the title game runner-up Connecticut Huskies, who return their star backcourt of Silas Demary Jr. and Braylon Mullins.
For two straight months, the Delta Devils will travel seemingly nonstop to all corners of the country to face Power Five opponents.
By the time SWAC play rolls around, new coach Mike Davis' group will have competed against a who's who of college basketball coaches, headlined by Dan Hurley, John Calipari, Grant McCasland and Scott Drew. These signature programs are full of five-star freshmen and high-priced transfers.
Here's Mississippi Valley State's nonconference schedule:
- Nov. 6: At Oklahoma
- Nov. 9: At Washington
- Nov. 11: At Oregon
- Nov. 13: At Oregon State
- Nov. 20: At Arkansas
- Nov. 25: At New Mexico
- Dec. 1: At Michigan
- Dec. 6: At North Texas
- Dec. 8: At UConn
- Dec. 15: At Mississippi State
- Dec. 18: At Tulane
- Dec. 22: At Ohio State
- Dec. 28: At Texas Tech
- Dec. 29: At Baylor
While MVSU is taking it to an extreme with 11 games against high-major teams (12 if you include Oregon State in the revived Pac-12), it's far from uncommon for low-major teams to stack the nonconference slate with guarantee games against the big boys to cash a check and try to win a ballgame. This type of nonconference schedule could reel in close to $1 million total for Mississippi Valley State's athletic department budget. It's a critical way they keep the athletic department afloat.
Versions of these schedules are common across the lower ranks of college basketball and crucial for the financial viability of athletic departments that survive off the checks from bigger schools. Look at the nonconference schedule of any team in the MEAC, SWAC, American East, Southern, Southland, or Summit League, and you'll see them riddled with buy games against Power Five opponents.
If this Delta Devils roster pulls off just one nonconference win, it would be historic. From that viewpoint, it's a win-win scenario. You are getting paid regardless, and any upset win, however rare it would be, would bring immense attention to the school.
But MVSU has played 1,455 basketball games since results were tracked in 1978. It has never beaten a high-major outfit. Plus, this roster is littered with Junior College transfers. Eight of the 13 players hooped at a JUCO last season. Division II transfer Tyrese Elliot and NAIA transfer Tymias Williams are also on the roster. The Delta Devils have just two players -- Gabriel Martinez and Tianhao Wu -- who are 6-feet-10 or taller.
Long bus rides, no home games for two months, no NIL payments, but fat game checks for the university. This is life for cellar dwellers in the lowest ranks of Division I college basketball.
