Virginia Draws Auburn in Second Annual SEC/ACC Challenge
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia will host Auburn on Dec. 5 (Thursday) in the second edition of the SEC/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge, ESPN announced Wednesday (June 12).
Start times and broadcast designations will be released by ESPN on a future date.
Last season, the Tigers finished 20-12 overall and 8-8 in SEC play, good for seventh place in the league’s standings. Auburn earned a berth in last year’s NCAA Tournament for the first time in the previous five years, but fell to Arizona, 68-59, in the First Four round.
The Cavaliers and Auburn rekindle the series for the first time since the 2015-16 season and this year’s matchup marks Auburn’s first return to John Paul Jones Arena since November 2014. UVA leads the all-time series with the Tigers, 5-1. The series began in 1985 when the 18th-ranked Hoos toppled No. 8 Auburn, 84-71, at the Lady Sunshine Classic in Orlando, Fla.
In last year’s inaugural Challenge matchup, UVA overcame a 15-point deficit to defeat Missouri in overtime, 87-81, at JPJ.
The creation of the SEC/ACC Challenge in 2023 marked the end of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, which ESPN established with the two conferences in 1999 for men’s basketball as a first-of-its-kind event and expanded to include women’s matchups ever since 2007. SEC women’s basketball conducted a challenge with the Big 12 from 2014 to 2021.
The Cavaliers enter the 2024-25 season coming off the program’s first postseason appearance and victory since 2018. UVA concluded last year’s regular-season campaign by winning four of its last six contests. For the first time since 2008-09, the Hoos took down four ranked opponents, including No. 15 Florida State, No. 20 North Carolina, No. 20 Louisville, and No. 5 Virginia Tech in front of 11,975 spectators, a single-game record among women’s basketball games ever held in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Virginia Athletics is currently accepting deposits for 2024-25 season tickets. Seat selections will take place this summer once pricing has been finalized. Returning season-ticket holders do not need to place a deposit. Last season, Virginia women’s basketball set a program record for season tickets sold and recorded its highest home attendance average since its 1991-92 Final Four run.
2024 SEC/ACC Women’s Challenge
Wednesday, Dec. 4
Florida State at Tennessee
Mississippi State at Georgia Tech
Oklahoma at Louisville
Vanderbilt at Miami
Syracuse at Texas A&M
Virginia Tech at Georgia
Thursday, Dec. 5
Boston College at Arkansas
Alabama at Cal
Florida at Clemson
Duke at South Carolina
Kentucky at North Carolina
Ole Miss at NC State
Texas at Notre Dame
SMU at Missouri
Stanford at LSU
Auburn at Virginia