STARTING FIVE
- The newly rebranded United Athletic Conference (UAC), formerly the Western Athletic Conference, enters a new era in the 2026-27 season. Abilene Christian, Tarleton State and UT Arlington welcome Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, EKU, North Alabama and West Georgia from the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) and Little Rock from the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).
- Abilene Christian was tabbed the favorites in the UAC Preseason Coaches Poll with eight first-place votes. EKU was voted second in the poll with Central Arkansas selected in third, followed by Austin Peay and UT Arlington who rounded out the top five.
- Abilene Christian’s Payton Hull was chosen as the UAC Preseason Player of the Year. Hull was selected as the 2025-26 WAC Player of the Year and landed on the All-WAC First Team, All-WAC Defensive Team and WAC All-Tournament Team. Hull led the conference in scoring last year with 18.3 points per game and tallied 14 20-point games, the most across the league.
- Her Hoops Stats announced on Wednesday that Abilene Christian’s Payton Hull and Meredith Mayes were named to the 2027 Becky Hammond Mid-Major Player of the Year Award Preseason Watch List. These Wildcats join a list of 25 student-athletes from across the nation representing the best players at the mid-major level.
- Abilene Christian, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, EKU, Little Rock and West Georgia will open up their seasons on Monday, Nov. 2nd as North Alabama and UT Arlington will kick off the year on Tuesday, Nov. 3rd, followed by Tarleton State’s season-opener on Wednesday, Nov. 4th.
ON THE SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday, November 2
Central Arkansas vs. Hendrix College // Conway, AR // 5 p.m. CT
West Georgia at (RV) Georgia // Athens, GA // 5 p.m. ET
Austin Peay at Campbell // Buies Creek, NC // 6 p.m. CT
Abilene Christian vs. Howard Payne // Abilene, TX // 6 p.m. CT
Little Rock vs. Central Baptist College // Little Rock, AR // 7 p.m. CT
EKU at UT Martin // Martin, TN // 7 p.m. ET
Tuesday, November 3
UT Arlington vs. Sacramento State // Arlington, TX // 6:30 p.m. CT
North Alabama at Mississippi State // Starkville, MS // 6:30 p.m. CT
Wednesday, November 4
Tarleton State vs. Arkansas - Pine Bluff // Stephenville, TX // 11 a.m. CT
AROUND THE ARC
WILDCATS TOP UAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL | Abilene Christian was voted as the favorites in the preseason coaches poll with eight first-place votes. The Wildcats concluded the 2025-26 campaign with a 24-11 overall record and a 13-5 conference record, finishing second in the WAC standings. ACU has gone back-to-back years making the Super 16 in the Postseason WNIT.
TOP PLAYERS TO WATCH IN THE UAC | Abilene Christian led the way with three players on the Preseason All-UAC Team represented by
Payton Hull, Meredith Mayes and
Erin Woodson. Central Arkansas and EKU each received two spots with
Tiani Ellison and
Cheyanne Kemp representing the Bears while
Liz Freihofer and
Kirsten Lewis-Williams represented the Colonels. Austin Peay’s
Jim’Miyah Branton, Little Rock’s
Mya Cotto, North Alabama’s
Brynn Lusby and West Georgia’s
Sydne Tolbert were also selected to the Preseason All-UAC Team.
NIMZ NAMED HEAD COACH FOR NORTH ALABAMA | On March 26, the University of North Alabama announced the hiring of
Anna Nimz as the 10th head coach of the UNA women’s basketball program. Nimz heads to UNA after leading Northwestern State for the last six years. Under her leadership, Northwestern State either matched or increased its win total in all six seasons.
THE UAC TOURNAMENT HEADS TO ALLEN, TEXAS | Beginning with the 2026-27 championship season, Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas will serve as the host site to the UAC Basketball Tournaments for the next three years. A 7,000+ seat facility in one of the most diverse areas in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Credit Union of Texas Event Center hosts more than 100 events annually. The first UAC Basketball Tournaments will be held March 10-14, 2027.