University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols To Play At Va. Tech In SEC/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge
June 05, 2026 | Women's Basketball
ESPN and the Southeastern Conference announced on Friday that Tennessee will travel to Blacksburg to face Virginia Tech on Dec. 3 in the fourth-annual SEC/ACC Women's Basketball Challenge.
The Lady Vols and Hokies will meet on the second day of the challenge and are one of 10 SEC/ACC tilts being held on that date. Six contests will be played on Wednesday as well. Tip times and TV information for all of the match-ups will be released at a later date.
The Southeastern Conference has been dominant in the women's challenge, owning a 30-16 overall record over the first three years. After a 7-7 split of games in 2023, the SEC is 23-9 over the past two campaigns, including 13-3 a year ago.
UT is 2-1 all-time in the SEC/ACC Women's Basketball Challenge, including 2-0 during the Kim Caldwell era. The Big Orange women, who will play on the road in the event for the second consecutive season, defeated RV/RV Stanford, 65-62, last season in Maples Pavilion on Dec. 3 and edged RV/RV Florida State, 79-77, in Knoxville on Dec. 4, 2024. Tennessee fell at home to No. 18/14 Notre Dame, 74-69, on Nov. 29, 2023, during the inaugural year of the event.
The Lady Vols lead the all-time series vs. VT with an 8-4 advantage, but the Hokies have won the past two and four of the past five. UT last won vs. Tech on Dec. 5, 2021, seizing a 64-58 victory at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg.
Caldwell returns to the venue where she coached her final game for Marshall University before taking over as head coach of the Big Orange. In her last visit, she faced off against Virginia Tech in the 2024 NCAA First Round, with Hokies head coach Kenny Brooks in his final season there before taking the same role at Kentucky.
Tennessee, which is ranked No. 25 in the USA TODAY Sports "Way-Too-Early" Top 25, heads into year three of the Caldwell era and seeks its third straight NCAA appearance under her watch. The Lady Vols finished 16-14 (8-8 in the SEC) in 2025-26, tying for sixth in the league and falling in the NCAA First Round.
Caldwell will lead an entirely-new 15-player roster, comprised of 13 transfers and two freshmen that she and her staff finalized in just 22 days. USA TODAY Sports rated UT's portal class No. 9 overall and No. 2 in the SEC, while On3 has the Big Orange tabbed at No. 10 overall and fourth in the SEC.
The Virginia Tech game is Tennessee's third contest of 2026-27 to become public, and the third away from home. Previously-revealed contests include Tennessee playing at Coppin State on Nov. 5 and at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville vs. Baylor on Dec. 18. Tickets for the BU contest are available here.
WEDS., DEC. 2
Stanford at Auburn
Miami at Florida
Georgia at SMU
LSU at North Carolina
NC State at Ole Miss
Louisville at Texas
THURS., DEC. 3
Georgia Tech at Alabama
Wake Forest at Arkansas
Clemson at Kentucky
Virginia at Mississippi State
Missouri at Florida State
Oklahoma at Syracuse
South Carolina at Duke
Tennessee at Virginia Tech
Texas A&M at California
Notre Dame at Vanderbilt
The Lady Vols and Hokies will meet on the second day of the challenge and are one of 10 SEC/ACC tilts being held on that date. Six contests will be played on Wednesday as well. Tip times and TV information for all of the match-ups will be released at a later date.
The Southeastern Conference has been dominant in the women's challenge, owning a 30-16 overall record over the first three years. After a 7-7 split of games in 2023, the SEC is 23-9 over the past two campaigns, including 13-3 a year ago.
UT is 2-1 all-time in the SEC/ACC Women's Basketball Challenge, including 2-0 during the Kim Caldwell era. The Big Orange women, who will play on the road in the event for the second consecutive season, defeated RV/RV Stanford, 65-62, last season in Maples Pavilion on Dec. 3 and edged RV/RV Florida State, 79-77, in Knoxville on Dec. 4, 2024. Tennessee fell at home to No. 18/14 Notre Dame, 74-69, on Nov. 29, 2023, during the inaugural year of the event.
The Lady Vols lead the all-time series vs. VT with an 8-4 advantage, but the Hokies have won the past two and four of the past five. UT last won vs. Tech on Dec. 5, 2021, seizing a 64-58 victory at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg.
Caldwell returns to the venue where she coached her final game for Marshall University before taking over as head coach of the Big Orange. In her last visit, she faced off against Virginia Tech in the 2024 NCAA First Round, with Hokies head coach Kenny Brooks in his final season there before taking the same role at Kentucky.
Tennessee, which is ranked No. 25 in the USA TODAY Sports "Way-Too-Early" Top 25, heads into year three of the Caldwell era and seeks its third straight NCAA appearance under her watch. The Lady Vols finished 16-14 (8-8 in the SEC) in 2025-26, tying for sixth in the league and falling in the NCAA First Round.
Caldwell will lead an entirely-new 15-player roster, comprised of 13 transfers and two freshmen that she and her staff finalized in just 22 days. USA TODAY Sports rated UT's portal class No. 9 overall and No. 2 in the SEC, while On3 has the Big Orange tabbed at No. 10 overall and fourth in the SEC.
The Virginia Tech game is Tennessee's third contest of 2026-27 to become public, and the third away from home. Previously-revealed contests include Tennessee playing at Coppin State on Nov. 5 and at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville vs. Baylor on Dec. 18. Tickets for the BU contest are available here.
WEDS., DEC. 2
Stanford at Auburn
Miami at Florida
Georgia at SMU
LSU at North Carolina
NC State at Ole Miss
Louisville at Texas
THURS., DEC. 3
Georgia Tech at Alabama
Wake Forest at Arkansas
Clemson at Kentucky
Virginia at Mississippi State
Missouri at Florida State
Oklahoma at Syracuse
South Carolina at Duke
Tennessee at Virginia Tech
Texas A&M at California
Notre Dame at Vanderbilt
Tuesday, May 19
Wednesday, May 13
Friday, March 20
Friday, March 20
