RICHMOND, Va. – VCU and 2026 NCAA Tournament qualifier Santa Clara have agreed to a home-and-home series that will begin during the 2026-27 season.
 
The Rams and Broncos will meet on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026 at the Leavey Center in Santa Clara, Calif. to kick off the scheduling agreement. Santa Clara will return the game at the Stuart C. Siegel Center during the 2027-28 season, at a date to be determined.
 
VCU and Santa Clara have never met. The Broncos, led by longtime Coach Herb Sendek, finished 25-9 in 2025-26 and earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament, where they pushed Kentucky to the brink in the first round before falling in overtime. The Broncos have won at least 20 games in six straight seasons. In addition to its NCAA berth in 2026, Santa Clara has made recent NIT appearances in 2022, 2023 and 2025.
 
The Rams' challenging 2026-27 non-conference schedule is beginning to take shape. VCU is set to begin a home-and-home series with Memphis on Nov. 7, 2026 at the FedEx Center, and the Black and Gold are slated to host N.C. State at the Siegel Center. VCU will also join a loaded eight-team field at the 2026 Southwest Maui Invitational Nov. 23-25. The Rams will play three games against a field that includes Arizona, Clemson, BYU, Colorado State, Ole Miss, Providence and Washington.
 
Led by second-year Head Coach Phil Martelli Jr., VCU returns seven players from its 2025-26 squad that captured a share of the regular season Atlantic 10 title, the A-10 Tournament Championship and defeated North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.