Auburn and Alabama are about to add another chapter to their rivalry, and this one comes before the games start counting.
The Tigers will meet Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide in an exhibition on Thursday, Oct. 22 at BJCC Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala., according to a Wednesday morning report from On3’s Justin Hokanson. The game is part of what should be one of the more talked-about preseason events on the college basketball calendar heading into the 2026-27 season.
There’s also a financial wrinkle attached to it. On3 reported that both schools would receive six figures if the arena sells out, giving the matchup an NIL boost on top of the rivalry buzz.
The Birmingham exhibition won’t be the only time these two programs take the floor before the regular season. Auburn and Alabama are also set to take part in “Ballin’ in Boutwell” one week earlier, with the Tigers scheduled to play Florida State on Oct. 14 and Alabama set to face Ole Miss on Oct. 15 at Boutwell Auditorium.
Even though the Oct. 22 meeting is technically unofficial, it will be the first of three Auburn-Alabama matchups on the schedule. The teams will play again Jan. 30 at Coleman Coliseum and then close the regular season on March 6 at Neville Arena.
Recent history has leaned Alabama’s way, even with Auburn coming off a Final Four run in 2025. After Auburn swept the Crimson Tide in the 2022-23 season, the Tigers have gone 2-4 over the last three years and have lost their last two games against Alabama in Neville Arena.
Those home losses still sting for Auburn fans. One came when Mark Sears hit a mid-range floater at the buzzer to send Alabama to a 93-91 overtime win over the Tigers’ Final Four team led by Johni Broome. The other came this past season, when Labaron Philon Jr. scored 25 points in a 96-92 Alabama win after the Tide erased a four-point halftime deficit in front of a loud Auburn crowd.
Auburn has had its own big moment in the series, too. Bruce Pearl’s team went into Tuscaloosa in 2025 and beat Alabama 94-85 in the SEC’s first-ever AP No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup, and Auburn never trailed in that game.
So while the Oct. 22 exhibition won’t count in the standings, it should still bring the kind of edge this rivalry always carries. It also gives Steven Pearl a useful early look at where his team stands a few weeks before its season opener in early November.
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