North Carolina women’s basketball is about to be everywhere.
With less than a month until tip-off, the Tar Heels are slated to be on national television 24 times during the 2026-27 season, a sign of just how much attention Courtney Banghart’s group is drawing after back-to-back Sweet 16 runs. Carolina also checked in at No. 9 in ESPN’s Way Too Early Rankings, giving the program a clear spot near the top of the national conversation before the season even begins.
The roster is built to reload, not rebuild. Four transfer additions are set to join the mix: Achol Akot from Oklahoma State, Sophie Burrows from Syracuse, Chloe Clardy from Stanford and Gabby White from Virginia. They’ll slot into a group that brings back eight players and now has to help shepherd in a freshmen class that includes top recruits Noelle Bofia and Kate Harpring.
The schedule leaves no room to ease in. Carolina’s non-conference slate includes five NCAA Tournament teams, and that stretch leads into an 18-game ACC schedule that will test the Tar Heels from the start of November through the end of February.
The first live action comes Sunday, Oct. 18, when North Carolina hosts Davidson in an exhibition at Carmichael Arena. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.
ET, and admission is free and open to all. A second exhibition follows on Oct. 24 at Maryland at 1 p.m. on B1G+.
The regular season opens overseas. Carolina heads to Paris, France, for the 2026 Oui Play and will face Oklahoma on Nov. 2 at 2:30 p.m.
ET from Adidas Arena. ESPN2 will carry the game.
From there, the television calendar stays crowded. South Carolina visits on Nov. 8 at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN, and the Tar Heels will also be on ESPN2 against Texas Tech on Nov.
19, Alabama on Nov. 21 and LSU on Dec. 2.
Other marquee dates include NC State on Dec. 13 on ESPN, Duke on Jan. 31 on ESPN and the rematch at Duke on Feb. 28 on ESPN.
The ACC slate is just as loaded. Carolina plays at Syracuse on Dec. 31, at Clemson on Jan. 3 on The CW, at Louisville on Jan. 10 on ESPN/ESPN2, at Stanford on Jan. 24 on ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU, at SMU on Feb. 14 on ACC Network Extra and at Pitt on Feb. 18 on ACC Network.
Home dates with Notre Dame on Jan. 28, Virginia Tech on Feb. 7 and Virginia on Feb. 25 all add to a schedule packed with nationally relevant matchups.
Season tickets for the 2026-27 season are still on sale.
In Other News...
Dean Smiths Pitch To Antawn Jamison Still Defines Carolina
Antawn Jamisons latest reflection on his recruitment offers a familiar reminder of why Dean Smiths pitch at North Carolina still resonates. Smith did not sell him on minutes or on a straight line to the NBA, but on what a UNC education and the broader college experience could do for him as a person, a message that stood apart even then and feels almost radical now.
Jamisons recollection is less about one recruitment than it is about a standard Smith set for generations of Tar Heels. The emphasis was on caring for the individual beyond basketball, and that philosophy helped shape the programs identity long after Smiths coaching days ended. In an era when recruiting often starts and ends with roster fit and pro potential, the old Carolina approach still has a way of sounding like the bigger promise. [Read more 🡒]
North Carolina Faces A New Problem In Undefeated Pitt Road Test
Pitts unbeaten start has turned Saturdays matchup into one of the more interesting road tests on North Carolinas schedule, and the Panthers are still carrying the momentum that comes with being ranked nationally for the first time this season. Even so, the quarterback situation has taken a sharp turn, with starter Mason Heintschel sidelined by a torn ACL and Holden Geriner set to take over when the teams meet.
For North Carolina, the challenge is layered. The Tar Heels are trying to prepare for a top-25 caliber opponent away from home while also managing an injury concern of their own at nose tackle, with Isaiah Johnson part of the conversation this week. It leaves Mack Browns team staring at a game that now asks for even more adjustment on both sides of the ball. [Read more 🡒]
North Carolina Just Showed Why ACC Defenses Should Be Paying Attention
North Carolina came out of its matchup with Notre Dame looking like a team the rest of the ACC will have to game-plan for a little differently. The Tar Heels handled one of the nations better defenses well enough to win 37-26, and the bigger takeaway may be how they kept finding ways to move the ball when the margin for error was thin.
Billy Edwards Jr. was right in the middle of it, finishing 17 of 28 for 208 yards with three touchdown passes and two interceptions. The challenge now is turning that kind of showing into something sustainable as Pitt, Duke and Miami come next on the schedule, with each game offering another chance to prove this was more than one strong afternoon. [Read more 🡒]