Mount St. Mary’s Men’s Basketball Unveils 20-Game Metro Conference Schedule for 2026-27
Mount St. Mary’s men’s basketball now knows the complete road it will have to navigate through the Metro Conference during the 2026-27 season.
The conference released its 20-game league schedule Thursday, Aug. 20, giving the Mountaineers a challenging slate that features 10 conference games at Knott Arena and road trips throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The Metro Conference features 13 men’s basketball programs this season.
Combined with the non-conference schedule announced earlier in August, Mount St. Mary’s will play 31 regular-season games. The Mountaineers will also host Navy in an exhibition game Oct. 28.
Perhaps the biggest highlight is just how much basketball will be played in Emmitsburg. Knott Arena at the PNC Sports Complex will host 16 games counting the exhibition, the most home games for the Mount since moving to Division I and the program’s largest home schedule since the 1980-81 team finished as the NCAA Division II national runner-up.
Mount Opens Metro Play on the Road
Mount St. Mary’s will not ease into its Metro Conference schedule.
Head coach Donny Lind’s team opens league play with a Western New York road trip, traveling to Niagara on Dec. 4 before facing Canisius on Dec. 6. The Mountaineers then step back into non-conference play before opening their Metro home schedule Dec. 29 against Marist at Knott Arena.
The format creates an interesting start to the conference season. Instead of immediately settling into a long stretch of league games, the Mount will get an early two-game conference test, return to its non-conference schedule and then begin the main portion of Metro play just before the calendar changes to 2027.
January Brings Major Tests to Knott Arena
The Mount will open 2027 with Manhattan visiting Emmitsburg on Jan. 3.
Five days later, Mount St. Mary’s travels to Rider before one of the most anticipated games on the home schedule.
Defending Metro Conference tournament champion Siena comes to Knott Arena on Jan. 10. Siena ended Mount St. Mary’s 2025-26 season with a 63-58 victory in the conference tournament before eventually winning the championship. The rematch should give the Mount an early opportunity to measure itself against the league’s defending champion.
A road game at Sacred Heart follows on Jan. 13 before the Mount returns to Emmitsburg for back-to-back home games against Fairfield on Jan. 16 and Saint Peter’s on Jan. 18.
Saint Peter’s should provide another significant matchup. The Peacocks finished 14-6 in conference play last season and went unbeaten at home during league competition.
Mount St. Mary’s then faces one of the more difficult road stretches on its schedule with games at Manhattan on Jan. 22 and Iona on Jan. 24.
Merrimack visits Knott Arena on Jan. 29 before the Mountaineers finish January on the road at Fairfield on Jan. 31.
That makes January the heart of the Metro schedule, with nine conference games in a span of 29 days.
February Includes Winter Homecoming and Regular-Season Finale
February begins with another major road test when Mount St. Mary’s travels to face Siena on Feb. 5.
The Mountaineers return home for consecutive games against Rider on Feb. 11 and Sacred Heart on Feb. 13. The Sacred Heart matchup will serve as the centerpiece of Mount St. Mary’s Winter Homecoming festivities.
Mount St. Mary’s then makes its final extended road trip of the regular season with games at Marist on Feb. 19 and Quinnipiac on Feb. 21.
The Mount finishes the regular season with two straight games at Knott Arena.
Canisius visits Emmitsburg on Feb. 26 before Niagara comes to town for the regular-season finale Feb. 28.
Having the final two games at home could become significant if the Mountaineers are battling for positioning in the Metro Conference standings.
An Unbalanced Metro Schedule
With 13 teams playing only 20 conference games, Mount St. Mary’s will not face every opponent both home and away.
The Mount will play Niagara, Canisius, Marist, Manhattan, Rider, Siena, Sacred Heart and Fairfield twice.
Four opponents appear just once on the schedule.
Mount St. Mary’s will host Saint Peter’s and Merrimack without making return trips, while the Mountaineers will travel to Iona and Quinnipiac without hosting either team.
That scheduling format is being used throughout the Metro Conference, with teams generally facing eight opponents twice and four opponents once.
Complete 2026-27 Mount St. Mary’s Metro Conference Schedule
Dec. 4 — at Niagara
Dec. 6 — at Canisius
Dec. 29 — vs. Marist
Jan. 3 — vs. Manhattan
Jan. 8 — at Rider
Jan. 10 — vs. Siena
Jan. 13 — at Sacred Heart
Jan. 16 — vs. Fairfield
Jan. 18 — vs. Saint Peter’s
Jan. 22 — at Manhattan
Jan. 24 — at Iona
Jan. 29 — vs. Merrimack
Jan. 31 — at Fairfield
Feb. 5 — at Siena
Feb. 11 — vs. Rider
Feb. 13 — vs. Sacred Heart — Winter Homecoming
Feb. 19 — at Marist
Feb. 21 — at Quinnipiac
Feb. 26 — vs. Canisius
Feb. 28 — vs. Niagara
A Big Home Schedule in Emmitsburg
The number of home dates should be especially encouraging for Mount fans.
Mount St. Mary’s finished second among the Metro’s 13 programs in attendance last season and posted the highest percentage of arena capacity among Division I programs in the region, according to Mount Athletics. The Mountaineers went 8-5 in their 13 games at Knott Arena.
That home-court environment will have plenty of opportunities to make an impact this season.
Including non-conference games and the Navy exhibition, Knott Arena will host 16 contests. The non-conference home schedule includes Loyola Maryland, Lehigh, Western Michigan, Drexel and Central Penn, while road trips include Xavier, Virginia Tech, Morgan State, Coppin State, Creighton and Nebraska.
The Loyola game on Nov. 6 will mark the 192nd meeting in the Catholic Clash rivalry.
Mount Looks to Take Another Step Under Donny Lind
The 2026-27 campaign will be Lind’s third season as Mount St. Mary’s head coach.
Lind immediately raised expectations in Emmitsburg when his first Mountaineers team won the 2025 MAAC championship, defeated American in the NCAA Tournament First Four and finished 23-13. Those 23 victories established a program record for wins during Mount St. Mary’s Division I era.
Last season was more difficult. Mount St. Mary’s finished 15-17 overall and 11-9 in conference play before Siena eliminated the Mountaineers from the conference tournament.
Now the Mount enters another season with an opportunity to climb back toward the top of the conference.
The league itself also has a new identity. The former Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference officially became the Metro Conference on July 1 after announcing a rebranding designed to simplify the league’s identity while maintaining its history.
The goal, however, remains the same: put together a strong regular season, earn favorable tournament positioning and make a run in Atlantic City.
The top 10 teams in the 13-team Metro will qualify for the 2027 conference tournament, scheduled for March 4-9 in Atlantic City.
With 10 league games at Knott Arena, a defending champion coming to Emmitsburg and the final two games of the regular season at home, Mount St. Mary’s will have plenty of opportunities to make its case as a Metro contender.
Maryland Sports Blog will continue to follow Mount St. Mary’s basketball throughout the 2026-27 season.
