Charlie Sheridan | Sports Writer
Baylor women’s basketball announced its 14-game nonconference schedule Thursday, featuring a trip to Paris and a showdown with former conference rival Texas.
The Bears will start off the season with an exhibition game, now allowed under new NCAA rules, against West Texas A&M on Oct. 25 at the Foster Pavilion, where fans will get an early look at the team.
Come November, the team will travel across the pond to face off against Duke in Paris on Nov. 3. The Blue Devils are coming off a 29-8 season with an Elite Eight appearance. The game will be part of the Oui-Play Tournament happening in the City of Lights, with tip-off at 11 a.m. CST (6 p.m. local time) on ESPN.
Following the trip to France, Baylor will host Lindenwood on Nov. 9 before heading out to Las Vegas to face UNLV on Nov. 14. The Bears will welcome Le Moyne to Waco two days later.
The following week, BU will compete in the WBCA Showcase at Walt Disney World Resort’s ESPN Wide World of Sports. The Bears will meet Iowa on Nov. 20 before facing Davidson on Nov. 22.
Back to Waco for a five-game homestead in Foster Pavilion, Baylor will host Louisiana Tech on Nov. 26, followed by Grambling State on Nov. 30, Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 3 and UTSA on Dec. 7. The stretch will be capped off with the annual Future Bears Day game against Alabama State on Dec. 9.
One of the biggest highlights of the nonconference slate comes five days later, when Baylor heads to Fort Worth for the Sprouts Farmers Market espnW Invitational. The Bears will face longtime rival Texas Dec. 14 at Dickies Arena.
Texas comes into the matchup on the heels of a stellar 2024‑25 season, finishing with a 35‑4 overall record and a dominant 15‑1 mark in SEC regular‑season play, sharing the top spot in their first year in the league.
The matchup also continues one of the longest-running rivalries in women’s college basketball. The rivalry has regularly featured Top 25 showdowns, Big 12 titles, and postseason implications, making it one of the most anticipated games on the schedule each year.
This year’s game will mark the teams’ 112th meeting, reigniting a rivalry that went on pause in 2024-25. Last season, with Texas competing in the SEC, was the first time the Bears and the Longhorns didn’t play at least twice in a season since 1975.
The Bears will close out nonconference play back in Waco on Dec. 18 against Southern. The Big 12 has yet to release its conference schedule, though its scheduling matrix lists three home-and-home opponents: Houston, Iowa State and TCU.
