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Mississippi Rebels and Xavier Musketeers players run by the logo at mid-court during the second round of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament
It’s been close to a decade since college basketball fans had the chance to welcome the season with a slate of games that transpired over the course of a full day. ESPN discontinued that beloved tradition in 2017, but it’s coming back thanks to the mid-majors that will be participating in a rebooted version.
There’s something special about the first day of a new season for the teams and fans who head into a campaign with a clean record and the ability to tell themselves this is the year everything comes together before being forced to grapple with evidence to the contrary.
The start of November has historically marked the beginning of college basketball season, and in 2008, ESPN kicked things off with a bang when it aired a grand total of 14 games that were ultimately responsible for 33 consecutive hours of programming across its networks.
That marathon became an annual tradition that was discontinued before things got underway in 2017, as The Worldwide Leader cited the “programming challenges” that meant you could no longer post up on your couch and soak in a literal day of college basketball.
Thankfully, you’ll be able to do exactly that once again in a few months.
The 2026-27 college basketball season will begin with a nearly 24-hour marathon you can watch on YouTube
ESPN may have been unwilling to continue to shoulder the logistical challenges that accompany that kind of undertaking, but Field of 68 has decided to do exactly that with the slate of games it announced it will be tackling to usher in the season on Monday, November 2nd.
IT’S BACK 🏀@TheFieldOf68 Opening Day Marathon returns on Monday, Nov. 2nd at midnight ET 🔥
16 teams. 8 games. 24 straight hours of hoops. pic.twitter.com/QWas3gRcS9
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) August 11, 2026
On Tuesday, the online network revealed the 16 teams that will be participating in eight games in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Rock Hill, South Carolina that will be responsible for what it positions as “24 straight hours of hoops” (although that number will probably be a bit closer to 22 if you don’t account for the postgame show that will follow the showdown between Furman and Bethune-Cookman at 8 P.M.).
High Point and Liberty will kick things off exactly one minute after midnight in Rock Hill, which will also be the site of a showdown between Grambling and Northern Illinois that will tip off at 3 A.M. and one featuring Appalachian State and Merrimack that will get underway at 6 A.M.
It’s hard to envy the players who will be competing in those contests (which will be broadcast by Field of 68 on YouTube and X), but we thank them for their sacrifice.