Shirk Center crowd - 2026 CCIW Men's Basketball Championship

Jimmy Naprstek/Kodiak Creative

Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational Schedule Released

Titans to play Yeshiva Saturday, Nov. 14, at 8 p.m.

6/18/2026 11:00:00 AM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team will open the 2026-27 season as host to another great field at the Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 14-15, inside the Shirk Center. The Titans will take on Yeshiva University in their season opener Saturday, Nov. 14, at 8 p.m. inside the Shirk Center. Benedictine University and Trinity University (Texas) will round out the field and square off in a 6 p.m. bout to kick off the tournament.

The tournament, which is sponsored by three-time First Team Academic All-America selection and 1977 Illinois Wesleyan graduate Bob Spear, is in its sixth year and has consistently treated the Bloomington-Normal community to top-tier #d3hoops matchups early in the season.

Yeshiva will return to the early season tournament, having played in the 2022 rendition. The Maccabees are one of two teams (UW-Oshkosh) to compete in the event multiple times. Trinity (Texas) will join Mary Hardin-Baylor as Lonestar state programs to travel to Bloomington for the event, while Benedictine is the first Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference member to compete in the field.

Illinois Wesleyan has won the tournament three times, with the Titans claiming the inaugural event as well as the two most recent. IWU edged out 17th-ranked UW-Oshkosh, 65-63, in 2021-22 and would go on to make a run into the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. UW-Stevens Point won the 2022 Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational, while Mary Hardin-Baylor topped the field in 2023. The Titans knocked off No. 24 Cal Lutheran (93-81) and No. 2 UW-Platteville (86-66) to hoist the title in 2024 before claiming the 2025 championship with wins over Illinois College (71-67) and UW-Oshkosh (75-68).

The winners of Saturday's games will compete for the tournament title Sunday, Nov. 15, at 4 p.m. The consolation final will take place at 2 p.m. All four of the weekend's games will be live streamed on the CCIW Network. The full schedule, including links to live stream and live stats for the games, can be found by clicking here.

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