The first game of a new era is set.
Missouri women’s basketball will open its 2025-26 season — and Kellie Harper will lead her first game as the Tigers’ head coach — against Central Arkansas on Monday, Nov. 3 at Mizzou Arena, the Tribune learned after obtaining a competition contract through an open records request.
Nov. 3 is the first day teams can schedule nonconference games in the 2025-26 college basketball season, meaning the Central Arkansas matchup will be the first game of the Harper tenure.
According to the competition contract, Missouri will pay Central Arkansas a total of $25,000 for the matchup.
The SEC also announced the conference opponents for each of its member institutions Tuesday — and Harper will be heading back to her old stomping grounds.
Missouri will travel to face Tennessee, where Harper was the head coach from 2019-24, as part of its 16-game 2026 SEC slate. The Tigers also will travel to face South Carolina, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.
Mizzou will host Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas A&M, Texas and Oklahoma. The Tigers will play Arkansas both at Mizzou Arena and on the road.
On MU’s nonconference slate, there are now four known games, although only one other contest, beyond the UCA matchup, has an official date: California on Thursday, Dec. 4 at Mizzou Arena in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
According to contracts obtained by the Tribune via an open records request, Missouri women’s basketball will face Tulane on the road in New Orleans on a still-to-be-decided date as part of the return leg of a home-and-home series that started last year.
Mizzou will also participate in an event called the 28.5 Shootout hosted by the Missouri Valley Youth Services. It’s unclear when that event will take place or who else will be participating.
Harper was hired in March after the program parted ways with longtime head coach Robin Pingeton, who now coaches at Wisconsin.
Most recently, Harper was fired from Tennessee after the 2023-24 season after making four straight NCAA Tournament appearances but never progressing past the Sweet 16. She spent the past year out of coaching while doing some broadcasting work with SEC Network. Harper has also led Missouri State, NC State and Western Carolina to the Big Dance in her coaching career.
The Tigers have added six transfers to join the team this offseason.
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