women’s basketball will host Wake Forest on Dec. 3 in the 2026 SEC/ACC Women’s Challenge, the league announced Thursday.
It’ll be a home game for the Razorbacks, who carry a 2-1 record in the event heading into their fourth appearance.
The Demon Deacons come in off a 14-18 season in which they went 4-14 in ACC play.
Wake Forest did earn a Women’s NIT bid but dropped a first-round contest to Maryland-Eastern Shore 59-48, ending the year on a losing note.
The two programs don’t have much history together.
Their lone meeting came at the 2020 Gulf Coast Classic in Fort Myers, Fla., where the Hogs put up 98 points and won comfortably, 98-82.
Wake Forest’s experience in the Challenge is equally limited. The Demon Deacons took part in just the inaugural 2023 edition, hosting Texas A&M but falling 81-57 in that matchup.
Arkansas in the SEC/ACC Women’s Challenge
The Razorbacks have built a solid book in this event. It started with a road win in 2023, when Arkansas went into Tallahassee and topped then-No. 15 Florida State 71-58.
The Hogs followed that with a home victory over Boston College on Dec. 5, 2024, winning 75-64 at Fayetteville.
The only blemish came last season.
Arkansas traveled to Dallas to face SMU on Dec. 4, 2025 and dropped a 78-63 decision, their first loss in Challenge play.
That puts the program at 2-1 going into the Dec. 3 home game against Wake Forest, a chance to get back to even on the road and move above .500 in the series overall.
Playing in front of a home crowd at Bud Walton Arena gives Arkansas a built-in edge it didn’t have in that SMU loss.
The 2026-27 schedule is still taking shape, but the Challenge date is now locked in.
It’s one of the earlier marquee non-conference matchups fans can circle on the calendar heading into the new season.
