Report: Alabama Basketball Schedules Series with Illinois

The Crimson Tide will play Illinois the next two seasons, the first in Birmingham, the next in Chicago.

Mar 2, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama head coach Nate Oats cheers on his team as they play / Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

Alabama has added another major game to its 2024-25 non-conference schedule. The Crimson Tide will play Illinois this December in Birmingham, per CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein. The game will be the first in a two-year series, with Alabama traveling to Chicago to play in the 2025-26 non-conference schedule.

Alabama was originally slated to play Arizona in Birmingham on Dec. 18 in this year's C.M. Newton Classic, but that game has been pushed back to the 2025-26 season per a report from The Tuscaloosa News. That game will serve as the return game for the Alabama-Arizona series that began in Phoenix in December of 2023.

As always with Nate Oats' teams, the Crimson Tide has a very difficult non-conference schedule on deck once again. Yesterday, Alabama was reported to be participating in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, a Thanksgiving week tournament that features an NIL payout for participants and another NIL payout for the winner. Houston, Notre Dame, Rutgers, San Diego State, Oregon and Texas A&M are other teams reported to be particpating in the NIL tournament.

Other games on Alabama's upcoming schedule include a home game against Big East power Creighton on Dec. 14, a to-be-determined opponent in the second annual ACC/SEC Challenge, and an rumored road game against St. John's that has yet to be confirmed.

The 2024-25 college basketball season will begin on Nov. 4. Alabama's opening day opponent has yet to be announced, but more scheduling news will continue to be released throughout the summer. If typical trends continue, Alabama's first game will likely be against a mid-major opponent.