Report: Louisville agrees to nonconference games with Cincinnati, Memphis

Louisville already has some top matchups either reported or confirmed on the schedule for 2025-2026. The Cardinals now have two more quality non-conference games against teams, with one series being for the next two years and another for the next six.

Per Jon Rothstein, Louisville has scheduled a series with both Memphis and Cincinnati. The Cardinals will play the Tigers in a home-and-home for now over the next six years, with that news having since been announced by the two programs, while they’ll play the Bearcats at neutral sites over the next pair.

“Louisville and Memphis have agreed to a six-year series, starting on December 13th at the KFC Yum Center, per release,” Rothstein tweeted on Thursday.

“NEWS: Louisville and Cincinnati are finalizing an agreement to play a two-year neutral site series, according to multiple sources,” reported Rothstein on Friday.

For this season, Louisville will play Memphis at the KFC Yum! Center on December 13th and then Cincinnati at some point of the non-conference at Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati. The Cardinals will pair those games with non-conference matchups against Kentucky (Nov. 11th), at Tennessee (Dec. 16th), whichever other SEC team they’ll play in the SEC/ACC Challenge, and a reported game against Indiana in Indianapolis before their new-look schedule in the ACC.

Next season, the Cardinals and Bearcats will play in their former home venue in Freedom Hall. Louisville will go to the FedEx Forum – with no venues yet for the remaining four games between them through ’30-’31.

Louisville and Memphis used to play every season, whether in the non-conference or in conference play, starting back in 1948. They haven’t played consistently since 2013-2014, with only one game between them since then in the Gotham Classic, an 81-72 win for Louisville, in December of 2017. With that, the Cardinals have a 54-36 record all-time against the Tigers.

Memphis is through seven years of the program’s tenure under Penny Hardaway (162-68). The Tigers are coming off their best season of those in his coaching career at 29-6 overall, winning both titles in the AAC despite a first-round exit from the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Louisville and Cincinnati used to meet in each season as well, also in and out of conference, going all the way back to 1920. The two hadn’t met that regularly since ’13-’14, with their last game against one another being during the 2022 Maui Invitational when Cincy won 81-62. The Cardinals then lead that all-time series too at 56-44.

Cincinnati has been through four years with its head coach in Wes Miller (82-59). This past season disappointed after a ranking early on, as the Bearcats finished with their worst record of his tenure at 19-16.

This all comes after a great first season for Pat Kelsey at Louisville. The Cardinals went 27-8, their best record in a decade, as they contended for both conference titles and, despite their own first-round exit, made it back into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the 2020s. Kelsey will now have a top-ranked team to play against this schedule for next year with a roster that’ll feature a few key returners, a trio of Top 25 transfers, and a Five-Star+ freshman.

Louisville has gotten back to the level of play it wants to be at through one season under Kelsey. The Cardinals are now getting back to some opponents from their past to play against with these announcements and reports about their future games against Memphis and Cincinnati, respectively.