Copyright SB Nation
Women’s college basketball will return to Paris, France in 2026, marking the fourth consecutive season that the sport has held at least one game in the City of Lights during the opening week of the season. This year’s games feature Duke versus Baylor, followed by Vanderbilt taking on Cal. In 2024, USC faced Ole Miss while UCLA took on Louisville. In 2023, Notre Dame opened against South Carolina. At least one other ACC team is making its French debut next season, and they’ll be taking on a team from the SEC. North Carolina will face Oklahoma in the Oui Play in Paris on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. The matchup was first reported by the Tar Heel Tribune, and later confirmed by SB Nation. While neither the Tar Heels or the Sooners have publicly announced that they’ll be going to Paris next season, the company that organizes the Oui Play games — Complete Sports Management — is already marketing VIP travel packages to both fanbases on its website. The Oui Play stage is a big one for the programs playing in it, as they typically get great time-slots on opening day on ESPN. Back in May, according to emails obtained by SB Nation via a public records request, North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart was lobbying UNC’s administrators to make a trip to Paris happen. “It will be an incredibly important and monumental experience for our team and brand. As a reminder: (four) ACC teams will have already been by next year,” Banghart wrote in an email to athletic director Bubba Cunningham and senior associate athletic director Robbi Pickeral Evans on May 22. “We have earned a Top 10 ranking and would really love to play in this to continue to elevate the program… I hope you can help make this experience happen for a program that has earned it.” North Carolina and Oklahoma last played each other in December 2023 in a neutral site game in Charlotte, N.C. as part of the Jumpman Invitational, with UNC taking a victory behind 21 points and six rebounds from Deja Kelly. Both the Tar Heels and Sooners are outfitted by the Jordan Brand. And both teams have highly touted freshmen on their roster this year who could make the Paris game the beginning of their sophomore encores. UNC’s Nyla Brooks is a 6-foot-1 guard from Waldorf, Maryland and was ranked 13th in ESPN’s top 100 recruits for 2025. She was a McDonald’s and Jordan Brand All-American, and someone who Banghart is very excited about. “She’s gifted. She’s able to get to her spot. She’s tough. I mean — I’m trying to be patient so I don’t just give away all the things I love about her, but she is just such a bright spot,” Banghart told reporters this summer. Meanwhile, Oklahoma is armed with one of the most hyped freshmen in the country, Aaliyah Chavez. She was the MVP of the Jordan Brand Classic and Gatorade’s National High School Player of the Year. Chavez has already guaranteed an Elite Eight trip for Oklahoma this season. In that Jordan Brand Classic, Brooks traded shots with Chavez, finishing with 28 points and 10 rebounds. They’ll get the chance to go head-to-head in Paris next season.
