The Buffs take on the Dons on November 27.
The Colorado Buffaloes’ early-season tournament is no longer up in the air, as the 2025 Acrisure Holiday Classic has just finalized the schedule.
This ‘series’ is a bit wacky. The Buffs will play their first game at home, a November 21 matchup with the UC Davis Aggies, before traveling to Palm Desert, California to join a field of 22 teams. But those teams don’t really interact with each other, as there’s no tournament like in Maui or Lynchburg, VA, where a freshman McKinley Wright IV can ball out on a FloHoops livestream.
Rather than a single- or double-elimination bracket, the teams competing at the Acrisure Arena — home of the Coachella Valley Firebirds — are set up in four-team pods. The Buffs match up against the San Francisco Dons, then play the winner (or loser) of Nevada-Washington. There’s no prize for the winners, no Tad Boyle cutting down the nets, and no discounts on Acrisure’s insurance and business solutions.
What this tournament does offer is national broadcasting. When the Buffs take on the Dons on Nov. 27 at 12 PM (MT), they will have CBS Sports Networks cameras airing every 24-hour second violation. And when CU moves on to Nevada or Washington, two prestigious flagship universities, it will be TruTV capturing the sub-40% shooting from the field.
Your first chance to see the 2025-26 Buffs will be October 19, when the host NAIA power Grace College for an exhibition. The first official games will be against Montana State (Nov. 3) and Eastern Washington (Nov. 8) before Colorado takes on the Providence Friars (Nov. 14) in Kim English’s return to Boulder.
Tickets are not yet on sale but can be later found on CU’s official website.