The 2025-26 Winnipeg Wesmen Canada West basketball season will kick off with a one-game home-opener against a well-known rival.

The Wesmen men's and women's basketball teams will open conference play at home against the Brandon Bobcats Oct. 26 at the Duckworth Centre, the conference announced Wednesday in unveiling the schedules for the upcoming season. 

The schedule looks similar to the 2024-25 format when the Wesmen went on the road to Brandon to open the season. Winnipeg will play in-province rivals Brandon and Manitoba both three times in conference play. The Wesmen will head to Brandon Jan. 9-10 as conference play resumes for the season's second half.

They will face Manitoba Dec. 5 at the Investors Group Athletic Centre and then play a home-and-home with the Bisons Jan. 29 and Jan. 31, the latter of which will be at the Duckworth Centre. 

As part of a new-look Duckworth Challenge, each of the four basketball games in January will count towards the school totals in the annual crosstown clash. More details around the Duckworth Challenge will be announced in-season. 

The Wesmen will play five of their 10 games in the first semester at home and have a first-half bye on the Nov. 14-15 weekend. 

Winnipeg's first road trip will be in Week 2 when the Wesmen head to Edmonton to take on the MacEwan Griffins. 

Other teams the Wesmen will host are the Mount Royal Cougars (Nov. 7-8), who will return to the Duckworth for the first time since 2020, and the Lethbridge Pronghorns (Jan. 23-24), who are making their first trip to Winnipeg since November 2016. Alberta and Regina are the other home weekends for Winnipeg. Lethbridge and Regina back-to-back represents the longest stretch of home games for the season. 

FULL SCHEDULE
Oct. 26 vs Brandon
Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at MacEwan
Nov. 7-8 vs Mount Royal
Nov. 21-22 at Calgary
Nov. 28-29 vs Alberta
Dec. 5 at Manitoba 
Jan. 9-10 at Brandon
Jan. 16-17 vs Regina
Jan. 23-24 vs Lethbridge
Jan. 29 at Manitoba
Jan. 31 vs Manitoba
Feb. 6-7 at Saskatchewan