Michigan basketball will play an exhibition in Grand Rapids

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - West Michigan will get a chance to see the National Champs play.

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team will play an exhibition in Grand Rapids on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026 when it takes on the University of Houston. The game is called The Battleground 2K26 and will be played at Van Andel Arena, a venue that holds 11,500 for basketball. 

Game time and ticket information have not been released. 

"We know we have fans across the state,” first-year coach Mike Boynton told West Michigan Ballers in August. “We don’t have a lot of opportunities to get on this side of the state. So it was a no-brainer for us. So the great Michigan fans on the west coast side of Michigan can come support us against a really, really good Houston team, coached by Kelvin Sampson.”

Boynton has ties to West Michigan. His wife Jenny Boynton is from Holland and graduated from West Ottawa High School.

Michigan, which released its non-conference schedule on Sept. 4, also will host exhibition games against Eastern Michigan University on Oct. 11 and Oregon State University on Oct. 16.