Duke and Michigan’s non-conference men’s basketball matchup, previously scheduled for Dec. 21, has been canceled, according to multiple reports on Friday, July 24.
The two powerhouse programs had originally agreed to play at Madison Square Garden in New York City before trying to move the game to the Miami Marlins’ stadium. Neither team could come to an agreement, according to the reports, and Duke will now play Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 21 instead.
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A request for comment by USA TODAY Sports to Duke and Michigan was not immediately returned at the time of publication.
REQUIRED READING: Duke-Michigan basketball game up in the air over broadcast rights
Duke originally negotiated a three-game TV deal with Amazon Prime Video in April after the game had been scheduled. That complicated the matchup for Michigan, as the Big Ten has a broadcast partnership with Fox. The Big Ten believed Michigan should receive a cut of the revenue for the game with Madison Square Garden being in the conference’s TV footprint.
“Hopefully it’ll be resolved,” Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said at Big Ten spring meetings in May. “It’s a great college basketball game, given who we are, who they are in college basketball. I love the opportunity to play them, but we just have to make sure everything was right.”
Duke and Michigan played each other last season, ending in a 68-63 win by the Blue Devils in Washington, D.C., over the eventual national champions. That game was a part of a separate game not broadcast by Amazon Prime Video, but was rather displayed on ESPN.
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UCLA coach Mick Cronin said there was no shot the game would be played when asked at Big Ten spring meetings.
“No chance it goes through,” he said. “Not when Fox has paid hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars for the rights.”
Former Michigan coach Dusty May has also since left the Wolverines for the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, which also could’ve played a role in the game being canceled. Michigan has since elevated assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr. to full-time head coach after previously appointing him as its interim coach.
Both Duke and Michigan are expected to be among the top teams in the country next season, as both return talented rosters from runs to the Elite Eight or beyond in 2025.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Duke-Michigan basketball game canceled for 2026 amid media rights dispute
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