The Nebraska men's basketball team officially added two high major opponents to its 2021-22 schedule Monday, and at least one more is likely on the way.
The Huskers announced Monday morning they will host Colorado on Halloween in a charity exhibition game to raise money for a trio of Lincoln nonprofit charities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Later in the day, it was announced NU will travel to North Carolina State on Dec. 1 for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
NU is also expected to announce a neutral site game against an SEC school in the coming days.
The Huskers and Buffaloes will meet at noon on Oct. 31 at Pinnacle Bank Arena, with proceeds from the contest going to the TeamMates mentoring program, the YWCA of Lincoln for its Employ402 program and the Nebraska Greats Foundation.
The game will be included in 2021-22 season-ticket packages, while single-game tickets for the matchup, if available, will be announced at a later date.
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"Over the past year, we have sought out ways for our program to make a positive impact in the community, and this charity game against Colorado allows us to directly help those in Lincoln who have been directly affected by COVID-19," NU coach Fred Hoiberg said in a news release. "We appreciate coach (Tad) Boyle and his team for coming to Lincoln. I think it will be a matchup our fans will be excited to see and allows both teams a chance to gain valuable experience prior to the start of the regular season."
Nebraska will make a return trip to Boulder in 2022 in a similar charity exhibition.
It will be the first meeting between the teams since March 2011, when the programs met in the Big 12 regular-season finale before Nebraska moved to the Big Ten and Colorado went to the Pac-12.
Colorado is coming off a 23-9 season when it reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Buffaloes return two key players from that squad in honorable-mention all-Pac-12 pick Evan Battey and 31-game starter Eli Parquet. The game will also be a matchup of two elite recruiting classes, with Colorado's incoming class ranked 11th nationally by 247 Sports.
"We are excited to bring the Buffs to Lincoln and compete against a familiar foe from our days in both the Big 12 and Big Eight," Boyle said. "Coach Hoiberg has his program poised for future success and will be a great test for our young team. More importantly, we are honored to help raise money for various Lincoln charities who have been negatively affected by the recent pandemic. We look forward to the Cornhuskers returning the favor to the Boulder community next year."
The Colorado game will be the first of two for Nebraska against former Big 12 foes. The Huskers will host Kansas State on Dec. 19.
Nebraska's matchup against NC State will be the first-ever meeting between the teams, and a rare matchup in any sport between the schools.
The game, set for Dec. 1, will see NU go against former Husker guard Thomas Allen, a Raleigh, North Carolina, native who transferred back to his home-state school after spending two seasons in Lincoln.
Allen started 16 games for NC State last season before suffering a season-ending ankle injury.
Another NU-NC State connection is Bobby Lutz, who spent the previous two seasons at Nebraska as a special assistant to the head coach before leaving this spring. Lutz spent five seasons at NC State as an assistant coach and associate head coach.
NC State went 14-11 last season, losing to Colorado State in the second round of the NIT. The Wolfpack is set to return four of its top six scorers from last season.
NU and NC State have met twice in football, but not since 1973. The schools' baseball teams have played once, a Nebraska win in 2006.
The matchup will be televised on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU, with network and start time announced at a later date.