Michigan and Duke are set to face off again in the 2026-2027 basketball season, this time early in non-conference play. After the fireworks show these two teams put on display last season in Washington, D.C., the Wolverines and Blue Devils are hoping for another marquee matchup, but there has been a sudden change in where they will play.
Neither team is hosting as both will travel to a neutral site, but the original plan was for it to take place in Madison Square Garden. Now, that has suddenly changed. As reported by CBS Sports reporter Matt Norlander, Michigan vs. Duke will now take place in loanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins.
For the first time, the baseball field will host a basketball game. While the plans aren't finalized just yet, it is expected that they will be soon, marking this as a huge venue change.
Breaking: Next season's big Duke-Michigan game that was initially announced for MSG is being moved, sources told @CBSSports. The teams are finalizing plans to play at the home of the Miami Marlins. Yes, a baseball stadium.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) June 3, 2026
Here's the story behind the saga:https://t.co/tgG0WfPMOC
A media rights dispute is to blame for crazy venue change for Michigan vs. Duke
When Michigan and Duke faced off in Washington, D.C. last season, fans left that game believing it was a true preview of the National Championship, or at least a Final Four showdown. Michigan, of course, made it to the big game, but Duke was knocked out by UConn in the Final Four.
Now, Duke will have a chance at redemption, but who would have thought a baseball field, of all places, would be the site of the rematch? When the news broke of Michigan and Duke working on a deal to play again next season, it was before the Blue Devils announced their new multi-year deal with Amazon to pay the university millions of dollars in exchange for the rights to show three premium non-conference games. Duke is set to face UConn, Michigan, and Gonzaga in non-conference play next season.
Due to that deal with Amazon, the game had to be moved, or else the Blue Devils would have had to choose someone else for the premium non-conference matchup. Fox is the primary television partner with the Big Ten, so it holds joint territorial media ownership to all games in states where Big Ten teams play, including a few other adjacent states like New York, the primary media market for Rutgers. The ACC also has that deal in New York with Syracuse, a part of the conference, hence why the Michigan-Duke game was set to be played at MSG.
The problem is that when the deal was starting to be finalized, Michigan didn't have a deal with the Big Ten and the TV partners about the Duke and Amazon deal because the Blue Devils were running point. Due to this problem, the game is now being moved from MSG to Miami as neither team wanted to give up the big-time matchup.
A baseball field might seem like a strange place to play, especially with the Kaseya Center, home of the Miami, close by. The ties to loanDepot Park actually come from May's time at FAU and having a close relationship with Miami Marlins owner Bruce Sherman.
A baseball field may seem unorthodox, but at least it isn't an aircraft carrier like Michigan State once played on.
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