2026-27 College Basketball Travel Distances: Every D1 Team Overview

Sure! Here’s a summary of the key points from the document on college basketball travel for the 2026-27 season:

Overview of Travel Mileage for Division I Teams

• Total Travel: Division I men’s teams will log approximately 4.4 million miles.
• Average Travel: The average team will travel about 12,185 miles.
• Extreme Cases:
  • Most Travel: Hawai’i—34,794 miles.
  • Least Travel: Saint Peter’s—3,420 miles.

Key Findings

• Travel Disparity: Power conference teams travel on average 44% more than mid-major teams (15,879 vs. 11,012 miles).
• Conference Averages:
  • Most Miles: Mountain West—21,199 miles per team.
  • Least Miles: MAAC—6,281 miles per team.
• Travel Extremes:
  • 36 teams travel over 20,000 miles and 143 remain under 10,000 miles.

Notable Teams

• Top Travelers:

  1. Hawai’i (34,794 miles)
  2. Bethune-Cookman (27,806 miles)
  3. Seattle U (27,707 miles)
  4. Arizona (27,624 miles)
  5. Washington (25,731 miles)

• Lowest Travelers:

  1. Saint Peter’s (3,420 miles)
  2. Columbia (3,859 miles)
  3. UC Santa Barbara (3,912 miles)

Travel Details

• Longest Trips: The longest recorded trip is Providence’s Maui Invitational at 10,065 miles.
• Trip Frequency: Hawai’i’s total miles come from frequent flying due to its geographical constraints; its trips average about 5,799 miles each.

Conclusion

The travel landscape in college basketball for the 2026-27 season illustrates significant disparities mainly dictated by geography, with teams from Hawai’i and other western states racking up high mileage, while teams in densely packed conferences experience far less.

This data can inform insights regarding logistical challenges, scheduling, and the overall impact of travel on performance.