As the fall semester begins, the Miami University football, volleyball, field hockey and soccer teams open their 2025 seasons looking to capture a Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship. In October, the hockey and men’s and women’s basketball teams will look to succeed in their non-conference slates before beginning MAC and National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) play in December.
Incoming and returning students have many chances to support the Miami sports teams this fall semester. Here are five must-watch home games for the RedHawks.
Volleyball vs. Ohio State University (Sept. 3)
Dan Gwitt enters his second season as the RedHawks’ head volleyball coach. Early in the season, Miami will face the Ohio State University Buckeyes at Millett Hall for a midweek matchup.
The RedHawks open the season with an exhibition game against Cleveland State University on Aug. 23 before heading to Louisville, Kentucky, for the Bellarmine Classic from Aug. 29-30. The match against Ohio State on Sept. 3 will also serve as the home opener for the season.
The meeting between the two Ohio schools will be the first since 2019, when the Buckeyes took two early sets to finish with a 3-1 win over the RedHawks. Miami is 4-12 against Ohio State overall.
With one year at Miami under his belt and six new players on the roster, Gwitt and the RedHawks have an opportunity to snap a seven-game losing streak against Ohio State, as well as set the trajectory for the rest of the season going into conference play at the end of September.
Football vs. University of Las Vegas (Sept. 20)
The Miami football team kicks off the 2025 season with two road matchups against Big Ten opponents. Following their game against Rutgers University, the RedHawks return to Oxford for the 2025 home opener against the University of Las Vegas Rebels, the first time the two will face.
The RedHawks are looking to replicate their 2024 success that brought them to their second-straight appearance in the MAC championship as well as a win at the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl.
Dequan Finn, Miami’s new quarterback after Brett Gabbert graduated in May, will have his first chance to show the crowd at Yager Stadium what he can do. Finn joins the roster alongside several wide receivers from the transfer portal, including Deion Colze from Notre Dame University and Keith Reynolds from the University of Washington.
Miami’s early performance in its non-conference slate will preview how well the RedHawks will compete against MAC opponents later in the year.
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Field hockey vs. Michigan State University (Sept. 21)
The Miami field hockey team brought home its seventh-straight MAC championship last season, and head coach Iñako Puzo’s ninth overall.
Following their first game against a MAC opponent (Bellarmine on Sept. 19), the RedHawks will welcome the Michigan State University Spartans, a team that they lost to in overtime last year, to Oxford on Sept. 21.
Miami visited Michigan for two games against the University of Michigan Wolverines and the Spartans at the end of September in 2024. Following a 3-2 defeat to the Wolverines, Miami traveled to East Lansing two days later for another Big Ten matchup.
The RedHawks struck first against Michigan State, but the Spartans evened the score 1-1 in the fourth quarter to force overtime. After a scoreless first overtime period, Michigan State found the back of Miami’s net to end the game.
This year, the Spartans will visit Oxford, marking the fifth-straight year that the two will play. Miami is 7-10-1 against Michigan State, with its last win also coming in overtime in 2023.
Hockey vs. Arizona State University (Oct. 31 & Nov. 1)
The RedHawks will open the 2025-26 hockey season with a home series against Ferris State University on Oct. 3-4. Following two away series, Miami will return to Goggin Ice Center for two games against the Arizona State University Sun Devils, their initial series of NCHC play.
The first game on Halloween night will also be a welcome-back for former RedHawk Johnny Waldron, who transferred to Arizona State following the 2024-25 season. He totalled 56 points in 93 career games with Miami and will return with a program that finished second in the NCHC last season behind eventual national champion Western Michigan University.
Head coach Anthony Noreen embarks on his second year with Miami in 2025-26. His roster, as of now, includes 18 first years – a number that incorporates the three goaltenders and players who moved to college hockey from Canada – and seven transfer players from other NCAA schools, along with the nine returners, making a total of 34 players.
The roster will have to be trimmed down to 26 before the start of the academic year, which will likely include sending a few underage players back to junior hockey for another season and, potentially, not inviting back a couple of players from last season.
The RedHawks are looking to return the hockey program to former glory after almost a decade of underwhelming seasons with an almost completely revamped roster.
Football vs. Toledo (Nov. 12)
Midweek MACtion is one way for the conference to stand out during the football season. Starting in November, MAC teams will face each other on Tuesdays and Wednesdays when no other college teams are playing.
The RedHawks will have their first MACtion game with a Battle of the Bricks matchup at Ohio University on Nov. 4. The following Wednesday, Miami will welcome the University of Toledo Rockets to Yager for a night game on Nov. 12.
The late matchup will be a highly-contested one between the No. 1 Rockets and No. 2 RedHawks, according to the head coaches preseason poll. It will also be a return-to-form for Finn, who played five seasons for Toledo.
The Miami-Toledo matchup is one that fans should look forward to each year. Miami fell 30-20 last year to open conference play before winning seven straight. The two teams met twice in 2023, with the Rockets taking the regular season matchup and Miami winning in Detroit for its second MAC championship under head coach Chuck Martin.
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