San Diego State's opponent revealed for Bill Walton Classic at Pechanga Arena

The San Diego State men's basketball team had a date and venue for the Bill Walton Classic on Nov. 7 at Pechanga Arena.

Now it has an opponent: Colorado.

The Buffaloes are, as promised by promoters, a power conference foe for the Aztecs in the inaugural game honoring San Diego native Bill Walton, who passed away in May 2024. The question is whether a program that is 31-37 over the last two seasons and has reached the NCAA Tournament only twice in the last decade has enough allure to fill the 14,500-seat arena.

The game is not part of SDSU's season-ticket package. Tickets are available at billwaltonclassic.com and start at $80, including service fees.

The event was announced April 22 in the gym at Helix High School, Walton's alma mater. Sources said a different Big 12 team, TCU, was the initial target before backing out of what essentially is a home game for the Aztecs.

"At the end of the day, people are looking for good games," coach Brian Dutcher said at the time. "It's like us. We played a neutral game (last December) in Phoenix against Arizona. It didn't feel very neutral, but we did it. There will be a coach out there, hopefully from a power conference, who wants to come here and play a game in San Diego against San Diego State, a good opponent.

"Not everybody's ducking us. Somebody will play us in the event. I know they will."

Colorado is coached by Tad Boyle, a respected figure in the sport who will be in his 17th season at Boulder. He has had several 20-win teams but never reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, something SDSU has done four times since 2011.

The Aztecs and Buffaloes have played six times in men's basketball but not since a 78-72 SDSU win in January 1976 … at Pechanga Arena, then known as the Sports Arena. The series is tied 3-3.

The Nov. 7 game will be the second of the season for the Aztecs, who are expected to open three days earlier against Cal State Fullerton. It is currently the fifth power-conference opponent on SDSU's nonconference schedule, with three coming at the Players Era event in Las Vegas (starting with Iowa State on Nov. 24) plus a neutral-court game in the Palm Springs area against BYU on Dec. 19.

Dutcher has also mentioned two potential games at 6,000-seat Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, one of which could be against a power-conference team.

Walton played at UCLA, the Portland Trail Blazers, San Diego Clippers and Boston Celtics. But he did have connections to Colorado, befriending a restaurant owner in Boulder and eating there whenever he called Buffs games in the old Pac-12.

"He's loved in Boulder so much because he loved Boulder so much," former Colorado player Evan Battey told the local CBS affiliate after Walton died. "So the love was always reciprocated. I'm just sad to see him go."

The basketball program has a famed ping pong table, and Walton was a regular participant when in town. His signature is still on it.

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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 10:17 AM.