Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel Basketball will travel to Texas A&M and the University of Houston after hosting one of the most elite teams in America in Michigan State at McAlister Field House according to the 2009-10 Basketball schedule released by the Athletics Department on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs will host 16 home games at McAlister Field House, including the College Insider.com Skip Prosser Classic which will include Savannah State, Central Connecticut State and UVA-Wise, adding two more non-Citadel games to be played at McAlister.
"We are excited that our schedule is finished and we can continue to prepare for the official start of practice on October 16." said Bulldog Head Coach Ed Conroy. "This schedule will be extremely challenging. Michigan State and West Virginia are going to have the chance to be as good as anybody in the country. Texas A&M will be a top 25 team. Houston should be picked to finish in the top three in Conference USA and as always, the Southern Conference will be one of the top mid-majors leagues in the country."
The season will tip-off on Nov. 13 when The Citadel hosts Kenyon College (Ohio). The Bulldogs will then welcome Charleston Southern back to McAlister Field House where they defeated the Bucs for the second consecutive time last season.
The Bulldogs will then travel to Springfield, Mo. to compete in the Hispanic College Fund Challenge against Eastern Michigan on Nov. 20, Missouri State on Nov. 21 and Maryland-Eastern Shore on Nov. 22. After leaving Missouri, the Bulldogs will travel to Charleston, W. Va. to take on the Mountaineers of West Virginia on Nov. 24.
"The Hispanic College Fund Challenge will be a good opportunity for our players to experience a Southern Conference Tournament style setting," Conroy said. "We will play three games in three days verses a Missouri Valley opponent, Mid-American opponent and a Middle Eastern Atlantic Conference team. I am eager to see how our players respond to this challenge."
The Citadel will return home to host the Skip Prosser Classic on Thanksgiving weekend before opening their conference schedule against Davidson on Dec. 3 and Georgia Southern on Dec. 5 at McAlister Field House. The Bulldogs will then host last year's national runner-up Michigan State on Dec. 7 before breaking for exams.
"Starting the Southern Conference schedule off at home with the regular season champs (Davidson) will be exciting for players, fans and the Cadets," Conroy added. "It will be a great stretch of basketball as we have our opening weekend of Southern Conference play and then on Monday we host one of the favorites to win the national championship in Michigan State."
Allen University, located in Columbia, S.C., will travel to Charleston on Dec. 16 for only their second meeting against The Citadel. The Bulldogs will then spend the first portion of their holiday break in Texas competing against the Big 12's Aggies on Dec. 19 and Conference USA's Houston Cougars on Dec. 21.
The New Year will open with a Jan. 2 matchup at Savannah State before The Citadel gets back into conference action on Jan. 6 at Appalachian State. The Bulldogs will return home for the first time in three weeks when they host cross-town rival College of Charleston on Jan. 9. One month later on Feb. 8, the two will meet again at the Carolina First Arena.
The Bulldogs will continue conference play primarily on Thursdays and Saturdays until the end of February. They will wrap-up the season with a trip to the upstate on Feb. 25 against Furman in Greenville and Feb. 27 at Wofford in Spartanburg.
"Our league should be outstanding from top to bottom this year as many of the teams featured young rosters last season," Conroy said. "We are excited about our newcomers and the group of players we return. Our staff is looking forward to building this team and the journey ahead."
All home games will tip-off at 7:05 p.m. with the exception of the Skip Prosser Classic which will start at 7:30 p.m. for The Citadel games and 5 p.m. for the non-Citadel games, the Dec. 5 matchup against Georgia Southern which will start at 3:05 p.m., and the Feb. 20 game against UNCG which will tip-off at 1 p.m. Dates and times are subject to change.
Season tickets are on sale now and individual tickets will go on sale in October. For more information on tickets, call (843) 953- DOGS (3647). All home games will be video and audio streamed through Bulldog Insider. For more information on Bulldog Insider or Bulldog Basketball, visit the official website of The Citadel Athletics, www.CitadelSports.com.
