Get set Red Sea – the Stags are coming back to Alumni Hall.
Fairfield released its men’s and women’s basketball schedules for the 2006-2007 season on Friday at a press conference held at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport.
Both teams will play select games on campus this season, at Alumni Hall. The games will be the first games played there since 2001. The men’s team will open its season there against American University on Nov. 10, and play St. Francis College (N.Y.) there on Dec. 2. The women’s team will host the University of Richmond at Alumni Hall on Nov. 11.
“After talking with other MAAC coaches about playing games in Alumni, it sounded like they were scared,” said women’s Head Coach Dianne Nolan. “Our opponents detest playing there because the crowd is right on top of you.”
“It’s an exciting place to watch a game. You can feel the floor, feel the action and really become part of the game.”
Nolan said there is no extra pressure on her team to perform in Alumni Hall and that they represent Fairfield by performing to the best of their ability everywhere they play.
“I’ve heard great things about the intensity of Alumni Hall,” said men’s Head Coach Ed Cooley. “The fans deserve it and we are hoping to translate that energy right back to our games here [at Harbor Yard].”
In addition to the return to Alumni Hall, both teams announced challenging 2006-2007 schedules with multiple in-season tournaments and some national coverage.
Fairfield will also host all MAAC schools in early March for the 2007 men’s and women’s MAAC tournaments.
“We have a very ambitious schedule set for this season,” said University President Jeffery von Arx, S.J., “but I can already hear the Red Sea cheering for our teams.”
The men’s team will face 13 teams with winning records last season. The average winning percentage of all the opponents is an impressive .563 winning percentage. The men will appear on ESPNU Jan. 9 at Siena, and Jan. 26 at home against Saint Peter’s. Look for the men on MSG, Feb. 11 at Loyola.
The men will also play one in-season tournament, the Hispanic College Fund Classic hosted by UConn. Fairfield opens against Mississippi on Nov. 17, followed by UConn on Nov. 18, and Central Arkansas on Nov. 19. All games will be played at the Hartford Civic Center.
“I am trying to build a team,” said Cooley of the impending season. “We are a young team, desperate for an identity.”
“I am looking forward to the challenges that await this program in the upcoming season and in the future.”
The women’s home conference opener comes almost halfway through the season, on Jan. 6, when the Stags battle MAAC champion Marist.
The last 11 games will be played against conference teams, including a televised game against Niagara on ESPNU.
The women will also play an in-season tournament in North Carolina for the Lady Pirates Classic.
Their first round opponent will be Florida State, who made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year. Then they will play either host East Carolina or North Dakota State.
Both squads open their season with an exhibition game against the University of Bridgeport, Wednesday, Nov. 1, at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
The doubleheader will open with the women at 6 p.m. and the men at 8 p.m. The women have never lost a game to Bridgeport, with a record of 11-0.
The men have won 40 of their 53 meetings, the last game a win, coming in the 1980-1981 season.
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