ATLANTA — The ASUN Conference announced changes to the 2020-21 women's basketball schedule on Tuesday afternoon. The league, which boasts Bellarmine University as its newest member, will maintain its 16-game schedule, but conduct it with a single-site format.
In the new format, league teams square off against one another in a two-game series on the same weekend. Unanimously recommended by the Athletics Administrators Committee and supported by the athletic trainers and the ASUN Medical Advisory Board, the ASUN Presidents' Council unanimously approved the new schedule. The amended format dramatically reduces the amount of contact among all league teams to minimize the risk of spreading the coronavirus and incidence of COVID-19.
"This scheduling model gives our teams and student-athletes the greatest chance to complete a full slate of conference games," stated ASUN Commissioner Ted Gumbart. "The health and safety of our student-athletes and our university communities remain at the forefront of all our decisions on athletic competition. We recognize the possibility of a competitive interruption due to the pandemic, but this plan provides the greatest opportunity for our teams to compete safely."
Bellarmine will bounce back and forth between two-game sets at home and away throughout January and February. The Knights' first-ever ASUN weekend is slated for Jan. 9-10 at Lipscomb. Bellarmine will host its first-ever ASUN home games Jan. 16-17 against Florida Gulf Coast.
Bellarmine will head to Stetson for Jan. 23-24 contests before concluding January by welcoming Kennesaw State on Jan. 30-31.
Bellarmine begins February with a road trip to Jacksonville for Feb. 6-7 games and then returns home to host North Florida on Feb. 13-14. The Knights travel to North Alabama for Feb. 20-21 matchups before concluding the regular season at home Feb. 27-28 against Liberty.
Game times as well as the Knights' non-conference schedule will be announced at a later date.
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