Burnsville, Minn. - On Tuesday, Dec. 8, the
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) announced that the league's President's Council voted 14-2 to adopt a single gender basketball schedule for the 2020-21 academic year. The
NSIC will shift from its traditional double-header game days to a new schedule format allowing each institution to host a single gender contest on each playing date.
The purpose of the change is to allow for a better student-athlete experience and eliminate a substantial number of COVID-19 issues related to playing a doubleheader basketball schedule. The new schedule eliminates issues with cleaning and air filtration time between games as well as assisting in applying pre-game and post-game safety protocols on game days. The adopted format also concept lowers the risks of COVID-19 disruptions to the conference schedule.
For
Winona State University, the shift allows for the
Warriors to maintain the same ordering of opponents as announced earlier this year, but results in several changes in host venue. Between the two genders, WSU will host home basketball each weekend starting Jan. 2-3 through the conclusion of the regular season on the weekend of February 19-20. Complete updates are available at the
women's schedule page and
men's home page, respectively.
The NSIC men's and women's basketball regular seasons will feature 16 games conducted over eight weekends. Each program will open the season with a pair of non-conference contests against one NSIC school in the opposite division. The conference schedule will then consist of 14 contests with teams playing each divisional foe twice. For 2020-21, the NSIC will determine champions in Northern Division and Southern Division.
2020-21 Warrior Women's Basketball Schedule:
Jan. 2 - 3 vs. UM-Duluth, Winona, Minn.
Jan. 8 - 9 vs. Southwest Minn. State, Winona, Minn.
Jan. 15 - 16 @ Univ. of Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Jan. 22 - 23 vs. Augustana Univ., Winona, Minn.
Jan. 29 - 30 @ Wayne State University, Wayne, Neb.
Feb. 5 - 6
vs. Minnesota State-Mankato, Mankato, Minn.
Feb. 12 - 13 @ Concordia, St. Paul, St. Paul, Minn.
Feb. 19 - 20 @ Upper Iowa, Fayette, Iowa
2020-21 Warrior Men's Basketball Schedule:
Jan. 2 - 3 @ UM-Duluth, Duluth, Minn.
Jan. 8 - 9 @ Southwest Minn. State, Marshall, Minn.
Jan. 15 - 16 vs. Univ. of Sioux Falls, Winona, Minn.
Jan. 22 - 23 @
Augustana Univ., Sioux Falls, S.D.
Jan. 29 - 30 vs. Wayne State, Winona, Minn.
Feb. 5 - 6 @ Minnesota State-Mankato, Mankato, Minn.
Feb. 12 - 13 vs. Concordia, St. Paul, Winona, Minn.
Feb. 19 - 20 vs. Upper Iowa, Winona, Minn.
For the most current news in Warrior Athletics, please visit: www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and @WinonaStateATH.
About Winona State University Athletics:
The Winona State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, as an integral part of the educational mission of the institution, is committed to offering opportunities to experience academic and athletic excellence for our student-athletes through two simple words: Graduate Champions.
Fourteen Warrior programs compete at the NCAA Division II level within the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). Winona State University competes as an affiliate member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in the sport of women's gymnastics.
