FARMINGTON, Utah (October 15, 2020) – The Big Sky Conference unveiled the 2020-21 men's and women's basketball conference schedules Thursday morning following approval by the Presidents' Council.
Both the Northern Arizona men's and women's basketball teams are slated to open conference play on Thursday, Dec. 3 versus Eastern Washington with the men at home and the women on the road in Cheney, Wash.
In the 20-game conference schedule for the 2020-21 season, all 11 conference teams will play each member institution twice, including home-and-home series with two opponents, while reducing travel and expenses.
"This schedule accomplishes many of the objectives that we prioritized, most notably providing a full lineup of competitive opportunities for our men's and women's basketball student-athletes while reducing the number of road trips our programs will make," Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said in the league's release. "Our administrators – especially those on our Basketball Committee – worked tirelessly to vet multiple schedule models, and the feedback that we received from our head coaches, two student-athletes from every team, our Health and Safety Committee, and our certified athletic trainers proved invaluable throughout the process."
NAU Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics
Mike Marlow is part of the five-member Big Sky Basketball Committee.
This season, teams will play consecutive games against the same opponent, with the men's and women's programs of competing schools playing each other on the same dates at opposite locations. Each school will face four opponents twice at home and four opponents twice on the road, as well as two opponents against whom it will compete in one home and one road game. The 2020-21 conference schedule will feature 11 weeks, including one open weekend per school.
The NAU men will play Eastern Washington in its opening weekend of conference play in Flagstaff on Thursday, Dec. 3 and Saturday, Dec. 5 with the women playing at Eastern Washington on those days.
After an early December start to the conference schedule, the Lumberjack basketball teams will resume Big Sky play on Thursday, Dec. 31 and Saturday, Jan. 2. The Lumberjack women, led by head coach
Loree Payne, will play their first two home conference games versus Idaho, while the head coach
Shane Burcar's Lumberjack men will play the Vandals in Moscow, Idaho.
NAU's home-and-home opponents will be Northern Colorado on Thursday, Jan. 21 and Saturday, Jan. 23 and Southern Utah on Thursday, Feb. 25 and Saturday, Feb. 27.
The Lumberjacks' open week will come in the final week of the regular season before traveling to Boise, Idaho for the 2021 Big Sky Championships. The conference tournament, held at the newly renamed Idaho Central Arena (formerly CenturyLink Arena), returns to Boise for the third consecutive year from March 8-13.
All games as scheduled will be subject to health guidelines from state, county and local officials.
The full NAU men's and women's basketball conference schedules are below. Non-conference games will be announced at a later date with the official start date for the 2020-21 season scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 25.
2020-21 NAU Men's Basketball Conference Schedule
Dec. 3 and Dec. 5 – Eastern Washington
Dec. 31 and Jan. 2 – at Idaho
Jan. 7 and Jan. 9 – Idaho State
Jan. 14 and Jan. 16 – at Montana
Jan. 21 and Jan. 23 – Montana State
Jan. 28 – Northern Colorado
Jan. 30 – at Northern Colorado
Feb. 4 and Feb. 6 – at Sacramento State
Feb. 11 and Feb. 13 – Portland State
Feb. 18 and Feb. 20 – at Weber State
Feb. 25 – at Southern Utah
Feb. 27 – Southern Utah
March 4 and March 6 – Open
2020-21 NAU Women's Basketball Conference Schedule
Dec. 3 and Dec. 5 – at Eastern Washington
Dec. 31 and Jan. 2 – Idaho
Jan. 7 and Jan. 9 – at Idaho State
Jan. 14 and Jan. 16 – Montana
Jan. 21 and Jan. 23 – at Montana State
Jan. 28 – at Northern Colorado
Jan. 30 – Northern Colorado
Feb. 4 and Feb. 6 – Sacramento State
Feb. 11 and Feb. 13 – at Portland State
Feb. 18 and Feb. 20 – Weber State
Feb. 25 – Southern Utah
Feb. 27 – at Southern Utah
March 3 and March 5 – Open
