SoCon announces men’s basketball scheduling alliance with ASUN

Spartanburg, S.C. – The Southern Conference and Athletic Sun Conference announced a two-year scheduling alliance for men’s basketball on Wednesday. Each SoCon team will play two games against ASUN opponents through this alliance, games will take place in early November and December.

This agreement comes in response to the emphasis placed on NET rankings for postseason prospects and an ever-changing landscape in college athletics which, for many, has made it difficult to fill a 30-game schedule with quality opponents.

The Southern Conference Commissioner, Michael Cross, said, “We are very excited to partner with the ASUN to form a two-year scheduling alliance.  It is apparent to anyone involved in men’s basketball that the current scheduling process is flawed and that getting two teams to agree to play one another is incredibly difficult.  As NCAA Tournament access has continued to erode for mid-major programs and conference schedules expand due to conference realignment, identifying meaningful non-conference games against attractive regional opponents has become very important.  Leadership from the Directors of Athletics in both conferences and willingness from the coaches to experiment with this concept were the necessary ingredients to establish this alliance.  Their willingness to recognize that change is needed in scheduling took vision and compromise.  I’m confident this will be a very beneficial partnership for both the SoCon and the ASUN.”

The men’s basketball scheduling alliance will feature attractive matchups across both rounds, providing a memorable experience and new level of excitement to the fans of all 22 schools. Two such matchups include ASUN regular season champion Eastern Kentucky versus SoCon tournament runner up ETSU on November 8 in Johnson City, Tennessee, and SoCon tournament champion Samford against ASUN tournament runner up Austin Peay on December 8 in Birmingham, Alabama.

ASUN commissioner, Jeff Bacon, said, “This alliance allows both the Atlantic Sun and the SoCon to provide our teams with meaningful games within our footprint and to highlight the outstanding basketball played here in the southeast.  Thank you’s are due to so many individuals including our ASUN Athletic Directors and Head Coaches, Commissioner Cross, and Geoff Cabe at the SoCon, and the Athletic Directors and Coaches within the SoCon.  A special thanks to our own Joe Kaminski for the work that has gone into putting this exciting event together.”

This two-year deal will begin during the 2024-25 season and include the games listed below.

Round 1:

Nov. 4 - FGCU @ UNCG

Nov. 8 - Eastern Kentucky @ ETSU

Nov. 8 - Western Carolina @ Queens

Nov. 9 - VMI @ Bellarmine

Nov. 9 - Wofford @ Lipscomb

Nov. 11 - Stetson @ The Citadel

Nov. 11 - Jacksonville @ Furman

Nov. 11 - Chattanooga @ Austin Peay

Nov. 15 - Samford @ North Alabama

Dec. 4 - West Georgia @ Mercer

Round 2:

Dec. 1 - North Alabama @ Wofford

Dec. 3 - Lipscomb @ UTC

Dec. 4 - Bellarmine @ Western Carolina

Dec. 4 - Furman @ FGCU

Dec. 7 - Queens @ VMI

Dec. 8 - Austin Peay @ Samford

Dec. 8 - Mercer @ Stetson

Dec. 14 - East Tennessee @ Jacksonville

Dec. 14 - UNCG @ North Florida

Dec. 16 - The Citadel @ Central Arkansas

*game dates may be subject to change