Nick Smith Director of Compliance | Eastern Michigan Athletics Website
Nick Smith Director of Compliance | Eastern Michigan Athletics Website
The Eastern Michigan University (EMU) men's and women's basketball programs will open the 2024-25 season against Texas State University in the first leg of the Mid-American Conference-Sun Belt Conference Challenge, as announced on Thursday, June 27.
The EMU men's team, under fourth-year Head Coach Stan Heath, will start their season in San Marcos, Texas. The women's team, led by first-year Head Coach Sahar Nusseibeh, will host the Bobcats. This marks the first time both teams will face Texas State in program history. The Eagle men will also make their first trip to Texas since playing TCU on November 26, 2019.
In the previous MAC-SBC Challenge during the 2023-24 season, both EMU squads competed against Georgia Southern University on November 11, 2023. The men secured a victory with a score of 70-60, while the women lost 82-58. On February 10, 2023, the women's team defeated the University of South Alabama with a score of 81-69; however, the men were defeated by the University of Louisiana at Monroe with a score of 82-76. Both teams currently hold a 1-1 record in the MAC-SBC Challenge all-time.
Further details on the men's and women's schedules for the upcoming season are expected to be released later this summer.
Season ticket packages for all home games are currently available for purchase through the EMU Ticket Office online or by phone at 734.487.3669.
The MAC-SBC Challenge is part of a scheduling alliance between men's and women's basketball programs from both conferences. It begins on Monday, November 4, with each of the twelve MAC women's basketball programs hosting an SBC team while twelve MAC men's basketball programs visit SBC teams.
A second round of matchups based on real-time NET rankings will occur on Saturday, February 8, 2025. The pairings for these games will be announced in January. Each team is guaranteed one home game and one away game each season within this challenge.
Ordinal Sports Group assists with scheduling based on NET data along with geographic considerations and past contest frequency.
Each game in this challenge will be broadcasted on an ESPN platform.
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