PROVO, Utah -- From the looks of the 2004 BYU softball regular-season schedule, the Cougars will be put to the test early and face many quality teams before hitting conference play.
"I think we have a well-rounded schedule that's going to give us a combination of potential top-25 teams as well as exposure with teams we haven't played before," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said.
At the 2004 Hawai`i Paradise Classic, the first tournament of the year, BYU will compete against top-25 teams such as Hawai`i and Oregon State, plus face other quality teams including Tennessee, UAB and St. Mary's.
Not only will the level of competition be high in Hawai`i, but also the level of distractions. It will be challenging for the Cougars along with other mainland teams to maintain focus as they are presented with many distractions, one being the four-hour time change.
"Right out of the new (BYU) indoor practice facility we're going to be tested quickly in Hawai`i," Eakin said. "It's going to be a real challenge for us to come out and play well in that tournament."
The level of competition will not diminish, as BYU will compete at the Softball by the Beach Invitational against more quality teams. The Cougars will battle against Florida International, Central Florida and the host school Santa Barbara. In the following tournament, BYU will match up with the University of Houston, which is another gifted team.
During the March part of the season, the Cougars will have the chance to measure up against teams they don't know much about and have never played before.
"We're excited to get a chance to compete with the new schools we've never competed against before," Eakin said.
The Cougars will match up again with Hawai`i and play other top-quality programs such as Stanford and Illinois before jumping into conference play.
In the middle of conference play, BYU will be bringing in the University of Pacific, a top-25 team, to compete at Gail Miller Field.
"Our well-rounded schedule will provide us an opportunity to be ready for championship play when we get to that point," Eakin said.
The team will continue to work out, but not start official practice until the third week in January 2004.
2004 BYU Softball Schedule
FEB 4 WED University of Hawai`i Honolulu, Hawai`i 6:00 PM
FEB 5 THU Oregon State Honolulu, Hawai`i 4:00 PM
FEB 6 FRI Tennessee Honolulu, Hawai`i 10:00 AM
FEB 7 SAT UAB Honolulu, Hawai`i 9:00 AM
St. Mary's Honolulu, Hawai`i 7:00 PM
FEB 19 THU Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, Calif. 2:00 PM
FEB 20 FRI UC Riverside Santa Barbara, Calif. 11:30 AM
Loyola Marymount Santa Barbara, Calif. 2:00 PM
FEB 21 SAT Florida International Santa Barbara, Calif. 4:30 PM
Central Florida Santa Barbara, Calif. 7:00 PM
FEB 26 THU Houston Houston, Texas 6:00 PM
FEB 27 FRI Villanova Houston, Texas 11:00 AM
Virginia Houston, Texas 1:00 PM
FEB 28 SAT Mississippi State Houston, Texas 9:00 AM
Pittsburg Houston, Texas 11:00 AM
MAR 12 FRI Drake Las Cruces, N.M. 9:00 AM
UTEP Las Cruces, N.M. 1:00 PM
MAR 13 SAT New Mexico State Las Cruces, N.M. 9:00 AM
Marist Las Cruces, N.M. 11:00 AM
MAR 18 THU San Diego San Diego, Calif. 5:00 PM
MAR 19 FRI Dartmouth San Diego, Calif. 1:00 PM
Central-Connecticut State San Diego, Calif. 3:00 PM
MAR 20 SAT UC Riverside San Diego, Calif. 9:00 AM
Indiana San Diego, Calif. 1:00 PM
MAR 25 THU University of Hawai`i Palo Alto, Calif. 3:00 PM
MAR 26 FRI Illinois Palo Alto, Calif. 10:00 AM
UC Riverside Palo Alto, Calif. 2:00 PM
MAR 27 SAT Stanford Palo Alto, Calif. 4:00 PM
MAR 30 TUE UVSC Orem, Utah 2:00 PM
UVSC Orem, Utah 4:00 PM
APR 1 THU UNLV Provo, Utah 3:00 PM
UNLV Provo, Utah 5:00 PM
APR 2 FRI San Diego State Provo, Utah 4:00 PM
San Diego State Provo, Utah 6:00 PM
APR 8 THU Southern Utah Provo, Utah 5:00 PM
APR 10 SAT University of Utah Provo, Utah 1:00 PM
University of Utah Provo, Utah 3:00 PM
APR 13 TUE Utah State Provo, Utah 3:00 PM
Utah State Provo, Utah 5:00 PM
APR 15 THU Colorado State Fort Collins, Colo. 1:00 PM
Colorado State Fort Collins, Colo. 3:00 PM
APR 17 SAT New Mexico Albuquerque, N.M. 1:00 PM
New Mexico Albuquerque, N.M. 3:00 PM
APR 20 TUE UVSC Provo, Utah 5:00 PM
UVSC Provo, Utah 7:00 PM
APR 22 THU University of Pacific Provo, Utah 5:00 PM
APR 24 SAT University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah 12:00 PM
University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah 2:00 PM
APR 30 FRI New Mexico Provo, Utah 4:00 PM
New Mexico Provo, Utah 6:00 PM
MAY 1 SAT Colorado State Provo, Utah 2:00 PM
Colorado State Provo, Utah 4:00 PM
MAY 4 TUE Utah State Logan, Utah 2:00 PM
Utah State Logan, Utah 4:00 PM
MAY 6 THU UNLV Las Vegas, Nev. 5:00 PM
UNLV Las Vegas, Nev. 7:00 PM
MAY 8 SAT San Diego State San Diego, Calif. 1:00 PM
San Diego State San Diego, Calif. 3:00 PM
MAY 13-15 MWC Tournament Fort Collins, Colo. TBA