PROVO, Utah (July 8, 2005) Five opponents that participated in last year's NCAA tournament, one PAC-10 school, one from the ACC are among the 27 opponents the BYU women's basketball team will play during the upcoming 2005-06 basketball season.
Of those 27 games, 13 will be played at home including NCAA tournament participants UC Santa Barbara and North Carolina State.
The 2005-06 season opens on the road for the Cougar women with games at Cal State Northridge and PAC-10 powerhouse UCLA on Nov. 22. Another NCAA postseason participant, UC Santa Barbara will be BYU's first home game of the season on Saturday, Nov. 26 during the Thanksgiving holiday.
"We're excited about the upcoming season," said head coach Jeff Judkins. "The team and staff are looking forward to having a great season, and we'll have a great home schedule for our fans."
Early in the pre-season, the Cougar team will play first time opponents Stony Brook and Seton Hall on the road on Nov. 30 and Dec. 3 respectively. BYU will play three teams from the Big West during the 2005-06 season including UC Riverside on Dec. 7 in California.
In December Cougar fans will have the opportunity to see four excellent games at the Marriott Center. Northern Arizona comes on Dec. 10, followed by nearby Utah Valley State on Dec. 17 and NCAA participant and ACC opponent North Carolina State on Dec. 21. The Wolfpack will be making their first appearance in the Marriott Center. Rounding out pre-season play, BYU plays at Weber State on Dec. 28 and hosts Portland on Dec. 30.
Air Force will be the Cougars first MWC opponent on Jan. 12 in the Marriott Center, then it's off to Salt Lake City for a battle with instate rival Utah on Jan.7. That game will be one of two for BYU airing on CSTV. The other is the New Mexico game on Feb. 2 in Provo.
"With the addition of TCU to our league, there will be five or six teams that will battle for the conference title," said Judkins. "The new schedule of playing one game on the road and one at home will be different, but we're excited about it. The team needs to always come ready to play."
The conference season will bring three league foes to the Marriott Center in January with UNLV on Jan. 12, SDSU on Jan. 21 and CSU on Jan. 28. New Mexico, last year's MWC champions, comes to the Marriott Center on Thursday, Feb. 2 in a live CSTV game.
Instate rival Utah comes to Provo on Feb. 9, followed by Wyoming on Feb. 18 and league newcomer TCU on Feb. 25. The Cougar team plays four league games on the road in February, playing at Air Force on Feb. 4, at UNLV on the 11th and at San Diego State on Feb. 23. Two more road games in early March round out the MWC regular season race for BYU with games at CSU on Mar. 2 and in Albuquerque on Mar. 4.
This year's MWC championships will once again by played at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo., Mar. 7-11. The league champion gets an automatic bid into the 2006 NCAA tournament.
With a total of 27 games, 13 at home and 14 on the road, the Cougar team anticipates another winning season, one that will take the team to the NCAA postseason tournament.
Season tickets for the 2005-06 home season that includes 13 games are now available for $20. Tickets can be purchased by calling 801-422-BYU1 or on line at byutickets.com
BYU Women's Basketball 2005-2006 Schedule
Day DateOpponentTime
Sat.Nov. 19@ Cal St. Northridge2 p.m.
Tues.Nov. 22@ UCLA 7 p.m.
Sat.Nov. 26vs. UC Santa Barbara4 p.m.
Wed.Nov. 30@ Stony Brook7 p.m.
Sat.Dec. 3@ Seton HallTBA
Wed.Dec. 7@ UC Riverside7 p.m.
Sat.Dec. 10vs. Northern Arizona2:00 p.m.
Sat.Dec. 17vs. Utah Valley State4 p.m.
Wed.Dec. 21vs. North Carolina St.7:00 p.m.
Wed.Dec. 28@ Weber StateTBA
Fri.Dec. 30vs. Portland7:00 p.m.
Th. Jan. 5vs. Air Force*7 p.m.
Sat.Jan. 7@ University of Utah* ( CSTV) 2 p.m.
Wed. Jan. 11vs. UNLV*7 p.m.
Wed.Jan. 18@ Wyoming*7 p.m.
Sat.Jan. 21vs. San Diego State*2 p.m.
Wed.Jan. 25@ TCU* 7 p.m.
Sat. Jan. 28vs. Colorado State*2 p.m.
Th. Feb. 2vs. New Mexico* (CSTV)7 p.m.
Sat.Feb. 4@ Air Force* 2 p.m.
Wed.Feb. 8vs. University of Utah*7 p.m.
Sat.Feb. 11@ UNLV* 7 p.m.
Sat.Feb. 18vs. Wyoming*2 p.m.
Wed. Feb. 22@ San Diego State*7 p.m.
Sat.Feb. 25vs. TCU*2 p.m.
Th. Mar. 2@ Colorado State*7 p.m.
Sat.Mar. 4@ New Mexico*2 p.m.
Wed.-SatMar. 7-11@ MWC Champs., Pepsi Center (Denver,CO)TBA
All Home Games are in Bold and are played at the Marriott Center.
* Denotes MWC opponents