Haaaaappy weekend AUHoops fans! Without a doubt, Eagles Nation has been waiting with bated breath for the official 2010-2011 schedule to be released. We've had the (unofficial and subject to change) schedule for a few weeks now, and that's given us a pretty good idea of who we're going to be facing, just not when. While the (official and not subject to change) schedule has not officially been announced yet by the good folks in AU Athletics, they have thrown us a bit of a hidden bone.
Last night was the incredible Bender Blue Out, where the ever-faithful Blue Crew broke another DC collegiate volleyball record with approximately 2,055 fans in attendance as we smoked George Mason 3-0. Since this is the closest it gets to a Phil Bender-esque atmosphere until basketball season, I was pretty excited to attend. I had my eye out for more than just some great Eagles volleyball action, however. Athletics thankfully put out their 2010-2011 wall calendar for distribution as well, which contains home dates for each sport - including men's basketball - accurate as of the time the calendar went to press.
So, enough talk! You want to see the full schedule, eh? Pop on over to our handy new schedule page and have a look. Take your time, I'll wait.
Alright, done? Awesome. There's definitely some great stuff, and pretty much everything that was on the (unofficial and subject to change) schedule is still there. The only notable casualties are the Randolph-Macon exhibition game, and the Maryland game hinted at by a recent recruit. This doesn't mean, however, that these games aren't happening - this schedule is not yet definitive. I repeat, this schedule is not yet definitive. For example, the Florida Atlantic game was listed twice on consecutive days, so I made a best guess that it's more likely to happen on Saturday than Sunday. We'll be sure to update, of course, when the official schedule is officially released, officially. I definitely have my fingers crossed that we get the chance to lay some revenge on Randolph-Macon in early November, for one!
What are your thoughts? There's been a great thread going over on our message board, so make sure to check that out (and most importantly, add your voice to the discussion). Of course, we still retain regular commenting functionality on the blog as well, if you prefer.
That's all for this morning folks, I have to go update my calendar!
Pro Deo Et Patria and GO EAGLES!
Josh
Phil Bender is supposed to be against Holy Cross. Stop messing with a good thing.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. That's completely messed up that we have Lafayette. Still, it's like having two Phil Benders this year because you KNOW Bender will be a-rockin' when the Crusaders come a-knockin
ReplyDeleteI think that athletics knows that, so if they schedule one event to try to get more people out.
ReplyDeleteDo have to hand it to Athletics, last night for volley ball was amazing! If this is a sign of what's coming up this basketball season every game will be filled (Or maybe it's because they don't have the side bleachers out? so there are less seats?)
Also, there is a 6PM flight out of BWI that gets you into Albany just a little bit after tip off on the 15th.... :-)
ReplyDeleteI asked athletics about this two seasons ago when Phil Bender was also against Lafayette. Basically, the way the Patriot League does scheduling, every other year we play Holy Cross at home in late January, and Lafayette in mid-February. Then it reverses the year after that. Late January is supposedly a much better time for Phil Bender for whatever reason, so every other year (or at least until the PL breaks from its current pattern) Phil Bender will likely be against Lafayette. However, two season ago they amended this by having a RE-Phil Bender event for the Holy Cross game, and I suspect it will be the same this season. Like Bill said, though, I'm totally OK with two Phil Benders!
ReplyDeletePDubya - Although the side bleachers were closed, keep in kind that BOTH open sides of the arena were filled with the Blue Crew, which is incredibly impressive for a women's volleyball game. I give huge kudos to the athletics department for putting those kind of resources into even one game for a non-marquee sport. I had a lot of fun, and I don't even enjoy volleyball that much. The fact that two opposite ends of the court were completely filled even lead to some back-and-forth cheers, which are often lacking in Bender because of the layout. It was awesome.
Yeah, also kudos to sig ep for the super enthused crowd on the Quad side of the arena.
ReplyDelete