The women’s basketball team announced its 2005-06 schedule on Wednesday and it includes the Thanksgiving Classic to be played in Worthen Arena on Nov. 26 and 27. North Dakota State and Georgetown open the tournament, and Lipscomb and Ball State will play the following game on Nov. 26. The consolation and championship games will be played the following day.
“My first goal was to have my own tourney,” coach Tracy Roller said. “I got to see how successful it was for [women’s] volleyball. It jump-started a great year for Randy [Litchfield] and that team.”
The Ball State Credit Union will be the corporate sponsor for the Classic, and Roller hopes she’s able to schedule the tournament in future years.
The Hoosier Classic, a four-team, one-game format, also comes to Muncie on Dec. 4. Butler and Indiana State play in the first game, after which the Cardinals will take on Valparaiso.
Ball State travels to Murray State on Nov. 19 for its first game of the season before playing host to its first home game against Evansville three days later.
After the second Classic, Ball State will take a road trip, including games at Duke and a trip to California, where the Cardinals will play St. Mary’s and Santa Clara. The Duke game is the second of a two-game series against the Blue Devils.
Roller said several of the Cardinals’ opponents this season played in the postseason last year, including Duke, Santa Clara and Georgetown.
“Our team is looking forward to a challenge,” Roller said. “It’s a good chance for your team to play national contender teams.”
Roller said she scheduled the California trip because it won’t conflict with the players’ class schedules and should provide the Cardinals with competitive teams.
“I’m very excited about that trip and getting the team ready to go on the road,” Roller said.
Ball State stays on the road to open the Mid-American Conference season. The Cardinals travel to Toledo and Western Michigan, both of which finished in the middle of the MAC West Division last season.
Central Michigan visits Ball State for the Cardinal’s first home MAC game of the season, and the Cards play four of its final six conference games at home. Ball State also plays host to defending MAC tournament champion Bowling Green on Feb. 11.
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