“The 2016 schedule will provide an opportunity for our team to play a strong preseason with a good mix of regional teams as well as the opportunity to develop competition from around the U.S.,” said head coach James Finley. “Our goal is to win the WAC and advance in the NCAA Tournament and this year’s schedule will help us prepare for our goals.”
The Redhawks start the season at Oregon State’s tournament from Aug. 26-28 where they will face Portland, Utah State, Thomas River University, and host Oregon State over the weekend.
The following week, a co-hosted tournament with the University of Washington highlights the Redhawks’ early schedule. This tournament will serve as the grand opening for the Connolly Complex North Court, including the entire internal and external portions of the project and new entryway and ticket office. On Sept. 1, the Redhawks welcome the Huskies in the first game back on their home court while also hosting Idaho, Villanova, Oregon, and a neutral site match between Idaho and Villanova over the extended weekend.
For the next two weeks prior to conference play, SU heads to the East Coast for a tournament at the University of Central Florida in Orlando (Sept. 9-11), where they will play LSU, Florida Atlantic, and UCF. The next weekend, the Redhawks fly to Rutgers in New Brunswick, N.J. with matches against Seton Hall, Princeton, and host Rutgers along the way (Sept. 15-16).
The end of September brings Western Athletic Conference play, the team opening their league schedule on the road at NM State (Sept. 22) and UTRGV (Sept. 24) before welcoming UMKC (Sept. 29) and Chicago State (Oct. 1) to Seattle in their conference home opening weekend.
SU hits the road for three straight at Utah Valley (Oct. 8), Grand Canyon (Oct. 13), and CSU Bakersfield (Oct. 15) before hosting UTRGV (Oct. 20) and NM State (Oct. 22) and taking their final WAC road trip to Chicago State (Oct. 27) and UMKC (Oct. 29).
The Redhawks close their home schedule vs. Utah Valley (Nov. 5), CSU Bakersfield (Nov. 10), and Grand Canyon (Nov. 12) before heading to the WAC Tournament (Nov. 17-19) and closing the regular season at Portland State (Nov. 26).