BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference has announced its basketball schedules for the 2020-21 academic year. The schedules were approved by the NSIC Board of Directors with the health and safety of student-athletes, coaches, and staff as the top priority. The basketball schedules will begin in January and schools will follow NCAA Sports Science Institute (SSI) guidelines for competition.
 
To mitigate COVID-19 exposure, schools will only compete against one opponent each week of the season.
 
The NSIC Men's and Women's Basketball schedules will be 16-games played over eight weeks with teams playing the same opponent at one site on back-to-back days. The season will start with two non-conference games against one NSIC out-of-division opponent. The conference schedule will then consist of 14 games with teams playing each member of its division twice. For this season, the NSIC will only crown a North Division and South Division Champion.
 
"Our basketball programs are excited about the opportunity to play," said USF Director of Athletics Pam Gohl. "The announcement of this schedule is just step one and we will continue to watch and follow CDC and NCAA guidelines as we look to return to play. This will mean following strict mitigation protocols as we proceed through an effort to keep our student-athletes, staff and others safe and healthy," she said.

A year ago, USF Women's Basketball Team, directed by all-time wins leader Travis Traphagen, finished 26-6 with the program's NSIC South Division title in the 2019-20 season. The Cougars earned their second NCAA DII regional bid. The USF Men's Team, directed by NSIC Coach of the Year and all-time wins leader Chris Johnson, also won the NSIC South title for the first time. USF was 22-8 and finished second overall.
 
Click here for USF Schedules -- Men - Women

Here is the full schedule --
 
Jan. 2 – vs. U-Mary, Stewart Center, 5:30 pm (W), 7:30 pm (M)
Jan. 3 – vs. U-Mary, Stewart Center, 3:30 pm (W), 5:30 pm (M)
Jan. 8 – at Upper Iowa, Dorman Memorial Gymnasium, 5:30 pm (W), 7:30 pm (M)
Jan. 9 – at Upper Iowa, Dorman Memorial Gymnasium, 3:30 pm (W), 5:30 pm (M)
Jan. 15 – vs. Winona State, Stewart Center, 5:30 pm (W), 7:30 pm (M)
Jan. 16 – vs. Winona State, Stewart Center, 3:30 pm (W), 5:30 pm (M)
Jan. 22 – vs. Concordia University, St. Paul, Stewart Center, 5:30 pm (W), 7:30 pm (M)
Jan. 23 – vs. Concordia University, St. Paul, Stewart Center, 3:30 pm (W), 5:30 pm (M)
Jan. 29 – at Minnesota State, Mankato, Taylor Center/Bresnan Arena, 5:30 pm (W), 7:30 pm (M)
Jan. 30 – at Minnesota State, Mankato, Taylor Center/Bresnan Arena, 3:30 pm (W), 5:30 pm (M)
Feb. 5 – vs. Wayne State College, Stewart Center, 5:30 pm (W), 7:30 pm (M)
Feb. 6 – vs. Wayne State College, Stewart Center, 3:30 pm (W), 5:30 pm (M)
Feb. 12 – at Augustana, Sanford Pentagon, 5:30 pm (W), 7:30 pm (M)
Feb. 13 – at Augustana, Sanford Pentagon, 3:30 pm (W), 5:30 pm (M)
Feb. 19 – at Southwest Minnesota State, R/A Facility, Marshall, Minn., 5:30 pm (W), 7:30 pm (M)
Feb. 20 – at Southwest Minnesota State, R/A Facility, Marshall, Minn., 5:30 pm (W), 7:30 pm (M)
 
For the winter sports of men's and women's indoor track & field and women's swimming & diving that do not operate under a conference schedule, schools will continue with the development of their schedules and with competition beginning in January.
 
Enhanced preseason reveals will be announced in mid-December for all winter sports via the NSIC Network and at NorthernSun.org. The reveals will include preseason coaches' polls, preseason players of the year, preseason student-athletes to watch, team previews and quotes from coaches. 
 
The conference will continue to monitor the landscape and conditions surrounding the pandemic, locally, regionally, and nationally, and make any decisions or announcements, at a later date, as necessary.

 About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NSIC is a model Division II conference that uses high-level athletics competition to develop champions in the classroom and community while empowering student-athletes to be impactful and positive leaders. Formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men's league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women's league), the NSIC has flourished over the past quarter century, maturing into a 16-team union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 23 team national championships and crowned 77 individual national champions. For additional information, visit NorthernSun.org.

About NCAA Division II
The NCAA, the national governing body for college athletics, is a volunteer association of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that classify their athletics programs in one of three membership divisions. The 300+ institutions in NCAA Division II support a balanced approach in which student-athletes have the opportunity to earn scholarships based on their athletic ability, pursue their desired academic degree, and participate in all the campus and surrounding community have to offer. Division II student-athletes annually graduate at rates higher than their student body peers, and they have access to the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA's three divisions. Division II gives student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in the classroom, on the field, in their career, for their causes, and on their terms. For additional information, visit NCAA.org.