LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College women's and men's basketball teams are set to open the 2020-21 basketball season. Director of Athletics and Dean of Wellness
Drew Howard made the announcement today, officially signaling the return of intercollegiate sports at the College.
"A lot of time and effort has gone into this process," said Howard. "Without the leadership of President
Anne Kerr, and the dedication of our staff, coaches, and student-athletes, we would not be where we are today."
Only a partial schedule is being made available today, featuring games through February 15. The remainder of the season's schedule will be published shortly. All game dates and ties are subject to change.
Both Mocs teams will be playing as independents this season, facing only familiar Sunshine State Conference opponents. In doing so, Florida Southern will be eligible for the NCAA Division II Championships.
The Mocs women's program will be the first team to take to the hardwood, hosting Florida Tech on Friday night, February 5, at 6:00 p.m. in the Jenkins Field House. When the ball is tipped, it will have been a mere 337 days since last season ended. The team will then host Florida Tech again on Sunday, February 7, in a noon tipoff, again in the Jenkins Field House.
Coach
Betsy Harris' team has advanced to the NCAA Regionals in each of the last five years, including last year's team that went 19-11. Senior
Julia Jenike returns this year, after earning Honorable Mention All-America honors from the WBCA a year ago.
The men's basketball team was also slated to open the season this week, with two scheduled games against Florida Tech. Both of those games have been postponed.
Coach
Mike Donnelly and his squad are coming off of a very successful year, going 29-2, and ranked No. 5 in the country. Preseason All-American
Jalyn Hinton will lead the Mocs again this year.
Florida Southern College policy dictates that no fans will be allowed at any sporting event this year, including all basketball games. All basketball games will be live streamed, available at
https://www.sunshinestateconference.tv/floridasouthern/.
Florida Southern is offering fan cutouts for the upcoming season for both the women's and men's teams. These cutouts can feature an image of a person, or a pet, that fans can have placed inside Jenkins Field House. Fans are encouraged to contact
Josh Franklin at
jfranklin@flsouthern.edu or 863-680-4262.
