10/26/2020
By Brandon Brown
ESN Director of Content
SEATTLE, WA – The wait is finally over; the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) has released the 2020-21 conference schedule. The Redhawks are slated to have 8 home games on their schedule which begins Jan. 15th. This schedule release is just for WAC play and does not include out of conference play, which will be announced later by Seattle University.
The schedule this season looks a little bit different than years past for obvious reasons. The most notable of those differences is how teams will have back-to-back matchups with the same opponent. Whereas in previous seasons you would have a 3 game homestand with 3 different teams, this year you will play the same foe twice in 2 days. This move was to help diminish travel and exposure for the teams.
Also being released was the date for the WAC tournament in Las Vegas. It is slated for March 11-13 in Sin City. Last season’s tournament was cancelled, along with the NCAA tournament, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
THE SCHEDULE
Jan 15 (Fri) TBA Home Utah Valley Seattle, Wash. (Redhawk Center) Jan 16 (Sat) TBA Home Utah Valley Seattle, Wash. (Redhawk Center) Jan 22 (Fri) TBA Away Tarleton State Stephenville, TX Jan 23 (Sat) TBA Away Tarleton State Stephenville, TX Jan 29 (Fri) TBA Home Chicago State Seattle, Wash. (Redhawk Center) Jan 30 (Sat) TBA Home Chicago State Seattle, Wash. (Redhawk Center) Feb 5 (Fri) TBA Away Dixie State St. George, UT Feb 6 (Sat) TBA Away Dixie State St. George, UT Feb 12 (Fri) TBA Home New Mexico State Seattle, Wash. (Redhawk Center) Feb 13 (Sat) TBA Home New Mexico State Seattle, Wash. (Redhawk Center) Feb 19 (Fri) TBA Away UTRGV Edinburg, TX Feb 20 (Sat) TBA Away UTRGV Edinburg, TX Feb 26 (Fri) TBA Home Grand Canyon Seattle, Wash. (Redhawk Center) Feb 27 (Sat) TBA Home Grand Canyon Seattle, Wash. (Redhawk Center) Mar 5 (Fri) TBA Away California Baptist Riverside, CA Mar 6 (Sat) TBA Away California Baptist Riverside, CA Mar 11 (Thu) TBA Neutral WAC Tournament Las Vegas, Nev. (Orleans Arena)
KEY DATES:
- JAN 15-16 vs Utah Valley
This will be the home opener for Seattle and features a Utah Valley team that the Redhawks went 2-0 against last season.
- JAN 22-23 @ Tarleton State
The first road test for Jim Hayford’s club will be against 1 of the conference’s newcomers. It is a big leap for the Texans as they will be making the jump from DII.
- FEB 5-6 @ Dixie State
Seattle will hit the road to meet the other newcomer to the WAC in Dixie State University. The Trailblazers will also be moving up to DI.
- FEB 12-13 vs New Mexico State
The games everyone will be circling. The conference juggernaut New Mexico State will make their way up to the Redhawk Center for this mid schedule showdown. Seattle lost both games to the Aggies last year by 8 points.
THOUGHTS:
This will be a very favorable schedule for the red and black. Half of their conference away games will be against newcomers who are making the difficult jump to division I. They also get the luxury of hosting New Mexico State which is a big advantage over a team most people predict to win the WAC once again.
The only thing to look out for is how the season ends. Seattle will have to play 6 of their final 8 league games vs teams that finished above them in last season’s standings, giving a huge test to this squad. This can also be a blessing, giving this team time to jell before the rough home stretch.
This schedule should set the Redhawks up in perfect position to make some noise in the WAC. Last season saw Seattle only lose 1 conference game by more than 10 points. Not to mention that 2 loses also came in overtime. This team will play you tough, and if with a favorable schedule this year, they could threaten the top
Russell is the Content Director for the Eli Network. He studied broadcast journalism at Eastern Oregon and North Dakota State University. Mostly covers soccer and basketball in the Seattle area and is the current play-by-play voice for Seattle Redhawks basketball. You can follow him @brussbrwn.
