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Thursday, July 23, 2009 1:59 p.m.

Men’s basketball reportedly hosting Howard

by Dan Greene

The men’s basketball schedule for this upcoming season continues to come together, with Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports recently reporting that the Colonials will host nearby Howard in an intra-city, out-of-conference matchup. The two teams have not met since November 2000, when GW out-dueled the Bison 119-80 at the Red Auerbach Colonial Classic.

There is also a rumored trip to Holy Cross in late December, though I have thus far been unable to confirm that date with anyone in either school’s athletic department.

The games would be the ninth and tenth of GW’s out-of-conference schedule, with the first eight having initially been reported in June.

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Thursday, June 4, 2009 5:39 p.m.

Men’s basketball to host Oregon State, Providence

by Dan Greene

The GW men’s basketball team will host its first major-conference guests in nine years this upcoming season when Providence and Oregon State visit Smith Center, Director of Athletics Jack Kvancz said this afternoon.

The Oregon State game, which Kvancz said had been in the works for at least two years, comes after continued rumors that the Beavers would make the trip to D.C. Some of this speculation was attributed to the election of President Barack Obama, whose brother-in-law, Craig Robinson, is entering his second year at the helm of Oregon State’s program.

Providence, which the Colonials visited in the 2006-07 season, comes to GW to honor its outstanding contract to complete the home-and-home series. The Friars were also the last team from one of college basketball’s six power conferences to play at Smith Center when they did so in the 2000-01 season.

Kvancz acknowledged that the ongoing Smith Center renovations – which include the replacement of bleachers with fully-backed seats, a new glass-walled club for program donors and revamped locker room areas – may have played a part in securing GW’s opponents.

“It didn’t hurt us, and that’s a plus,” he said. “It’s going to be beautiful.”

Also visiting Smith Center, Kvancz said, will be Princeton and UMBC, in addition to the previously confirmed George Mason. According to Kvancz, the Colonials will open the season at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, whom GW beat in their last NCAA tournament victory in 2006, and travel to East Carolina.

Kvancz said that no tournaments are in the works and that although the remainder of the schedule is not ready to be etched in stone, it is nearing completion.

“For practical senses we’re done,” Kvancz said. “We just don’t have the signed contracts.”

He added that ideally GW would play a full non-conference slate of 13 games, but that he is unsure if they will be able to do so. In a perfect world, Kvancz said, the Colonials would be able to schedule 13 home-and-home series, but that he may need to schedule one or two “buy games” with opponents of much higher or lower quality that will not extend in commitments beyond this season.

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Wednesday, April 22, 2009 5:30 p.m.

George Mason to play at GW

by Dan Greene

To update on previous inklings and provide some info previously (and unintentionally) omitted from the last scheduling post, Director of Athletics Jack Kvancz confirmed Monday that George Mason’s men’s basketball team will play at GW this upcoming season.

The pairing seems to many to be a natural fit, with the schools not only located close to one another, but also playing in two of college basketball’s best leagues outside of the BCS power conferences. It will be the first time the teams have met since GW bested the Patriots in the 1998 Red Auerbach Colonial Classic at Smith Center.

It will also continue an effort to play more local schools, something Kvancz has said he is emphasizing when scheduling. This past season GW played local rivals Maryland and American, playing the former in the BB&T Classic and hosting the latter. The Colonials will not return the game at American this upcoming season, Kvancz said, but may be able to do so at a future date.

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Monday, April 20, 2009 5:02 p.m.

Oregon State game not official

by Dan Greene

Despite reports by the Oregonian that Oregon State will travel to D.C. to play GW this fall, no contract has been signed for such a contest, Director of Athletics Jack Kvancz said this afternoon.

“I don’t have a contract, so I don’t have a game,” Kvancz said after acknowledging that the Beavers were one of several teams to which he has sent contracts. “Nothing is official.”

The speculation surrounding the contest carries extra significance given the connection between Oregon State’s head coach, Craig Robinson, and the White House: he is the brother-in-law of President Barack Obama. The Beavers traveled to D.C. this past season to play at Howard, though Obama and his family did not attend.

Should Oregon State play GW at Smith Center, it would mark the first time a team from one of the NCAA’s “power conferences” did so since Providence in the 2000-2001 season. GW was promised an additional home date against the Friars as a return game for playing at Providence in 2006, but that has yet to be honored.

Most of the Colonials’ games against such teams in D.C. come at the annual BB&T Classic. As for the venue of a possible GW-Oregon State clash, Kvancz said he would like to get the game to be played on campus.

“If they sign it for here, we’ll play here,” Kvancz said. He also said BB&T games are largely arranged by the event’s coordinators.

Should Obama and his family attend such a game would not be the first time a first family came to see GW basketball. President Clinton and his daughter, Chelsea, attended the Colonials’ upset of then-No. 1 UMass at Smith Center in 1996.

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