RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced on Friday that the men's and women's basketball teams will open Southland Conference (SLC) play Dec. 5-7 at the UTRGV Fieldhouse with the release of the conference schedules. 
 
The men's team starts its Southland campaign Dec. 5 against Stephen F. Austin. The women's team kicks off conference play Dec. 7 against Stephen F. Austin while the men will face Lamar the same day. The women's team hosts Lamar on Dec. 14.
 
SLC women's games are played on Thursday and Saturday while the men's conference games are on Saturday and Monday. The Vaqueros have four doubleheader Saturdays in which both teams will play the same school at the UTRGV Fieldhouse – Jan. 25 against McNeese, Feb. 1 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as part of the South Texas Showdown presented by Rally Credit Union, Feb. 15 against Houston Christian, and March 1 against New Orleans. 
 
Basketball season tickets and multi-sport passes can be purchased online at GoUTRGV.com/BasketballSeasonTickets and GoUTRGV.com/MultiSportPass or by contacting the UTRGV Athletics ticket office over the phone at (956) 665-3415 or (956) 665-3747 or through email at tickets@utrgv.edu.
 
Southland play resumes on Jan. 2 with the women's team on the road facing Southeastern and New Orleans. The men get back into conference action Jan. 4-6 at New Orleans and Southeastern. 
 
UTRGV's men's and women's teams will take on the same counterparts every weekend. The Vaqueros will play doubleheaders on the road every Saturday from January through March. The school the women's team plays on Thursday will be the same opponent the men face on Monday. 
 
The Vaqueros will host Texas A&M-Commerce, McNeese, Nicholls, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Incarnate Word, Houston Christian, Southeastern and New Orleans at the UTRGV Fieldhouse during their first Southland basketball seasons. UTRGV closes the regular season at home as the women face Southeastern on Feb. 27, both teams host New Orleans on March 1, and the men's team plays Southeastern on March 3. 
 
The men's Southland Conference Tournament runs March 9-12 and the women's conference tournament is scheduled for March 10-13, both at the Legacy Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana. 
 
"It's very exciting," men's basketball head coach Kahil Fennell said. "We are looking forward to this season as a whole and then when you take a look at the SLC schedule in particular, obviously you see some really high-level opponents with some really good players and really good teams and coaches. For us to have the opportunity to go to some fun venues and local places that our fans are familiar with and then in turn have those guys here at our place, it should be a rocking environment here at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. We are really excited about it."
 
"We're really excited about this year's group and we're ready to watch them compete in the Southland," women's basketball head coach Lane Lord said. "We're excited to see what we do with an easier travel schedule and some new opponents. The Southland is a competitive conference and it's going to be fun going to some new places and bringing quality opponents to the UTRGV Fieldhouse." 

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