George Mason Athletics

FGCU Announces 2011-12 Non-Conference Schedule

FORT MYERS, Fla. – With a trio of games at Miami, Maryland and Loyola Maryland already announced, the FGCU men’s basketball team unveiled the rest of its 2011-12 non-conference schedule on Monday, announced by first-year head coach Andy Enfield .

The non-conference schedule features six road games, five contests at Alico Arena and three meetings against BCS foes from the ACC and Big Ten.

“Our non-conference schedule will certainly be very challenging, but at the same time it will get us prepared for Atlantic Sun play,” said Enfield. “We hope that the two home games early in the season will generate some excitement amongst our fans. I’m looking forward to working with our guys to prepare for this schedule.”

FGCU will open the program’s 10th season and first under Enfield with seven games over 20 days in November, beginning with a trip to TCU on Friday, Nov. 11. Led by head coach Jim Christian, the Horned Frogs will play their final season in the Mountain West Conference in 2011-12 before moving to the BIG EAST.

The Eagles land at Alico Arena for their home opener on Monday, Nov. 14 when they host nearby Ave Maria in Enfield’s debut in front of the Southwest Florida faithful. FGCU caps its two-game homestand on Nov. 17 with a 7:05 P.M. tip time against Prairie View A&M.

A second road trip to Texas on Saturday, Nov. 19 pits FGCU against SMU and begins a string of four consecutive road games to end the month of November. SMU is coming off its most celebrated season in more than a decade, as the Mustangs recorded their first 20-win season and first postseason bid in 11 years. Under head coach Matt Doherty, SMU posted a 20-15 overall record and advanced to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).

On Tuesday, Nov. 22, FGCU will head across the state to take on Miami and newly-appointed head coach Jim Larranaga, who took over the reins of the program on April 22, after 14 successful seasons at George Mason where he led the Patriots to the Final Four in 2006. The Hurricanes return all but one player from their 2010-11 squad that finished 21-15 overall and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT.

FGCU will cap the road swing after Thanksgiving with back-to-back games at Maryland and Loyola Maryland. The Eagles will take on the Terrapins on Friday, Nov. 25 at the Comcast Center. Maryland will be led by head coach Mark Turgeon, who takes over for Gary Williams who retired after leading his alma mater to 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, seven Sweet Sixteens, two Elite Eights, two Final Fours and a National Championship in 2002. FGCU will cap the weekend in Baltimore at Reitz Arena against Loyola on Sunday, Nov. 27. The Greyhounds finished fifth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) standings with a 10-8 record and an overall mark of 15-15 in 2010-11 and will return six players that averaged over eight points per game.

George Mason University - Job Center

The Assistant Director, Athletic Communications will be involved with progressive external affairs initiatives in the management and operation of all Athletic Department publicity/media relations activities for the 22-sport program in one of the nation's top Division I college athletics markets (Washington, D.C.) and in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). This position works directly with the Associate Athletic Director, Communications in the planning and implementation of all athletic publicity, public relations and news-related aspects of the intercollegiate program. Assists the Associate Athletic Director, Communications with maintaining and developing content for GoMason.com/ , the athletics Web site. Additional duties include: (1) all matters related to news releases, historical archives, statistics, nominations, media pitches and computer-related issues for assigned sports, which are assigned by the Associate Athletic Director, Communications; (2) create and maintain updates of information on athletics Web site for assigned sports; (3) serve as editor and distribution agent for sport-specific news releases; and (4) provide support to Event Management personnel in terms of producing game programs and public address scripts for events. Relative responsibilities include working events on nights and weekends with limited travel. Other experience will include Web site development, digital imaging, in-house desktop publishing, and input into marketing communication strategies. Opportunity could be available to serve as broadcast talent for Internet streaming of select sports. The assistant will serve as the primary contact for many of the Patriots' nationally-rated programs (as assigned) including baseball, track and field, men's volleyball and men's soccer.

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