ORLANDO – American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco announced the scheduling format and timelines for the 2020-21 women's basketball conference season on Wednesday, which includes 20 league games.
The plan was developed in consultation with The American's athletic directors, senior woman administrators and COVID-19 Medical Advisory Group and was approved unanimously by the member institutions.
The complete scheduling format consists of a 20-game, double round-robin conference schedule for each of The American's 11 member institutions, a four-game increase from the 16-game schedule utilized by the league previously.
"This format provides a sensible and fair path for all of our teams in what will be a challenging upcoming season," said Aresco. "It allows each of our teams to play a consistent number of conference games and will ensure that they are competing against teams that are utilizing our strong health and safety protocols."
Conference play will begin with four windows in December (Dec. 14-17, Dec. 18-20, Dec. 21-23 and Dec 28-31).
The 2021 American Athletic Conference Championships will be held at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, as announced by Commissioner Aresco in June. The women's tournament will be held March 8-11 in conjunction with the men's championship, which is set to take place March 11-14, marking the first time in conference history that both of The American basketball tournaments will be held in the same city and venue.
Three first-round games will take place on Monday, March 8, followed by four quarterfinal matchups on Tuesday, March 9. The semifinal contests will be played on Wednesday, March 10, with the championship game slated for Thursday, March 11.
The full 2020-21 UCF schedule, along with television selections and game times, will be announced at a later date.
Since taking over in 2016, UCF head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson has led the Black and Gold to four consecutive 20-win campaigns. The Knights earned a first-round bye in four straight AAC tournaments and were the second seed at both the 2019 and 2020 tournaments. Coach ABE has guided the Knights to three postseason appearances, and had her squad in the mix for a fourth before the cancellation of spring championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Black and Gold return four starters for the 2020-21 campaign in third team all-conference selection Brittney Smith, Masseny Kaba, Courtajia Sanders and Diamond Battles. In all, UCF returns seven Knights that saw action last season.
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