Vandal Boosters monthly meetings resume Thursday

COEUR d'ALENE — The Kootenai County Vandal Boosters will hold their first meeting of the 2022-23 school year Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Coeur d'Alene Resort, Cabin 5.

The Vandal Boosters are also planning a watch party at the CaddyShack in Coeur d'Alene for Saturday's Idaho at Indiana football game. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.

Information, Shelly Robson, shellyr@uidaho.edu, 208-651-7992

EWU men's basketball schedule announced

Trips to Hawai'i and Florida, and a game at the Spokane Arena are part of the 2022-23 Eastern Washington men's basketball schedule, announced Tuesday by second-year head coach David Riley.

The schedule is highlighted by an early season trip to Honolulu for the Rainbow Classic where the Eagles will play in three games. In between that tournament, and one at Florida International over Thanksgiving, is a game against Washington State at the Spokane Arena.

In all, the Eagles play in four non-conference games at Reese Court, plus nine Big Sky Conference games. Eastern plays each Big Sky school twice, once at home and once on the road.

The season officially kicks off on Monday, Nov. 7 at West Coast Conference foe Santa Clara.

From there, Eastern heads to Hawai'i. The tournament opens on Nov. 11 in a neutral site matchup against Yale. The Eagles have a day off before taking on the hosts, Hawai'i, on Nov. 13 and wrap up play against Mississippi Valley State in the first meeting between the two on Nov. 14.

EWU returns to host Washington State at the Spokane Arena on Nov. 21. It will look to win its second straight over the Cougars after an upset victory in Pullman last season, 76-71. The Eagles are 2-15 all-time against WSU. Eastern has played at the Spokane Arena four times in the program's history. All came against Gonzaga from 2002-05 and were losses.

The Eagles will spend Thanksgiving in Florida when they participate in a multi-team event hosted by Florida International. On Nov. 25, they play the hosts and have a day off before playing Stony Brook in a neutral matchup.

Eastern's home opener is Nov. 30 against Northwest University. On Dec. 3, the Eagles welcome North Dakota State.

A Dec. 7 game against Cal kicks off the road trip. From there, EWU heads to South Dakota State to play the Jackrabbits on Dec. 10 before traveling to Texas for a Dec. 13 matchup against Texas Tech.

The final two non-conference games take place at home. Eastern hosts UC Davis on Dec. 17 for a rematch of last year's game. The final tune-up before conference play takes place on Dec. 20 against Northwest Indian College.

After a nine-day hiatus for the holidays, conference play begins on the road on Dec. 29 at Montana. The Eags play the defending Big Sky champions in Montana State on Dec. 31.

The Eagles are then back in Cheney for four-straight home games, beginning with Portland State (Jan. 5) and Sacramento State (Jan. 7). The following week, Eastern hosts Idaho on Jan. 14 before playing host to Montana on Jan. 16.

Road games at Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona follow on Jan. 19 and Jan. 21, respectively. Eastern wraps up the month when Idaho State (Jan. 26) and Weber State (Jan. 28) come to town.

February begins with three games on the road to start the second half of Big Sky play, as Eastern travels to Sacramento State (Feb. 2) and Portland State (Feb. 4). Eastern then has a week between games before resuming action at Idaho on Feb. 11.

The Eagles host Northern Arizona (Feb. 16) and Northern Colorado (Feb. 18), then plays at Weber State on Feb. 23 and Idaho State on Feb. 25.

Senior Day and the final regular season game of 2022-23 is on Feb. 27 against Montana State.

The Big Sky Conference Championships, with a new format, take place on March 4-8 in Boise at the Idaho Central Arena.

The first four days of competition each will feature four total games, with two women's and two men's contests happening within the same 24-hour window. In total, the league will play 18 games over the course of five days, with the finale featuring a championship day comprised of both title contests. The women's and men's brackets will play the same seed matchups on the same days throughout their tournaments.

All games will be on ESPN+ with the championship to air on ESPN2.