By Tom Weber
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois men’s and women’s basketball teams will compete with three in-state schools for a trophy and bragging rights in a new rivalry series called the Battle for Illinois.
Introduced today by the respective athletic departments for SIU, Bradley, Illinois State and Loyola, the inaugural Battle for Illinois competition begins on New Year’s Eve, when the Illinois State women’s basketball team hosts Bradley.
The men’s and women’s basketball teams for the four universities will accrue points through head-to-head competition. One point will be awarded for each win, and each school can earn up to 12 points. In the event of a tie, the following will determine the Battle for Illinois winner: 1) Head-to-head record of the two or more teams that are tied; 2) overall regular-season record (conference and non-conference); 3) combined tournament wins; 4) average margin of victory (rivalry series games).
“This new rivalry series adds an exciting new dimension to what are already some of the best rivalries in college basketball,” said SIU Director of Athletics Tommy Bell. “Our plan is to bring the hardware home to Carbondale.”
Speak Your Mind
You must be logged in to post a comment.