The NSIC announced its basketball and wrestling schedules for the 2020-21 academic year.
The schedules were approved by the NSIC Board of Directors with the health and safety of student-athletes, coaches, and staff as the top priority. Both the basketball and wrestling schedules will begin in January and schools will follow NCAA Sports Science Institute (SSI) guidelines for competition. To mitigate COVID-19 exposure, schools will only compete against one opponent each week of the season.
The NSIC Men's and Women's Basketball schedules will be 16-games played over 8 weeks with teams playing the same opponent at one site on back-to-back days. The season will start with two non-conference games against one NSIC out-of-division opponent. The conference schedule will then consist of 14 games with teams playing each member of its division twice. For this season, the NSIC will only crown a North Division and South Division Champion.
Wayne State will open the amended 2020-21 season at home on Saturday, Jan. 2 and Sunday, Jan. 3, hosting Northern State. The Wildcats will play eight home games and eight road games in the abbreviated 16-game schedule. For the winter sports of men's and women's indoor track and field and women's swimming and diving that do not operate under a conference schedule, schools will continue with the development of their schedules and with competition beginning in January.
The conference will continue to monitor the landscape and conditions surrounding the pandemic, locally, regionally, and nationally, and make any decisions or announcements, at a later date, as necessary.
