SPRINGFIELD, Mo.– The Drury Lady Panthers will start the 2023-24 season with an exhibition game at home on Nov. 2 against Lyon (Ark.), and the Drury men’s team will begin the year with regular season games in Bolivar, Missouri, on Nov. 10-11 as both programs revealed their 2023-24 schedules on Friday.
The Drury men’s team opens the season against Thomas More on Nov. 10 in the SBU Tipoff Classic in Bolivar. The Panthers face Trevecca Nazarene on the second day of that event on Nov. 11. Both games start at noon.
Drury’s home opener is Nov. 14 when they host Ozark Christian at the O’Reilly Family Event Center at 5:45 pm.
The Panthers will once again host the DoubleTree Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 21 and 22. Drury will battle Fontbonne on Nov. 21, then Missouri Southern State on Nov. 22, with both tipoffs set for 7:45 pm. Illinois Springfield is also in the event and will face Missouri Southern on Nov. 21 at 3:15 pm, then Fontbonne at 3:15 pm on Nov. 22.
The Panthers open the Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule on Nov. 30 at Lewis.
The Drury Athletics Hall of Fame induction and Overflow the O’ event is scheduled for Dec. 9 when both the men’s and women’s teams take on Southwest Baptist. Drury University’s 150th Homecoming is set for Feb. 17 when both teams host McKendree. The regular season concludes with Senior Day on March 2 when the Panthers and Lady Panthers play Truman State.
Other highlights on the Drury men’s schedule include a home game against Southern Arkansas on Dec. 19. The Muleriders won 22 games and reached the NCAA-II Tournament last year. The Panthers travel to defending regular-season champion Indianapolis on Dec. 2 and will face last year’s regional champ Missouri-St. Louis at home on Feb. 15.
The Kaci Bailey era with the Lady Panthers officially starts with the first regular season game on Nov. 10 against Kentucky Wesleyan in Nashville, Tennessee. That contest is the first day of the Midwest Region Crossover Classic and Drury will take on the host, Trevecca Nazarene, on Nov. 11. Bailey will enter her first year as the Lady Panthers head coach after being named to the post last spring. She was previously the head coach at Quincy and takes over from Amy Eagan, who led the program for three years.
The first regular season home game for the Lady Panthers is Nov. 16 and Hiland Dairy Kids Day when the Lady Panthers face Missouri Baptist at 11 am. The Spartans went 24-6, 18-2 in their conference, and reached the NAIA tournament last year.
The Lady Panthers will host the Oasis Hotel & Convention Center Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 21 and 22. Drury plays the 5:30 pm game both days and will take on Davenport on the first day of the event, then Lincoln on day two. Truman State will also be in the event and play both opponents at 1 pm.
Drury, who went undefeated in league play and won the conference tournament for the seventh year in a row last season, will start their GLVC title defense on Nov. 27 at Quincy, then travel to Lewis on Nov. 30 in a rematch of last year’s GLVC championship game and opening round match-up of the NCAA-II Tournament.
The Lady Panthers will host Missouri Southern on Dec. 19 for a 6 pm tipoff at the O’. The Lions ended last year ranked 18th in NCAA-II, and this year’s game will be the first meeting between the two teams in 10 years.
The GLVC Tournament is scheduled for March 7-10 at a site still to be determined. The men’s NCAA-II Midwest Regional is March 15-19, and the men’s Elite Eight is March 26-30 in Evansville, Indiana. The women’s NCAA-II Midwest Regional Tournament is set for March 14-18 and the Elite Eight is March 25-29 in St. Joseph, Missouri.
