The schedule is set for Joe Frager’s first season as the head coach of the Fairfield University women’s basketball team.  On the slate are teams from the ACC, Big East, Summit League, Atlantic-10, America East, Northeast Conference, Ivy League, Big West and Sun Belt. The Stags will play seven games on campus at Alumni Hall, with six contests being played at the Arena at Harbor Yard, in Bridgeport, Conn., and Alumni Hall, on campus.

“We are very excited about the coming season,” said Frager.  “We have a nice balance of teams on the schedule that will help us achieve our goal of playing our best basketball down the stretch.  On a personal note, I am excited to begin this season and to play games in front of the Fairfield faithful.”

Frager’s Stags coaching debut will come on the road, Nov. 14, at Richmond, a member of the Atlantic-10 Conference.  His first home appearance will be four days later, Nov. 18, at the Arena at Harbor Yard, as the Stags host Sacred Heart.  It marks the first meeting between the two teams since the 1980-81 season and the first meeting as Division I opponents.
 
The Stags will then take to the road for four games, beginning at Ivy League foe Harvard, who the Stags defeated, 73-57, last season.  Fairfield will play a pair of games at the Cal-Poly Thanksgiving Tournament, Nov. 23-24.  The Stags open with their first ever meeting against the host Mustangs, before facing North Dakota State.  The meeting with the Bison is the second in two years at a neutral site, as the Stags defeated the Bison 76-56 at the ECU Tournament.  The road swing ends at Big East foe Villanova, as Fairfield looks for its first win in the series, after nearly upsetting the Wildcats at home in the last meeting.

Frager will make his Alumni Hall coaching debut on Dec. 2, when the Stags host the University of Maine.  It marks the second meeting between the two teams, with Fairfield winning the other meeting in 1984-85 season, 75-66.  Fairfield will host a pair of non-conference games around semester finals, hosting Boston College at the Arena on Dec. 11, and St. Francis (NY), on Dec. 22 at Alumni Hall. The non-conference slate finishes with the Stags’ appearance in the Fordham Tournament.  Fairfield will play Troy for the first time in program history on Dec. 29 in the first round.  The Stags will either play the host Rams, a former conference foe, or Mt. St. Mary’s, in the consolation or championship game on Dec. 30.

Fairfield’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opener comes on the road, Dec. 6, when they travel to Jersey City, N.J., to take on Saint Peter’s.  Frager’s MAAC home opener is no easy task, as the Stags host defending champion and 2007 NCAA Sweet 16 participant, Marist, at Alumni Hall on Dec. 9.  Marist is the team’s foe on Jan. 5, when the Stags return to MAAC play in earnest.  The contest against the Red Foxes is also the first game of a three-game road swing, which includes stops at Canisius and Niagara.

Fairfield will play eight of 10 games at home from Jan. 17, versus Rider, through Feb. 18, when it hosts Saint Peter’s at the Arena at Harbor Yard, in the home finale.  That game will be televised live as part of the MAAC television package.  During the stretch, Fairfield will host Loyola, Niagara and Canisius at Alumni Hall, and Iona, Manhattan and Siena at the Arena.  The Stags wrap up the regular season with a three-game road trip, playing at Manhattan, Siena and Loyola.

The 2008 MAAC Tournament returns to Albany, N.Y. and the Times Union Center, March 6-9.  The top-six teams in the regular season earn a bye into the quarterfinals, and the tournament champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.