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American Press
24-07-2025
- Sport
- American Press
Cowgirls will be road tested
Ayla Guzzardo will be taking her first McNeese team on the road a lot this season. (Kirk Meche/ Special to the American Press) Looking to raise the profile and ranking of her basketball program, first-year McNeese women's head coach Ayla Guzzardo will hit the road for all but two of her non-conference games this season. Guzzardo released the pre-Southland Conference portion of her schedule Thursday as the Cowgirls will open the season with the annual Kids' Game on November 3 in the Legacy Center. 'We are looking forward to our season opener, where we welcome the youth of Lake Charles to kick off our season,' said Guzzardo. 'We want to take that game and get kids interested in the Cowgirls so that they ask their parents to bring them back. It is a great way for us to interact with the community.' McNeese will host Pensacola Christian College and several thousand students from Calcasieu Parish schools for the fourth such game. The Cowgirls' only other home game before SLC play will also be against another non-Division I school, LSU-Alexanderia, on November 22. In the past, the McNeese women's team would play four non-Division I schools at home, a practice Guzzardo aims to eliminate in the future to improve the Cowgirl schedule and achieve better rankings. 'We will have more home games against Division I schools in the years to come,' said Guzzardo. 'We want to get our net ranking below 100 and even in the top 75. With 22 league games scheduled for this season and finishing previous commitments, the window for such contests at home this year was limited. 'I'm trying to get a 13 or 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament if we win our league,' said Guzzardo. 'We want to stay away from that 16 and 15 spot. We want to come in and play three or four, not one or two. Highlighting the non-conference schedule will be three games against teams that advanced to the postseason last year, including two games against teams that won NCAA Tournament games. A road game at Alabama will provide the first actual test of the season for the Cowgirls. The Crimson Tide is coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance last season, where they fell in double overtime to Maryland in the second round. The non-conference schedule also has McNeese traveling to Tarleton State, which fell to Lindenwood in the second round of the WNIT, followed by a road game at Utah Tech. McNeese fell to Utah Tech at home last season. McNeese will travel to Tempe, Arizona (Dec. 5-6) for a multi-team event hosted by Arizona State. The Cowgirls will take on Arizona State, another NCAA Tournament team that lost to Iowa State in the second round last season, as well as a game against Nevada. 'This is the hand we have been dealt, and we will deal with it,' said Guzzardo. 'Our goal is to get into some mid-major polls this year and to do that, we are going to have to win some of these big games. 'We know if we make the NCAA Tournament, we are going to have to play on the road in their gym, so we want to get used to those environments.' McNeese will also host one preseason scrimmage against a Division I foe and travel for another. Those scrimmages will not be open to the public. 'We will get to challenge ourselves early in the non-conference schedule against an Alabama team that made some noise in the NCAA Tournament last year,' Guzzardo said. 'We will be road warriors with trips to Utah Tech, Arizona State, and Tarleton, which is great because it will make us ready for our rigorous conference opponents.' 2025-26 McNeese Women's Basketball Non-Conference Schedule Nov. 3 Pensacola Christian College (Kids' Game) Nov. 6 at Alabama Nov. 16 at Tarleton State Nov. 22 LSUA Dec. 2 at Utah Tech Dec. 5-6 at Arizona State Tournament (Arizona State, Nevada) Home games in BOLD
Washington Post
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Southern Utah, Utah Tech moving to Big Sky Conference in 2026
FARMINGTON, Utah — Southern Utah and Utah Tech will join the Big Sky Conference as full members starting with the 2026-27 academic year. The additions announced Wednesday will give the conference 11 full members following Sacramento State's departure for the Big West in all sports except football. 'The time is right for the Big Sky to bring in Utah Tech and to bring back Southern Utah,' Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said in a statement. 'The addition of rising rival athletic departments from these two universities, located squarely within our geographic footprint in the western United States, reinforce the long-term stability and success of our league. '
Associated Press
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Southern Utah, Utah Tech moving to Big Sky Conference in 2026
FARMINGTON, Utah (AP) — Southern Utah and Utah Tech will join the Big Sky Conference as full members starting with the 2026-27 academic year. The additions announced Wednesday will give the conference 11 full members following Sacramento State's departure for the Big West in all sports except football. 'The time is right for the Big Sky to bring in Utah Tech and to bring back Southern Utah,' Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said in a statement. 'The addition of rising rival athletic departments from these two universities, located squarely within our geographic footprint in the western United States, reinforce the long-term stability and success of our league. ' The losses of Southern Utah and Utah Tech leaves the Western Athletic Conference with five members following the departures of Seattle, Grand Canyon and Utah Valley. Both schools will remains in the WAC until moving to the Big Sky. The Big Sky also has two football affiliate members, Cal Poly and UC Davis, along with men's golf affiliate Francis Marion, which joins the league on July 1. ___ AP sports:
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Southern Utah, Utah Tech moving to Big Sky Conference in 2026
FARMINGTON, Utah (AP) — Southern Utah and Utah Tech will join the Big Sky Conference as full members starting with the 2026-27 academic year. The additions announced Wednesday will give the conference 11 full members following Sacramento State's departure for the Big West in all sports except football. Advertisement 'The time is right for the Big Sky to bring in Utah Tech and to bring back Southern Utah,' Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said in a statement. 'The addition of rising rival athletic departments from these two universities, located squarely within our geographic footprint in the western United States, reinforce the long-term stability and success of our league. " The losses of Southern Utah and Utah Tech leaves the Western Athletic Conference with five members following the departures of Seattle, Grand Canyon and Utah Valley. Both schools will remains in the WAC until moving to the Big Sky. The Big Sky also has two football affiliate members, Cal Poly and UC Davis, along with men's golf affiliate Francis Marion, which joins the league on July 1. ___ AP sports:
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Cross-country move pays off for future Joplin doctor
JOPLIN, Mo. — A student from Utah is ready to call Joplin home after a cross-country move for medical school. 'I was studying at Dixie State University, now known as Utah Tech, and I was majoring in Spanish. Spanish was my major, and I had a minor in chemistry,' said Chance Aplanalp, KCU student. Early building blocks for Chance Aplanalp, the start on the road to becoming a doctor several states away. 'My wife was about 34 weeks pregnant with our first son, so we had to basically pack our stuff up and make about a 19-hour drive out here to Joplin from St George, Utah. It was definitely a difficult time, but definitely paid off,' said Aplanalp. With a grueling study schedule and demanding tests. But, there have also been some surprising perks as a doctor in training. 'My son was born August 10, my first year. So it was about one week after my first medical school exam. And fortunately, my wife's doctor let me deliver. So I was able to deliver my first my first son, right after one of my first medical school exams, which was one of the biggest blessings of my life,' said Aplanalp. Cross-country move pays off for future Joplin doctor Joplin's Main Street to be revamped with new surface and lights Joplin Blood Center of the Ozarks relocates Recall campaign against Joplin councilman suspended Public joins Rotary Clubs to celebrate International Sculpture Day A blessing that would be repeated as he also got to deliver his second son two years later. Fast forward to 2025, and Chance is now just days away from graduating from KCU Joplin. He'll focus on ear, nose, and throat medicine. 'I was able to do all sorts of audition rotations all the way up from Pennsylvania to Michigan and basically everywhere in between. But I kept coming back to this program,' said Aplanalp. Which Chance has now committed to – a residency at Freeman Health System. 'One of the reasons why is because everywhere I went, Dr McIntyre, both Larry and Kent McIntyre, their names continually got brought up, and their reputation was very, very strong. And I knew, if that was the case, you know, that was somewhere where I would want to be,' said Aplanalp. A new chapter in his life – with new challenges in a good place to call home. 'My wife and I had established really good friendships here. Really enjoyed being in Joplin. We thought it would be a perfect fit to stay in Joplin,' said Aplanalp. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
