SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Summit League officials released the men’s and women’s schedules for the upcoming 2021-22 basketball seasons.

Both slates begin the week before Christmas and will feature an 18-game, home-and-home mirrored schedule between the league’s 10 men’s and women’s programs.

The addition of St. Thomas, who will officially join the league as a full-time member on July 1, gives the league an even number of teams and true travel partners for the upcoming season.

The Tommies will pair with Western Illinois, while North Dakota and North Dakota State, South Dakota and South Dakota State, Kansas City and Oral Roberts and Denver and Omaha will all serve as travel partners as well.

For the 13th-straight year, the men and women will culminate their seasons in Sioux Falls, Sout Dakota, as the event returns to the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, March 5-8. The 2021 Championships were played in the Sanford Pentagon due to the pandemic where No. 2 seed South Dakota won the women’s trophy and No. 4 seed Oral Roberts won the men’s trophy. The PREMIER Center started hosting the event in 2014.

The ORU men made it to the NCAA Sweet 16 and subsequently, the Mabee Center is getting renovated and retrofitted with brand new seats this summer

There will be 90 total league games played from Dec. 20 to Feb. 26. All 10 teams play 18 games, facing the remaining nine teams in a home-and-away series.

South Dakota State won the 2021 regular season title, which marked the fourth straight year the Jackrabbits won at least a share of the title.

Oral Roberts captured its first Summit League Tournament title since 2008 and would advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with wins over No. 2 Ohio State and No. 7 seed Florida. The Golden Eagles were just the third league team to make it that far in the Big Dance.

The first rematch of last season’s Summit League Championship game will take place in Tulsa on Jan. 22 when Oral Roberts plays host to North Dakota State. The Golden Eagles built a 25-point halftime lead only to see the Bison erase that completely by the final minute of play, setting up a frantic finish that saw ORU escape with a 75-72 victory. Those two teams also play in Fargo on Feb. 17.

St. Thomas will play its first Summit League home game on New Year’s Day as Western Illinois visits for a matchup between travel partners.