INDIANAPOLIS - Entering his 35th season, Marian University head men's basketball coach John Grimes has put together a schedule for 2010-11 that consists of three NCAA Division I opponents and one of the toughest conference schedules in the NAIA.

The Knights will open the season on the road in exhibition play as they will travel to Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center to take on the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Monday, Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m.

MU follows that contest with another exhibition against the IUPUI Jaguars on Friday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. The game's location is still to be determined.

The final exhibition contest for Coach Grimes and the Knights is on Saturday, Nov. 13 when they head to storied Hinkle Fieldhouse to take on 2009-10 National Runner-Up Butler University. That time is still to be determined.

The next stop on the Knights' schedule is a road trip to Crawfordsville, Ind., to take on Wabash College on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. before coming back to campus to open the home season with the 12th Annual Ken Elmendorf Memorial Tournament on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 19 and 20. Holy Cross College (Ind.), Mt. Vernon Nazarene University (Ohio), and Berea College (Ky.) will also participate in the tournament.

Mid-Central College Conference play opens when the Knights head to Huntington University on Tuesday, Nov. 23 before MU comes back to the Physical Education Center to take on Waldorf COllege (Iowa) on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 1 p.m.

A trip to Spring Arbor University followson Tuesday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m., before MU returns to Indianapolis to take on Grace College on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 3 p.m. They step out of conference play on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 10 and 11 to take part in the Bethel College Tournament before returning home to host the Marian University Holiday Tournament on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 17 and 18. Doane College (Neb.), Brescia University (Ky.) and Calumet College of St. Joseph will take part in the tournament.

The Knights have one more tournament in Crestview Hills, Ky., on Dec. 27 and 28 when they head to the Thomas More Tournament before they head into the most significant portion of their conference schedule. Their opponents are yet to be determined.

Marian opens the new year with the defending NAIA Division II national champions when they head to Fort Wayne, Ind., to battle the University of Saint Francis (Ind.) Cougars on Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m.

A pair of home games follow on Thursday, Jan. 6 and Tuesday, Jan. 11 when Taylor University and Bethel College come to the Physical Education Center. A pair of road games follow when the Knights head to Indiana Wesleyan on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 3 p.m. and head to Goshen College on Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.

Huntington comes to Indianapolis on Saturday, Jan. 22 for a 3 p.m. tip before Spring Arbor comes to the P.E. Center on Tuesday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. A trip to Grace College on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 3 p.m. is followed by the defending NAIA champs coming to the P.E. Center on Tuesday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m.

A pair of road contests on Saturday, Feb. 5 and Feb. 12 at Taylor and Bethel are before the end of the regular season. MU closes the campaign at home on Tuesday, Feb. 15 when Indiana Wesleyan visits at 7 p.m., and Senior Day is on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. when Goshen comes to the P.E. Center.

The Knights are hoping for another trip to the MCC Tournament as they look to get back to the NAIA Division II National Championship for the fourth time in school history.

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