Practice? Eureka College and Illinois College are Talking About a Game!

EUREKA, Ill. -- Future Hall of Famer Allen Iverson once said, "We're talking about practice, not a game, not a game, not a game..."  Well we ARE talking about a game.  For years and years "Midnight Madness" has been centered around the start of basketball practice.  As hundreds of colleges around the country celebrate the start of practice over the next week Eureka College and Illinois College will take "Midnight Madness" to a new level.  The two colleges will celebrate the start of competition with a scheduled women's basketball game on November 13, 2015 at midnight (Thursday night into Friday morning).  Not only will the game be Midnight Madness, it will also tip off the basketball season as the first game of the NCAA Calendar for all divisions.
 
"We are really excited to partner with Eureka College as pioneers in college basketball," said Mike Snyder, Director of Athletics at Illinois College.  "This game will be the first NCAA college basketball game of 2015-16 at the first possible moment allowed by the NCAA.  We believe this will be the start of a national trend of celebrating the start of competition as the true Midnight Madness. "
 
The matchup against the Lady Blues will be the first meeting between the storied schools since 2001 and first basketball game held in the newly renovated and renamed Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena and Convocation Center inside the historic Reagan Athletic Complex.
 
"This is a great opportunity for Illinois College and Eureka College to set a trend in college sports and do something our student-athletes won't forget," Steve Thompson, Head Women's Basketball Coach and Director of Athletics said.  "There is already a great buzz on our campus from our team, but also our students.  It is such a unique event, you won't find this madness on any other campus in the country."
 
A quick look at the national calendar no game is currently scheduled before 10 a.m. CT.  You can catch the Illinois College at Eureka College game ten hours earlier.  If you want to tip off the college season as early as possible you can watch live video and statistics at EurekaRedDevils.com or use #SeasonStartsHere for twitter updates.
 
The Red Devils are 17-15 in season openers since Eureka's game-by-game records began and 1-0 under Coach Thompson after a thrilling 94-92 comeback victory at Knox College last season.

Eureka welcomes back two starters from last season's 14-13 team, highlighted by preseason All-American senior sharp-shooter Emily Camden (Green Valley, Ill./Midwest Central) who was a second team All-SLIAC selection last season after averaging 15.8 points per game and setting the single-season school record for 3-pointers made with 78.