Bunkenburg's Eagles will face Division I Northwestern University on November 20. (Photo courtesy of Benedictine University)

Benedictine men’s basketball to face Northwestern University
LISLE, Ill. -- Benedictine University men’s basketball head coach Keith Bunkenburg has announced that his team will play NCAA Division I Northwestern University in the upcoming 2007-08 season. The game will take place on Tuesday, November 20 at 7:00 p.m. (CT) at the Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.

“We are obviously very excited at the opportunity to play at Northwestern,” said Bunkenburg. “This will be a tremendous atmosphere for our players and fans, alike. Northwestern is a quality program and does things in a first-class way. This will not only be great, from competition standpoint, but also something for our players to remember for the rest of their lives.”

This will be Benedictine’s – an NCAA Division III institution – first game versus any of the current Big Ten teams. While this will be the Eagles’ initial meeting with a Big Ten member, it is not the Eagles’ first venture versus a Division I foe.

Most recently, Benedictine opened the 2005-06 season with an exhibition game versus Northern Illinois University. In the 2004-05 campaign, Bunkenburg’s team faced both Eastern Illinois University and Loyola University as a part of the regular season. The Eagles lost both contests, falling to EIU, 86-62, and to the Ramblers, 74-59.

Benedictine’s most memorable game versus an NCAA Division I opponent came in the 1990-91 – when Bunkenburg was an assistant under then head coach Tony LaScala. – when the Eagles lost to NIU by a 69-65 margin.

Information for fan buses and other functions related to the game will be forthcoming on the Benedictine web site (www.ben.edu).

Courtesy of Benedictine University, Sports Information Department, September 15, 2007.