The University of St. Thomas men’s and women’s basketball teams will open their home schedule with a doubleheader against Army West Point. Multiple outlets write about the news.
From the Pioneer Press story:
The University of St. Thomas’ basketball teams will open their new arena with a men’s/women’s doubleheader at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena on Nov. 8.
Both teams will play Army, the alma mater of Lee Anderson. Game times will be announced at a later date.
“These games will be a celebration of so many things, including Lee Anderson and the Tommie Athletic Department as a whole,” St. Thomas vice president and athletics director Phil Esten said in a statement.
From the KSTP story:
The University of St. Thomas will open their men’s and women’s basketball home season by playing Army.
The games will also be the inaugural basketball contests in the Lee and Penny Anderson Arena.
It will be the first ever meeting between Army and St. Thomas.
Lee & Penny Anderson Arena will officially open on Oct. 24, when the St. Thomas hockey programs host Providence. Season tickets for both Tommie basketball and hockey are currently on sale.
From the Bring Me The News story:
University of St. Thomas was officially instated as a full Division I program this week and that means the Tommies are eligible to qualify for NCAA tournaments and championships – and on Wednesday the St. Paul-based university announced that its men’s and women’s basketball teams will play Army next season.
The Army connection will go deep in the home opener as Lee Anderson played football and basketball at West Point before graduating with a civil engineering degree in 1961 and later served at Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, Arizona.
The Andersons donated $75 million to the Tommies in 2024, helping fund the new $175 million basketball and hockey arena in St. Paul.
