JQH Arena Fan Guidelines | Tickets
 
SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State men's basketball head coach Dana Ford announced today his team will finally kick off the 2020-21 season on Wednesday, Dec. 16 against William Jewell College at JQH Arena with a 7 p.m. opener.
 
The Bears have been in the COVID protocol since positive tests on the team Nov. 27 canceled their originally-scheduled season opener against Evangel and the team's next four games. Since then, the Bears have adhered to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) procedures, in addition to Springfield and Greene County health guidelines which allowed them to resume full team activities Friday.
 
"It's been a long couple of weeks to get everyone out of quarantine and through all the safety checks," said Ford. "But we are really excited that William Jewell has agreed to come down and play us for our opener. Any time we can play an in-state school and help each other out, we are excited to do it. That game will kick off a busy week for us and get us ready for the start of conference play right after Christmas."
 
Ford's Bears will play William Jewell on Dec. 16, followed by scheduled home games against Northwestern State on Saturday, Dec. 19 and Little Rock on Monday, Dec. 21. Ford also noted the team is trying to land another non-conference game for Dec. 23 that would complete a four-game, non-conference slate.
 
For the William Jewell game, season ticket holders may use their original Game One tickets (the Nov. 27 Evangel ticket) for entry, or drop by the Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena to pick up replacement tickets. The box office, (417) 836-7678, is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this week, with extended hours through tipoff on game day Wednesday. New ticket purchases are also available at the box office or online at MissouriStateBears.com/tickets.
 
Missouri State will begin Missouri Valley Conference play with a two-game set at Northern Iowa, Dec. 27-28 in Cedar Falls before a home league series against Indiana State, Jan. 2-3.