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AU Men’s Basketball Opens With Virginia
Commonwealth in Preseason NIT on Nov. 15

Jeff Jones will begin his fifth year on the sidelines for the Eagles.

July 23 , 2004 - NIT Bracket

WASHINGTON - The American University men’s basketball team will compete in the 2004 preseason National Invitational Tournament. American will play at Virginia Commonwealth University on Monday, Nov. 15, at the ALLTEL Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. The pairings were announced by John J. Powers, Executive Director of the preseason and postseason NIT.

It is the first time the Eagles have ever been invited to compete in the preseason NIT, which was inaugurated in 1985. American has competed in the postseason NIT on three occasions. The AU-VCU game will be the 35th meeting between the two schools and AU leads the series 18-14. The last meeting was in the 2000-01 campaign when the Eagles were still part of the Colonial Athletic Association.

The winner of the AU-VCU contest will compete against the winner of George Washington-Wake Forest game. The first two rounds will be played on campus sites with first-round games being played on Nov. 15 and 16. The second round will be played on Nov 17, 18 and 19 with the semifinals and championship doubleheaders slated for Nov. 24 and 26 at Madison Square Garden.

American will be led into the 2004-05 campaign under fifth-year head coach Jeff Jones. Jones led AU to an 18-13 record in 2003-04 and both a third consecutive trip to the Patriot League championship game and a winning season. It is the first time since the 1988-89 thru 1990-91 seasons that AU has enjoyed three straight winning years. The Eagles also recorded a six-game winning streak in 2003-04, the first time they have done so since the 1989-90 campaign.

American University, which fields a 19-sport NCAA Division I athletics program featuring 10 women’s sports and nine for men, completed its third year of membership in the Patriot League. Since joining the Patriot League, the University has captured league championships in men’s cross country, women’s cross country, women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball, field hockey and a regular-season title in men’s basketball.