Sept. 3, 2009
2009-10 Fordham Men's Basketball Schedule 
Bronx, N.Y. - The 2009-10 Fordham University men's basketball schedule was released today and it features a 16-game Atlantic 10 Conference schedule and 13 home games, as well as a match-up with a Final Four team from 2009 and a renewal of the rivalry with St. John's University.
The schedule is highlighted by a game against Villanova University, which advanced to the NCAA Final Four last winter. That game will be played on Saturday, December 19th, at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. at 2:00 p.m.
The 2009-10 schedule also features the resumption of the St. John's rivalry. The Rams will travel into Queens on Sunday, December 13th, to face the Red Storm in Carnesecca Arena at 4:00 p.m. It will be the 81st meeting between the two teams, the first since 2002. The 80 games played against St. John's is the fourth most against any opponent for Fordham, behind Manhattan (101), Army (83) and Holy Cross (83).
The Rams will open their 106th season of basketball on Friday, November 13th, as they host the University of Maine in the Rose Hill Gym, the first of four non-conference games slated for the historic venue.
Eight of Fordham's 2009-10 opponents saw postseason action last year with four teams appearing in the NCAA Tournament: Villanova (a Final Four participant), Xavier (an Elite Eight team last year who the Rams meet twice this winter), Dayton and Temple. Three others received bids to the NIT (Bowling Green, Duquesne and Rhode Island) and one appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (Richmond).
Fordham's Atlantic 10 schedule includes home-and-home games with Xavier, Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure, as well as a home date with defending champion, Temple University. Charlotte, Dayton, George Washington and La Salle will also pay a visit to the Rose Hill Gym. The Rams also play five Atlantic 10 schools on the road in 2009-10, traveling to Duquesne, Massachusetts, Richmond, Saint Joseph's and Saint Louis.
The first round of the 2010 Atlantic 10 Championship will be played on Tuesday, March 9th, at the site of the higher seeded team and the championship will then move to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City for the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals from March 12-14, 2009.
After opening the 2009-10 season with the Maine game, the Rams travel to Fairfield University on November 15th to face the Stags for the 44th time before returning home for a game with Sacred Heart University on November 18th. Fordham then hits the road for two games, traveling to Hartford, Connecticut, to face the University of Hartford on November 21st , and then have a trip across the Bronx for the annual Battle of the Bronx with Manhattan College on November 28th.
Fordham opens December by hosting Bowling Green State University (Dec. 5th) and Stony Brook University (Dec. 8th) before the St. John's and Villanova games. The Rams close out the non-conference slate with games at James Madison (Dec. 23rd), at Kennesaw State University (Dec. 29th) and at Hampton University on January 3rd.
Fordham will be guided into the season by seventh-year head coach Dereck Whittenburg while on the court the Rams will be led by senior captain Brenton Butler, who missed most of last year with an injury after averaging 11.0 ppg in 2007-08, and sophomore guard Jio Fontan, who was named to the 2009 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team.
