ORONO - The America East conference announced its 2020-21 conference schedule on Monday. The University of Maine men's basketball program is tentatively slated to compete in 18 conference contests, beginning on December 19th.

Earlier, the America East conference's Basketball Sports Scenario Group approved a new league schedule format for the 2020-21 season. The new format features a full, double round-robin schedule consisting of 18 conference games for each program. The schedule format consists of weekend series, with contests scheduled to be played on Saturday and Sundays, where a team hosts the same opponent on back-to-back days for two games. Open weekends are built towards the end of the season to accommodate any postponed games. 

As it stands, the Black Bears will be opening conference play on December 19th at Hartford, followed by their first home series on January 2nd and 3rd against New Hampshire. Back to back road trips follow with trips to NJIT and Vermont  the following two weekends, followed by a home set against Binghamton on January 23rd and  24th. Maine will alternate between road and home series' the rest of the way, with matchups against UMBC, UAlbany, UMass-Lowell, and Stony Brook concluding the conference slate. 
 

Maine's 22-game schedule remains in flux as local, regional, and national COVID-19 conditions and guidelines change. The University of Maine system will continue to monitor the situation closely.