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September 14, 2002
USI men’s basketball sets exhibition schedule
The University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball team will play a pair of exhibition games, the first on Saturday, November 9, against Tornatta Stars and a second on Saturday, November 16, against the Akron Wingfoots. Start time for both exhibition games will be 7:30 p.m.
For the third straight season, the Screaming Eagles will begin the exhibition season with the Tornatta Stars, an AAU team featuring players from the University of Southern Indiana and the University of Evansville. The Stars are sponsored by Tornatta Tire and coached by Troy Tornatta, a former USI player.
New to the exhibition schedule for USI is the legendary Akron Wingfoots. The Wingfoots have been playing colleges for almost 90 years since being formed in 1918 by workers from the Goodyear Rubber Company who returned from World War I. The 1960s saw the Wingfoots win two national AAU titles (1964 and 1967) and send several players to the USA Olympic team, including the Larry Brown and Calvin Fowler.
Currently, the Wingfoots are sponsored by Reach Entertainment, the owners of several reacord labels as well as the nation’s largest non-network sports library. The purpose of the current Wingfoots is to attract players from smaller schools who wish to continue their career.
The Wingfoots were 15-16 last season, going 3-8 against collegiate teams. Last season’s schedule included Cleveland State University , Findlay University, the University of North Alabama University, Florida International University, Armstrong Atlantic State University, the College of William and Mary, West Virginia Tech University, Macalester College, the University of North Dakota, Kalamazoo College, and the University of Indianapolis.
USI will open the 2002-03 regular season schedule on Saturday, November 23, when the Eagles host Wilberforce University at the Physical Activities Center.