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As the stimulating scenes of last year’s men’s Ivy League Championship linger in the minds of fans, Yale’s men’s and women’s basketball teams are gearing up for the new season. 

Last week, the Ivy League officially released the men’s hoops season schedule, with the women’s schedule soon to follow. Despite the first game for both teams being more than a month away, this year’s schedule will still follow an adjusted travel format. Coaches and players, excited for the new season, shared their most anticipated matchups and thoughts on the Conference ahead of play.

“The history of it is that Princeton’s finals schedule prohibited us from playing in early January,” men’s head coach James Jones said. “They have since changed their finals schedule which added a lot of versatility to what we’re able to do as a league. And in doing so, some of the coaches in our league felt like the travel partners and playing games back to back were too much for the student athletes.” 

The Ivy League has discontinued the traditional travel partner schedule since last season. Previously, teams would go on weekend road trips to play back-to-back against a pair of rival teams in the area. But now, games against two schools in the same area have been spaced out.

Forward Isaiah Kelly ’23 said he appreciated having the time between games to recharge and lock in on the team’s next opponent. Kelly noted the difficulty of long travels during the season, while women’s guard Jenna Clark ’24 said the traditional system made it difficult to scout the second team on the back-to-back schedule.

A benefit of the traditional travel-partner schedule that Clark pointed out was the convenience for parents to see two games in a short period of time. Jones and women’s captain Camilla Emsbo ’23 both noted the traditional schedule’s intensity as another upside, which Emsbo said “definitely took a lot of grit.”

“I enjoyed that I found a way to build the team through it and how to prepare the team for league play.” Jones said.

Whatever comes of this new schedule, Jones pointed out that it remains a work-in-progress.

“What we did last year and what we’re going to do this year isn’t going to be what it’s going to turn out to be,” Jones said. “The coaches feel like there are ways to make it better so we’re going to explore ways to make it better.”

On the men’s side, the Bulldogs will be traveling to Lexington on Dec. 10 to play the Wildcats, the first time the two teams will meet in Rupp Arena since 1961. A trip to Denver in late November will feature a reunion with former team captain Jalen Gabbidon ’22, a graduate transfer at Colorado.

Kelly said the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii this December is his most anticipated string of games. 

“Hawaii is a big thing I’m [really] looking forward to,” Kelly wrote to the News. “My family [is] gonna be there, my extended family [too]. Just to have family there [is] such a nice vibe…  It’ll be a great opportunity for us.” 

For the women’s team, the Bulldogs hope to avenge nail biting losses from the previous season to Saint Joseph’s University and the University of Maine. 

“Those were games we could’ve won so … having those rematches would be super cool for us,” guard Clark said. “Our goal with all games is to play hard and win, and I think with every game [this year] we have a chance to do that.”

Clark and Esmbo both expressed enthusiasm for the game against Syracuse, a Big Five School which will prove to be a test for the team.

Despite mixed sentiments about the new schedule, coaches and players were united in their optimism about the new season. 

“I’m an optimistic person, and I’m normally quite optimistic, so I feel good about what’s ahead of us,” Jones said.