MOBILE, Ala. – Road games against Big East opponent Louisville and in-state rival Alabama, and the 12th annual Coors Classic highlight the 2010-11 University of South Alabama men’s basketball schedule released Tuesday. (Full Schedule)

The Jaguars will host 14 regular-season home contests, including the season opener Nov. 12 vs. Spring Hill and the Coors Classic Nov. 28 against LSU. USA will play five games against Alabama schools.

“This is one of the most demanding, if not the most, demanding schedule I’ve ever been associated with,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow. “Every year we want to have a schedule that’s as tough as we can get to prepare us for the Sun Belt Conference and this definitely does that.”

The new season begins Nov. 12 against city rival Spring Hill. The two schools will renew their rivalry for the third straight year and will meet for the 19th time overall. The Jags own a 10-game winning streak over the Badgers.

South Alabama open the road schedule Nov. 17 at Southern Miss, return home Nov. 20 vs. Central Michigan and then travel to UAB on Nov. 23. The Blazers and Jaguars, former rivals in the Sun Belt Conference, have met just once since the 2004-05 campaign, a 72-54 UAB win on Dec. 19.

The Coors Classic will be a single game held Nov. 28 at the Mitchell Center. The 12th installment will bring an SEC school for the fifth straight year.

“Any time you can get a quality team like LSU to come to your place before you go to theirs, it’s good,” said Arrow. “This is what we try and do every year. We try to get the best teams to come in here for our fans to see but it’s tough to get high-profile teams to come here.”

The schedule continues Dec. 1 at Alabama. The Crimson Tide and Jaguars have faced each other only twice in their history, both away from Tuscaloosa. USA, led by Arrow, defeated Alabama in the 1989 NCAA Tournament and the Tide returned the favor in 1998 with a 59-45 win in Birmingham.

“A game like this does nothing but help the interest in basketball in the state and we look forward to going up there and playing them,” said Arrow.

The Jaguars end the week Dec. 4 at Louisville. The Cardinals and head coach Rick Pitino have reached the Elite Eight in three of the last six years.

“The Louisville game ends a really tough four-game stretch for us,” said Arrow about playing consecutive games at UAB, LSU, at Alabama and at Louisville. “Our guys are going to have to grow up in a hurry and games like this will help with that process. If we mature the way we’re supposed to and do well in these games then we will be ready for the conference season.”

Starting Dec. 12 USA will play three of its next four at home. The Jags host Houston Baptist on the 12th before traveling to Georgia Southern on Dec. 18. The final pre-Christmas matchup will be Dec. 21 against Alcorn State and the Jaguars return to action Dec. 27 against the University of Mobile. Despite being separated by just over 10 miles, the Rams and Jaguars met for the first time last season.

South Alabama closes the 2010 calendar year with their Sun Belt opener at Arkansas State (Dec. 30) and opens the new year Jan. 2 at home vs. Middle Tennessee.

USA hits the road for its next two outings at Florida Atlantic (Jan. 6) and Florida International (Jan. 8) before returning for a season-long three-game homestand. The Jags host Louisiana at Monroe (Jan. 15), Western Kentucky (Jan. 20) and Florida International (Jan. 22).

“The travel in today’s game is so demanding, from early wake-up calls to going through airports, it’s amazing how tired you can get just sitting in an airport,” said Arrow. “So playing more games at home is definitely an advantage.”

The homestand precedes a stretch of five of seven games away from home. South Alabama starts with a mid-week tilt at Troy (Jan. 27), hosts Louisiana at Lafayette (Jan. 30) and plays at Western Kentucky (Feb. 3) and Middle Tennessee (Feb. 5).

The road swing is broken up when Troy makes the return trip to Mobile Feb. 10 but the Jaguars head back out for games at North Texas (Feb. 17) and Denver (Feb. 20).

The 2010-11 regular season wraps up with two home games. USA welcomes Arkansas-Little Rock to Mobile on Feb. 24 and Florida Atlantic Feb. 27.

The 2011 Sun Belt Conference Tournament will take place March 5-8 in Hot Springs, Ark.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).