MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's golf program might be under the direction of a new mentor this season, but one thing will remain the same for the Jaguars — a challenging schedule.

In addition to hosting a pair of events featuring some of the top programs in the nation, USA will also compete in four tournaments hosted by Southeastern Conference schools as part of a slate released Wednesday by first-year head coach Alex Hamilton.

"I think we have an excellent schedule, [former] Coach [Ben] Hannan set up a great schedule that we've tweaked a little by adding an event," Hamilton said.  "We have 11 total tournaments on the schedule all over the Southeast, we're looking forward to competing."

The season will open Sept. 12-13 at The Invitational at The Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, S.C., where the Jaguars placed second in a 14-team field to conclude their 2013 fall slate the last time they participated in the event.  A week later, USA will play for the first time ever in the Bridgestone Match Play, which will be hosted by USC Upstate in Braselton, Ga.

In the opening two weeks of October, the Jags will take part in the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate in Birmingham and the David Toms Intercollegiate in a six-day span; Alabama will play host to the first tournament Oct. 3-4, with Louisiana State's event set for Oct. 8-9 in Baton Rouge.  While it marks the first time since 2012 that the Jaguars will compete at the Jerry Pate, last fall was the first occasion in the last seven seasons that South missed the latter competition.

The fall season will come to a close on Oct. 29-30 when the USA plays host to the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational in Loxley, Ala.  In addition to the Jags, the field in the event's debut includes NCAA Regional participants Kentucky, South Florida and Kennesaw State — the Wildcats and Bulls advanced to the national championship — along with Cincinnati, DePaul, Lamar, Rice, Richmond, Southern Mississippi and Western Kentucky.

"Starting off at the Ocean Course — one of the best venues in the country, and an extremely challenging golf course if the wind is blowing — will be a great test for our guys to see where we are early in the year.  It will, as always, have a good field as well," explained Hamilton.  "We're excited about the Bridgestone Match Play and supporting a corporation that does a good job backing us, the Jerry Pate and David Toms are obviously great events, and with the Pate here in Alabama it will be a big one for us to play well in.  The Steelwood Invitational is a new event at a great golf course in our area, it's going to be one of the best events in the entire country if not this season in the next couple of years; they are going to do a great job like they do with everything over there."

The Jaguars will also play their first event of the spring at home, with the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate scheduled to be held at the Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course Feb. 20-21.  Competing in this year's edition of the tournament will be Louisville — which qualified for the NCAA Championship in May with a top-five finish at a regional — Mississippi State, Kansas State, West Virginia, Chattanooga, Cincinnati and Lamar, as well as fellow Sun Belt Conference members Georgia State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Texas State.  Abilene Christian, Illinois State, Southern Miss and WKU will also be playing.

A stretch that features three tournaments in three weeks highlights the schedule in March.  USA will compete at Auburn's Tiger Invitational for the fifth year in a row March 5-7 before taking part in the General Hackler Championship hosted on March 11-12 by Coastal Carolina.  The Jags will wrap up their spring break trip March 19-20 at the Seahawk Intercollegiate, which is being hosted by UNC-Wilmington.

On April 3-4, South will compete at Mississippi State's Old Waverly Collegiate Championship, closing out the regular season April 15 with the Sun Belt vs. Conference USA Match Play in Hattiesburg, Miss.

"I like for our guys to play the best quality of golf courses they can play, I think we have done that this year," Hamilton observed.  "Our conference tournament is on a great championship track, it can be very tough if the wind blows.  I think it is important for us to play a relatively decent amount close to the coast since that's where we play the Sun Belt Championship.  We have two tournaments to get more match-play experience, so hopefully we can make match play again at the league championship and those events will help us compete."

The postseason will begin with the SBC Championship April 23-25, which will be held at the Raven Golf Course in Sandestin, Fla., for the third consecutive season.  Six NCAA Regionals will be contested May 15-17, with the NCAA Championship set to take place in Sugar Grove, Ill., May 26-31.

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

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