Indianapolis, Ind. – The Horizon League today announced the 2023-24 league men's basketball schedule, which begins in late November and has a new scheduling module

This season, most Horizon League contests will be played on a Wednesday-Saturday or Thursday-Sunday format and league play begins on Wednesday, Nov. 29.

Youngstown State opens up league action against Cleveland State at Beeghly Center on Nov. 29 before visiting Robert Morris on Saturday, Dec. 2.

After five non-conference games, the Penguins close out 2023 and return to league play by hosting Oakland, Sunday, Dec. 31 at Beeghly Center.

Youngstown State opens 2024 with a road contest at Northern Kentucky on Thursday, Jan. 4 before hosting three straight home contests IUPUI (Jan. 7), Purdue Fort Wayne (Jan. 10), and Wright State (Jan. 12).

Three straight road games are next on the docket as the Penguins visit Oakland (Jan. 17), Detroit Mercy (Jan. 20) and IUPUI (Jan. 25) before hosting the Norse (Jan. 28) at Beeghly Center.

Youngstown State begins the final month of the regular season with a pair of road games at Wright State (Feb. 1) and Purdue Fort Wayne (Feb. 4) before another three-game homestand. The Penguins host Milwaukee (Feb. 8), Green Bay (Feb. 10), and Robert Morris (Feb. 14) during that span.

The Penguins play three of the last four games on the road including three straight games visiting Cleveland State (Feb. 17), Milwaukee (Feb. 23), and Green Bay (Feb. 25) before closing out the regular season hosting Detroit Mercy (Feb. 28).

The Horizon League Championship begins with first-round games (March 3) and quarterfinal games (March 7) on campus sites. The semifinals (March 11) and finals (March 12) will be played at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Ind.

The Horizon League embarked on a new scheduling strategy as part of a larger Basketball Excellence Plan that is led by the conference's presidents, chancellors and athletics directors with key input from the head coaches. The Scheduling Committee, led by the athletics directors, oversaw the entire process from beginning to end, with input from head coaches along the way.

The new scheduling model enhances the student-athlete experience by minimizing missed class time and maximizing recovery time. It also allows traditional geographic road trips such as Milwaukee-Green Bay and Oakland-Detroit Mercy to minimize travel costs. There is also no dependency on former travel partner's facility conflicts, which helps minimize long stretches of road games and time away from home.

For season tickets and group ticket information, fans can call the YSU Athletics Ticket Office at (330) 941-1978.