Atlantic University Sport releases 2023-24 winter sports schedules

(HALIFAX, N.S.) Today, Atlantic University Sport released its 2023-24 winter sports schedules, as well as the hosts for the 2024 AUS winter championships.

Women's and men's basketball

The 2023-24 AUS basketball season is set to begin on Thursday, Oct. 26, when the AUS women's basketball defending champion Saint Mary's Huskies play host to the Acadia Axewomen in Halifax at 6 p.m. The men's matchup between the Huskies and Axemen will follow at 8 p.m.

The AUS men's basketball defending champion STFX X-Men—2023 U SPORTS silver medalists—will open the season at home Friday, Oct. 27 when they play host to the UNB REDS. Game time is set for 8 p.m., following the same match-up on the women's side at 6 p.m.

The fall portion of the schedule wraps up on Saturday, Nov. 25, with teams returning to the hardwood for the second half on Friday, Jan. 5. Regular season play finishes on Saturday, Feb. 17.

The AUS championships return to Scotiabank Centre once again in 2024, with the top six teams competing for the conference title from Feb. 23 to 25.  

The 2023 U SPORTS women's basketball championship will be hosted by the University of Alberta March 7 to 10, while the men's championship will be held at Université Laval March 8 to 10.

Find the complete 2023-24 AUS women's basketball schedule here, and the men's schedule here.

Women's hockey

The 2023-24 AUS women's hockey season begins on Wednesday, Oct. 4 with two 7 p.m. games. The UPEI Panthers will play host to the Moncton Aigles Bleues in Charlottetown, P.E.I., while the Mount Allison Mounties visit the Dalhousie Tigers in Halifax, N.S.

The two-time reigning champion UNB REDS will host their crosstown rivals, the St. Thomas Tommies, in their home opener Saturday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. in Fredericton, N.B.

Fall semester play wraps up on Friday, Dec. 1, with the winter semester getting underway on Thursday, Jan. 4.

After regular-season competition finishes on Feb. 11, the top six teams will move on to post-season play.

This will feature three rounds of playoff series with the top two seeds receiving byes into the semi-final round. The quarterfinals will follow a best-of-three format while the semifinals will be a best-of-five series. The 2023 AUS women's hockey champion will be determined by a best-of-three championship final series.

The 2024 U SPORTS women's hockey championship will be hosted by the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, March 14 to 17.

The complete 2023-24 AUS women's hockey schedule is now available here.

Men's hockey

AUS men's hockey fans can look forward to a Wednesday, Oct. 4 start date for the 2023-24 season. The Moncton Aigles Bleus will host the UPEI Panthers at 7 p.m. on opening day.

The remaining teams will open their seasons Friday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. The reigning U SPORTS champion (and five-time AUS defending champion) UNB REDS play host to Moncton in Fredericton, N.B., while the Acadia Axemen host STFX in Wolfville, N.S. and the Saint Mary's Huskies host crosstown rivals Dalhousie in Halifax, N.S.

The fall competition schedule finishes on Saturday, Dec. 2 with teams taking to the ice again on Wednesday, Jan. 3.

The final regular season games of 2023-24 will be played Saturday, Feb. 10, and will be followed by a pair of best-of-three quarter-final series. The two top-seeded teams will receive a bye to the semi-final round, which will feature two best-of-five series.

The two semi-final winners will meet in a best-of-three series for the 2024 AUS men's hockey championship final.

The 2024 U SPORTS University Cup men's hockey championship will take place March 14 to 17 and will be hosted by Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) in Toronto, Ont.

The complete 2023-24 AUS men's hockey schedule can be found here.

Women's volleyball

AUS women's volleyball returns on Friday, Oct. 27 with two big matchups: the UNB REDS host the Memorial Sea-Hawks at 6 p.m. AT in Fredericton, N.B., while the Acadia Axewomen host the Saint Mary's Huskies at 7 p.m. AT in Wolfville, N.S.

The ten-time defending AUS champion Dalhousie Tigers (2023 U SPORTS bronze medalists) will open their season on the road with two games against the Moncton Aigles Bleues Saturday, Oct. 28 and Sunday, Oct. 29, both set for 2 p.m.

The Tigers will host their home opener the following weekend, playing host to the UNB REDS Friday, Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m.

Fall semester play will wrap up Saturday, Nov. 25 and winter semester play will open Friday, Jan. 5.

AUS women's volleyball playoffs will follow the regular season, which wraps up on Saturday, Feb. 17.

The two best-of-three semi-final playoff series will feature the top four teams from the regular season standings (fourth place versus first place and third place versus second place). The winners of the semi-final series will meet in a best-of-three championship final series.

The 2024 U SPORTS women's volleyball championship will be hosted March 15 to 17 by McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.

Click here for the complete 2023-24 AUS women's volleyball schedule.

Women's and men's swimming

The 2023-24 AUS swimming season opens on the Oct. 21-22 weekend, when Acadia will play host to the first meet of the year—the Jack Scholz Invitational Meet.

AUS men's and women's swim teams will then head to UNB for the Amby Legere Invitational meet Nov. 4-5 in Fredericton, N.B.

Dalhousie will host the Kemp-Fry Invitational meet Nov. 24-26 at the Dalplex in Halifax, N.S. to wrap up fall semester competition.

The final invitational meet of the season will be hosted by UNB Jan. 20-21 in Saint John, N.B.

Dalhousie is set to host the 2024 AUS swimming championships Feb. 23-25 in Halifax, N.S.

The U SPORTS swimming championships are set to take place March 7-9, 2024. The host and location of that event have not yet been announced.

Find the complete 2023-24 AUS swimming schedule here.

Women's and men's track and field

The 2024 AUS women's and men's track and field championships will be hosted by Université de Moncton Feb. 23-24 in Moncton, N.B.

The U SPORTS track and field championships will be hosted March 7-9 by the University of Manitoba.

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