CHARLOTTE, N.C. – With the 2025-2026 college basketball season on the horizon, Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball is thrilled to announce its participation in the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon hosted at the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on November 3^rd.
 
The opening day marathon will feature six games throughout the day, with three games taking place in Rock Hill and the remaining three games in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Queens will get the college basketball season underway against local rivals Winthrop at 8:00 a.m. All six games will be broadcast on The Field of 68's YouTube Channel and X feeds, and the network's popular After Dark show will be broadcast live with a set at both venues.
 
"As a program, we couldn't be more honored to be asked to play in an event like this," said Queens head coach Grant Leonard. "Queens and Winthrop is a huge game on our non-conference schedule. It matters in this area, and for it to be the opening game of the college basketball season is a big deal!"
 
The showdown with the Eagles will mark the eighth all-time meeting between the two programs that are separated by 20 miles. Winthrop holds a 5-2 lead in the all-time series, including the last four matchups. The Royals will make the short trip down I-77 for the seventh time since their first meeting back in 1990.
 
Last season, Winthrop traveled to Curry Arena and held off a late second-half comeback by the Royals. The Eagles shot 50 percent from the field and controlled the paint, scoring 50 points from the block. Winthrop forced 13 turnovers by the Royals, which translated to 17 points, proving to be a key difference in the game.
 
In total, 12 teams will be participating in the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon. Queens, Winthrop, Bradley, St. Bonaventure, High Point, and Furman will meet in Rock Hill, while Drake, Northern Arizona, Murray State, Omaha, South Dakota State, and Merrimack will meet in Sioux Falls.
 
Tickets will go on sale beginning September 5^th on TicketReturn for the games in Rock Hill. Fans looking to catch the action in Sioux Falls can visit Ticketmaster to purchase tickets.
 
"We are honored to be involved in this event, which has some of the elite programs in the country that exist outside the sport's traditional power structure," Field of 68 founder Rob Dauster said. "This is a great opportunity for us to be able to provide more coverage for these teams that frankly don't get enough. What we do at the Field of 68 is try and give teams at all levels the coverage they deserve."

The full schedule can be found below:
Winthrop vs. Queens (8:00 a.m./Rock Hill, S.C.)
St. Bonaventure vs. Bradley (11:00 a.m./Rock Hill, S.C.)
Murray State vs. Omaha (1:30 p.m./Sioux Falls, S.D.)
Drake vs. Northern Arizona (4:00 p.m./Sioux Falls, S.D.)
High Point vs. Furman (6:30 p.m./Rock Hill, S.C.)
South Dakota State vs. Merrimack (9:00 p.m./Sioux Falls, S.D.)
 
Queens is coming off their third Division 1 campaign, which was a historic one. The Royals reached the 20-win mark for the first time in Division 1, and the 19^th time in school history. Queens made their third consecutive trip to the Atlantic Sun Tournament and defeated Florida Gulf Coast to advance to their first semifinal appearance. Following the 19-14 season, Queens accepted an invitation to the 2025 Purple College Basketball Invitational, where they took down Northern Arizona in the opening round.
 
Be sure to follow Queens Men's Basketball on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok for news and updates throughout the offseason. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics on social media to stay up to date on all the Royals sports in action.