Junior wing Billy Bowen is a key reserve for the third-ranked Tiger men's basketball team.

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg University men’s and women’s basketball teams welcome an outstanding field of eight teams for the 2005 Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic. This year’s competition is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 29, and Friday, Dec. 30, at Wittenberg’s HPER Center. Games for both days are scheduled for 1, 3, 6 and 8 p.m.

Men’s tournament participants for 2005 include Olivet College from Olivet, Mich., Marian College from Indianapolis, Ind., St. Norbert University from DePere, Wisc., and Wittenberg. Action gets under way Thursday at 6 p.m. as Olivet and Marian square off, followed by a clash between the host Tigers and St. Norbert at 8 p.m. or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first game. On Friday, the consolation game is slated for 3 p.m. or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the women’s consolation game, and the championship contest is slated for 8 p.m. or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the women’s championship game.

Wittenberg has won 19 of the 22 title games in the tournament’s history, with the lone exceptions being in 1986 against Centre College, 1997 against the University of Chicago and 2002 against Ohio Dominican University. The Tigers have won two straight, including a 54-47 championship game victory over nationally ranked NAIA foe Taylor a year ago.

This year, the men’s tournament includes just one nationally ranked team – the host Tigers, who stand third in the nation with an 8-1 overall record, including a mark of 1-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. Wittenberg’s first-round opponent, St. Norbert, is off to a deceiving 1-6 start, as three of St. Norbert’s six losses have been by five points or less. Marian is an NAIA scholarship program with a 4-5 overall record heading into the tournament. Olivet, a member of the deep, challenging Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), is also 4-5 in the early-going of the 2005-06 season.

Junior post Kathy Hittle is nearly averaging a double-double for the Tiger women's basketball team.

Women’s tournament participants for 2005 include Manchester College from North Manchester, Ind., Albion College from Albion, Mich., the College of Mount St. Joseph from Cincinnati, Ohio, and Wittenberg. Action gets under way Thursday at 1 p.m. as Albion and Mount St. Joseph square off, followed by a game between the host Tigers and Manchester at 3 p.m. or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first game. On Friday, action opens with the consolation game at 1 p.m. and the championship game at 6 p.m.

Wittenberg has won 10 of the 19 title games in the women’s tournament history, including last year when the Tigers downed Centre College and Hanover College en route to the top spot. Ironically, the Tigers won three straight NCAC regular season titles from 2002-04 without winning their own tournament championship that season.

This year, the women’s tournament features an outstanding field. In the first round, the host Tigers, currently with a 4-4 overall record and a mark of 2-0 in the NCAC, will square off with Manchester, which checks in at 8-1 in the early going of the 2005-06 season. Wittenberg’s record may be somewhat deceiving since the Tigers have three road losses against nationally ranked teams among their four losses. The two teams have one mutual opponent – NCAC member Oberlin – and the Tigers have a 46-point win compared to a 10-point win for Manchester over the Yeowomen. The other first round game involves Albion, which won the MIAA a year ago and is off to a 6-3 start in 2005-06, and Mount St. Joseph, which is 2-7 on the young season.

Formerly known as the Kiwanis Wittenberg Holiday Classic, the annual basketball competition was dedicated in 2005 to Charles Zimmerman, Wittenberg Class of 1956, a longtime Tiger fan and a local attorney who passed away earlier this year.