SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Fueled by NCAA Division II provisional status, the Dominican University of California Department of Athletics today released the schedules for its sports teams for the 2010-11 season and they come with an upgrade.

“Last year was a transitional year for our Athletics program into NCAA Division II and the Pacific West Conference and this year we are stepping up and accepting the challenge to improve our schedules,” said Dominican Director of Athletics Terry Tumey. “Scheduling Division I programs and top-quality Division II programs is part of that process. We are excited about  the upcoming seasons for all our athletic teams.”

The Penguins men's basketball team will play three NCAA Division I opponents – the University of San Francisco, Colorado State, and Hampton – in USF's Hilltop Classic December 28 through January 1. Coach Bret Tovani's team also will host the Dominican Classic at the Conlan Center December 17–18, featuring St. Martin's University and Seattle Pacific University.

Men's basketball  will open its season against either Minnesota State or Sonoma State on November 19 in the first day of  the Sonoma State Classic in Rohnert Park and begin Pacific West Conference action on January 8 at the University of Hawai'i – Hilo. On January 12, the Penguins will play defending league champion BYU-Hawaii on Oahu and play them again in San Rafael on February 15. BYU-Hawaii last season lost in the NCAA Div. II West Regional to Cal Poly Pomona, which went on to win the NCAA Div. II championship.

The Penguins are eligible this season to compete for the PacWest title and qualify for the NCAA Div. II men's basketball tournament, which concludes at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Mass. March 23–26, 2011.

Brianna Chambers, coach of Dominican's women's basketball team, will open regular-season play on November  12  against her alma mater, Cal State Bakersfield, which this season is transitioning into NCAA Division I. The Penguin women, who open the season November 2 with an exhibition game against Menlo College in the Conlan Center, also have an exhibition game at NCAA Div. I San Jose State on November 6. Dominican will play in the Alaska-Fairbanks tournament November 25–27 and one of its opponents will be Fort Lewis College, the runner-up in the NCAA Div. II tournament last season.

Dominican's fall sports season will start on August  21 when its men's soccer team, coached by Jon Delano, opens with a home scrimmage against San Francisco State followed by a five-game road trip, including an exhibition game at NCAA Div. I UC Davis on August 26. The Penguins' season-opening game is at UC San Diego on September 2 and the last game of their road trip is at Sonoma State in Rohnert Park on September 7.

The women's home season-opener will be September 10 against St. Martin's prior to the Lady Penguins' first PacWest game, at home against Grand Canyon University on September 15 followed by a September 22 home match against defending league champion Dixie State College.

Dominican's men's soccer team, also coached by Delano, opens with a five-game road trip. The Penguins have an exhibition game at Cal State East Bay on August 24 and another exhibition game at UC Davis on August 26. The Penguins' season-opening game is at UC San Diego on September 2 and the last game of their road trip is at Sonoma State in Rohnert Park on September 7.

The Penguins' home-opening men's soccer match will be September 10 against St. Martin's, defending champions of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference,  followed by the PacWest opener against defending league champion Grand Canyon University on September 15.

Gayle Stammer, Dominican's new women's volleyball coach, will make her Penguins coaching debut on September 3 against Chico State at the four-game, two-day Sonoma State Seawolf Spike tournament. The Lady Penguins' home opening game at the Conlan Center will be September 6 against the University of Alaska-Anchorage. PacWest action will start on September 24 at home versus Dixie State. Defending PacWest champion Hawai'i Hilo plays Dominican in the Conlan Center on October 8 and 9.

Dominican's first men's and women's cross country teams since 1998, coached by Larry Schwartz, will compete in their first meet on September 11 at the Hornet Jamboree Invite/Sacramento State University. That meet will be followed by invitational meets at Stanford University on September 25 and three meets in October.

The Penguins' women's tennis team, coached by Greg Kennett, will start its fall schedule on September 24–26 with the Dominican Invitational.

Dominican's golf teams, coached by Marsha O'Neill, begin fall action on September 12–14 (the women play at CSU Monterey Bay Invite) and on September 18–21 (the men play at Sonoma State Invite).

Coach Ned Webster's men's lacrosse team also will play a fall schedule, beginning with a scrimmage on October 15 at Sonoma State. The Penguins also will have home scrimmages against the Marin Lacrosse Club on October 23 and against Cal-Berkeley on October 30

Dominican's women's softball team begins its 2011 season February 4–6 when the Lady Penguins play in a tournament in Turlock. Coach Bob Herman's team's first home games will be a doubleheader on March 4 against Academy of Art University at McInnis Park.