The Mountain West Conference and the Missouri Valley Conference announced the pairings for the 2017 MW/MVC Challenge Series in men’s basketball on Wednesday. The Cowboys will face Drake University in the Arena-Auditorium on Dec. 2 with a game time to be determined. 

The Cowboys will face the Bulldogs for the first time since Jan. 2, 1989 in a contest that saw the Pokes down Drake 97-85 in Laramie. Wyoming’s 3-1 all-time against the Bulldogs in a series that dates back to 1960. The Bulldogs finished last season with a 7-24 overall record and will be in their first season under new head coach Niko Medved.

This past year, the Mountain West and Missouri Valley split the 10-game series, 5-5. The MW has an all-time series edge of 3-1-2 in six previous Challenge seasons, including an overall advantage of 33-22 in games played in association with the series. 

The Challenge Series features head-to-head competition between 10 Mountain West and 10 Missouri Valley teams annually, with each conference hosting five games apiece each season.

Annual matchups for teams in the Challenge Series will be based upon factors including the previous year’s achievements, records and RPI rankings, as well as projected rankings/strength of teams in the upcoming season, based on composite sources. Each season will be considered separately in terms of matchups, therefore, games from the previous year’s Challenge Series may not be returned.

Television rights for each Challenge Series contest will be controlled by the home team’s conference television agreement, which will dictate the distribution of the game and all related matters, including tip times.