The #15 Valparaiso bowling team will travel to tournaments hosted by five of the nation’s top-seven teams as part of its schedule for the upcoming season, as unveiled today by head coach Matt Nantais.

For the second straight year, the Crusaders will participate in a scrimmage at #8 UW-Whitewater prior to the start of the season, with Elmhurst competing as well.  The regular season opens up for Valpo at the FDU NJ Jamboree on Oct. 31-Nov. 2, hosted by #7 Fairleigh Dickinson.

Valpo will host the Crusader Classic for the fifth consecutive year on Nov. 7-9 at Inman’s in Valparaiso.  The 14-team tournament features ten squads ranked in the top-20 of the NTCA preseason poll, including six of the top-ten teams and each of the top-four teams.

In their final tournament prior to the holidays, the Crusaders will travel to preseason #1 Nebraska for the Big Red Invitational Nov. 13-15.  Valpo then begins the 2015 calendar year on Jan. 16-18 at the Mid-Winter Invitational in Jonesboro, Ark., hosted by #2 Arkansas State.

The tournament in Arkansas is the first of three consecutive weekends the Crusaders will be in action in late January.  A trip to #12 Kutztown for the Kutztown Invitational is on the docket Jan. 23-25, followed Jan. 30-Feb. 1 by the Prairie View A&M Invitational in Arlington, Texas.

Following nearly a month without competition, Valpo will return to the lanes Feb. 27-Mar. 1 at #6 Central Missouri for the Central Missouri Invitational, followed the next weekend (Mar. 6-8) by a trip to #4 Vanderbilt for the Columbia 300 Music City Classic in Smyrna, Tenn. to close out the regular season.  The NCAA Championships will be contested in St. Louis, Mo. this year on Apr. 9-11.