STEUBENVILLE—This weekend marks a new step forward in athletics for Franciscan University of Steubenville's Baron basketball team. Berry College, Birmingham Southern College, and Covenant College will join the Barons in participating in a two-day NCAA provisional tournament Friday and Saturday at the Finnegan Fieldhouse.

The idea for the provisional tournament was started by Kyle Taylor, the men's basketball coach at Covenant. Last summer Taylor contacted all division three provisional basketball teams in the United States with the idea, and as seven teams—including Franciscan—expressed interest in participating, the central location became Franciscan University. Even after three of the seven teams bowed out, Franciscan was still kept as the host-site for the tournament.

"I wanted to participate in a tournament like this, but the reality of us being able to travel in order to do so seemed unlikely," said Baron head coach Sean Donovan. "When it happened that FUS was the most central location, I knew this would be good practice for when we are full members and could possibly host a season tournament."

Friday's games begin with middle-seeded teams Covenant and Berry battling it out at 5:30 p.m., followed by Franciscan taking on number one seed Birmingham-Southern at 8 p.m. Saturday's consolation game begins at 12 p.m. with the championship game at 2 p.m. An awards ceremony will follow, honoring the tournament champion with a trophy and honors given to the all-tournament team chosen by the four teams' coaches.

Birmingham-Southern walks into the tournament with a 21-4 season record and features junior guard Jasen Jonus, recently named second team All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. Berry College follows in the number two spot with a 15-10 record and is a two-time defeater of Covenant this season. Covenant rounds out the visitors with a 5-20 record; the player to watch is Callum Sears with an average of 13.3 points per game. Franciscan wraps up the field with a 4-19 record and senior guard Thomas Kleinschnitz, named first team All-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference for leading the conference in averaging 20.7 points per game.

"I'm looking forward to the Barons playing the heavy favorite [Birmingham-Southern] on Friday," said Donovan. "It will be great exposure for my players to play a high level of competition. The caliber of their players is the kind we would see in a NCAA tournament."

Concessions will be offered both days. The Lady Barons softball team will be selling baked goods, and a campus household will offer nachos and soda. Franciscan University's pep band will play throughout the tournament, and the University's dance team, The Baronettes, will perform during Friday's 8 p.m. game.

General admission prices are $3 per ticket. Students 13-18 and senior citizens are admitted for $1. Children 12 and under, FUS students with ID, and FUS staff and family are admitted for free.