Iona announced on Oct. 5 that the Gaels will be playing their first game against the Fordham Rams on Wednesday, Nov. 25. 

The announcement comes following their previous four-year agreement to play against each other. The game will be played at Fordham’s Rose Hill Gymnasium in the Bronx without fans, as per New York City and New York State protocol. 

The rivalry between the Gaels and the Rams goes far back, with one of the most anticipated Rams-Gaels matches traditionally being in men’s water polo. The Judge Cup has been a major match that the Gaels have looked forward to year after year. This will be the first time since the first Judge Cup in 2016 that the Gaels won’t play the Rams. 

While the men’s water polo streak will be cut this year, the hope is that the men’s basketball streak will begin anew. This will be the first time that Fordham and Iona meet on the court since the 2006-07 season. Before that, the Gaels played the Rams every season since 1979. 

The agreement between Fordham and Iona sees both sides playing at each other’s campuses every other year. The first and third matches will be at Fordham’s campus, while the second and fourth matches will be at Iona’s campus. 

Since the two colleges started playing each other in 1942, Fordham has led the Gaels in wins with a record of 32-31. 

Iona is planning to announce the remainder of the non-conference basketball schedule soon.  The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference schedule was announced on Sept. 22.