The Chipola men's and women's basketball teams will host the Chipola Classic on Friday and Saturday at the Milton H. Johnson Center. 

The Lady Indians open their season on Friday at 5 PM against DME Academy and round out the weekend with Hillsborough Community College at 4 PM on Friday. The Chipola women start out the season with high rankings in the preseason polls coming in at 11th in the NJCAA Rankings and number two in both the FCSAA Preseason Coaches' Poll and the Massey Ratings.

DME Academy will take on a trio of Panhandle teams this weekend. On Thursday night, Northwest Florida won their season opener over DME, 89-43. DME will face Pensacola State on Saturday at Noon. The Pirates will play their first game of the season on Friday in The Milt against Hillsborough at 1 PM. 

Eight players return this season for Coach Greg Franklin as the Lady Indians look to make their third consecutive appearance in the NJCAA Tournament. Ashley Baez averaged 9.0 points per game a season ago and was named the Most Valuable Player at the NJCAA Women's Basketball Coaches Association All Star event played at Clayton State University in Atlanta this summer. Baez averaged 25.5 points in the two-game event, consisting of the Top 40 returning NJCAA players, and led her team to the championship.

Hillsborough will bring an FCSAA preseason #9 ranking and a 0-1 record into the Chipola Classic after falling to Santa Fe College on Tuesday in both teams' season opener. The Lady Hawks, coached by Chris Springs, are a young team with just three sophomores on the roster of a team that made an appearance in last season's FCSAA Tournament. In November of last season, Chipola defeated Hillsborough on their home court, 72-63.

Coach Penny Belford's Lady Pirates will open their season in the first game of the Chipola Classic. The Lady Pirates will take on Hillsborough at 1 PM. Coach Belford returns just two players from last season's squad that spent several weeks in the top 25 a season ago. This season, Pensacola comes into the season unranked nationally but appear at #7 in the FCSAA Coaches' Preseason Poll. 

The Chipola men started the season this past Tuesday with a win over Coastal Alabama North. Sophomore guard Deyton Albury led the Indians with 22 points in the 84-75 victory over the Eagles from Monroeville, Alabama. The #9 Indians will take on Southwest Mississippi Community College at 7 PM on Friday and Polk State College at 6 PM on Sunday.

Southwest Mississippi won their season opener on Tuesday night, 103-80, over Baton Rouge Post Grad Academy. The Bears, from Summit, Mississippi, return to Marianna for the second consecutive season. Corey Schmidt is in his first season as the head coach of the Bears but he was on the staff that went 1-1 at the Milton H. Johnson Classic a year ago. Chipola and the Bears did not meet in last year's event.

A season ago, the Indians ended Polk State's season with a 74-60 win en route to Chipola's 17th State Championship. Brandon Giles enters his sixth season as the head coach of the Eagles. Giles' team consists of ten sophomore players but only one player, Jaelin Simpson, played for the Eagles a season ago. Simpson played in 15 games and averaged 2.9 points/game.

Coach Pete Pena's Pirates opened their season on Tuesday night with a 101-59 win over Florida Coastal Prep. Pensacola was led by sophomore Jarveil Gainey who scored 19 points off the bench for the Pirates. A pair of freshmen reserves, Colin Howells and Brendan Terry, chipped in 17 points each. 

Daily admission for the two-day event is $5 and tickets can be purchased at the door. Chipola Appreciation Club members should enter through the back of the Milton H. Johnson Center. Chipola's games will be broadcast on the College's YouTube channel. Games not involving Chipola will not be broadcast.