The San Diego State men’s basketball team will not play a major-conference opponent at home for the first time in six years in the upcoming 2007-08 season.

SDSU, which released its non-conference schedule last Tuesday, was unable to lure enough big name programs to fill the San Diego Slam, and as a result of its cancellation, will play just one of its first six games at Cox Arena. Though the Aztecs’ away slate features notable match-ups against Cal, Arizona and Fresno State, the only home games scheduled before finals week of the fall semester are against UCSD, Western Michigan and UC Riverside.

In the past few seasons, SDSU has hosted Texas Tech, Arizona and Cal in the early part of the season.

“Unfortunately, this year we had to fulfill the back-end of a lot of home-and-home contracts (with other programs),” sports information director Mike May said. “After we finished with those we didn’t have a lot of empty spaces left on the schedule.”

Because of the lack of early home games, students will have limited chances to see the Aztecs before winter vacation and might not provide as much support for the program once it enters Mountain West Conference play.

“I guess the good part is you find out if you can do well on the road,” SDSU graduate student Mike Skropeta said. “But then (the Aztecs) risk starting the season poorly and the students probably end up not knowing much about the team so they can’t get behind it.”

According to the athletic program, fan participation at games has been vital to the team’s success in the past few years.

“The student body has been great to us,” May said. “The fans have really taken a lead role in creating a great atmosphere in Cox Arena. We really can’t appreciate the support enough.”

SDSU could gain recognition among NCAA Tournament selection committees by performing well in its road games, but a schedule with more balance between home and away contests would likely serve the team better.

In the past few years, the San Diego Slam, which has been at Cox Arena since 2004, has helped the Aztecs maintain that balance. In 2006, SDSU played Arizona in the event and even though it lost, managed to boost the program’s strength of schedule.

“I think the fact that (the program) couldn’t get the Slam together means we might not be good enough to attract a big name team,” Skropeta said. “Every team is about playing better teams and raising their reputation, so it shows people don’t really think they need to play us.”

The Aztecs believe part of the reason the event-field couldn’t be completed was because of the way the tournament is set up.

Unlike other mini-tournaments in which programs can play up to three games and only have one game counted against its schedule, the Slam offers an opportunity to play in just one contest.

“It’s easy to get teams to come to a tournament when they can essentially play three games for the price of one,” May said. “But the Slam isn’t like that and, unfortunately, this year it just didn’t work out with us being able to find three marquee teams all willing to get together on the same day.”

Upon canceling the event, SDSU was unable to find an equal home replacement game and it had to send a letter to its season-ticket holders informing them of the schedule-change.

In this letter, fans were given the option to have their $35 that would’ve gone towards tickets to the event, be spent in one of three ways: toward two tickets to another men’s basketball game, toward the SDSU Athletic Department as a donation or to obtain one season ticket for the 2007-08 women’s basketball season.

The letter listed no option for a refund.

“Our goal was to get the information to people as quickly as we could,” May said. “We tried to give people more value than just the price of those tickets.”

Though ticket-holders were allowed their money back if they called the department, many fans were upset over not having that choice in the first place.

“Why was the San Diego Slam cancelled this year (and) why was no refund (initially) offered?” one long-time men’s basketball season-ticket holder asked. “While I am pleased with the successes (head coach) Steve Fisher has brought to Aztecs basketball, and I like our arena a lot, the program (is continuing) a long history of bad management.”

Despite the Slam falling through, SDSU gained entry into the John R. Wooden Classic on Dec. 8 in Anaheim and the World Vision Classic beginning Nov. 9 in Fresno.

In those two tournaments, the Aztecs will face Saint Mary’s, Liberty, Portland and Fresno State.