Country music’s Mark Miller from Sawyer Brown is coming to the University of Tennessee at Martin. He won’t being singing though.

Miller along with former Vanderbilt star Drew Maddux are members of Sports Reach, a traveling exhibition team, that will provide the opening challenge for the UTM men’s basketball team. The exhibition is set for 3 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 17 in Skyhawk Arena.

The Skyhawks challenging schedule also includes games against the perennial powers of the Ohio Valley Conference and a number of tough non-conference opponents.

“We probably have a more difficult schedule then we had last year because we have more road games,” said Bret Campbell, UTM head basketball coach.

The Skyhawks played seven teams that participated in last year’s NCAA and NIT tournaments.

UTM hopes to follow up the school’s first winning season in Division I with another successful year.

Although the Skyhawks lose four starters and a total of six letter winners from last year’s squad, Campbell feels good about his team’s chances.

“I would say our expectations for this team are to be in the top half of the OVC by the end of the season and host a first-round tournament game,” Campbell said.

Campbell’s young squad will set out on this task when the OVC schedule begins Jan. 9 at home against in-state foe Austin Peay.

The conference schedule will also include a home date with defending OVC champ Murray State in the final regular season game March 1. OVC tournament action begins March 4.

Non-conference games for the Skyhawks will include road tilts against such major conference foes as Mountain West Conference powerhouse UNLV in Las Vegas Dec. 17 and the University of Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville Dec. 30.