Tony Giannetto says he is eager to get on the practice floor. For the past year Gianetto has been putting the pieces together of the new men’s basketball program at AIB College of business in Des Moines. The upcoming season will be the first for the program.

Giannetto says it seems like every day they take a couple of steps forward and then a step back. He says after over a year of planning, it seems like they are about ready to get to the x’s and o’s. The athletic program at AIB is relatively new but growing.

The school will also begin offering womens volleyball this year. Giannetto says the school looked at other institutions and saw how they have grown by adding athletics. He says it has generated some excitement around the campus.

Giannetto says each school offers unique challenges and AIB is no different. He says one of the biggest challenge is their limited business and accounting curriculum, and they’ve had to work hard to get the athletes that they have.

The Eagles will be a part of the Midwest Ciollegiate Conference and Giannetto says that has helped make it easier to put a schedule together. He says it hasn’t been difficult to find people who want to play them as he says they get letters every day from schools wanting to play them.

The first game for the program will be October 29th at home against York College.