Miami and Xavier universities announced Thursday their men’s basketball teams will not play one another during the 2012-13 season, ending a stretch of 30 consecutive years in which the rivals have met.

“We’ve been talking about it for several weeks, and it really was precipitated when their conference expanded,” MU Athletic Director Brad Bates said, referring to the Atlantic 10 adding Butler and Virginia Commonwealth.

“It’s sad that we won’t play this year, but disappointment is probably too strong of a word,” Bates added. “I have such great regard for (XU Athletic Director Mike Bobinski) and his staff there. While we would love to play the game this year, the future of that series, I think, is very possible.”

The teams will play at Cintas Center in the 2013-14 season in the final game of the current contract, and Bobinski agreed with Bates that he would like to see the rivalry continue.

“We have a tremendous amount of respect for Miami University and its basketball program,” Bobinski said. “We look forward to discussing future opportunities in the years ahead.”

The Miami-Xavier series dates back to 1921, with the Musketeers holding a 52-47 edge, including a 66-60 triumph this past season.

The RedHawks are 30-17 in games played in Oxford, while Xavier is 34-17 when playing in Cincinnati. The Muskies won the only game played at a neutral site.

“Any time you lose a premier home game with a team like Xavier, a local rival, it certainly creates some challenges,” Bates said. “We’ve been working on (finding a replacement) ever since they first contacted us. Coach (John) Cooper is right on top of it. He’s got tremendous relationships throughout the country, so we’re very optimistic that we’re going to have a very competitive schedule for the RedHawks.”

Bates said he has been in contact with several schools but declined to name them.

“The ideal replacement would be a team of the stature of Xavier that will have the appeal to our fan base, whoever that would be,” he said. “It’s fairly complex at this point, trying to match the dates.”