October 7, 2008
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| VCU coach Anthony Grant: “We had a chance to learn about our team [at the ’07 Puerto Rico Tip-Off], and I’m always for that. |
Eight Top-Ranked Teams to be Featured in Upcoming ESPN Regional Television Basketball Tournaments
With the college basketball season just weeks away, EA Sports announced its preseason “Blue Ribbon Top 25” last week, and among the teams are eight that will participate in either the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off (Nov. 20-23, San Juan), the 76 Classic (Nov. 27-30, Anaheim, Calif.) or the Old Spice Classic (Nov. 27-30, Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.), four events owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television.
The 76 Classic will feature No. 15 Arizona State, No. 16 Baylor and No. 19 St. Mary’s; the Puerto Rico Tip-Off will feature No. 11 Memphis and No. 23 USC; and the Old Spice Classic will feature No. 9 Tennessee, No. 13 Michigan State and No. 21 Gonzaga.
The Charleston Classic, set for Nov. 14-16 at the new Carolina First Center in Charleston, S.C., is the newest of ERT’s basketball tournaments, all of which include 12 games across three days. Each team will compete in one game per day, advancing through a bracket-tournament format. In each tournament, the two teams that remain undefeated throughout will face off in a championship match.
“These events always provide a terrific off-the-court experience for the student-athletes, coaches and staffs while giving fans a great opportunity to watch college basketball at great destinations,” said Pete Derzis, senior vice president and general manager, ESPN Regional Television. “The combination of eight quality basketball teams and a unique setting truly makes each of these tournaments a one-of-a-kind sporting event.”
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| Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury: “When you can play three games on ESPN, people will want to be [involved] for years to come.” |
The Charleston Classic field includes College of Charleston; Clemson; East Tennessee State; Hofstra; Southern Illinois-Edwardsville; Temple; TCU; and Western Michigan. Two of the teams, Clemson and Temple, played in the 2007-08 NCAA Tournament.
“Anytime you get a chance to play in this type of venue, against this type of competition — for us it’s terrific,” said Virginia Commonwealth coach Anthony Grant, whose team played in the 2007 Puerto Rico Tip-Off. “We had a chance to learn about our team here, and I’m always for that. Overall, everything was just first-class, and we’re glad to have been a part of it.”
“Anytime you can play three games, get the exposure on ESPN and be in an atmosphere where the surroundings are as nice as they are – a lot of people will want to be (involved) for years to come,” said Rick Stansbury, coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who played in last year’s 76 Classic.
“The Old Spice Classic is a great tournament,” said N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe, whose Wolfpack won the 2007 Old Spice Classic at Walt Disney World Resort. “The hospitality has been outstanding, and obviously the festivities are great. Then the competition; they certainly have some of the top teams in the different conferences. It’s a great experience for our guys.”
Tickets for all of the tournaments are on sale. For more information, visit each event’s official Web site:
www.CharlestonClassic.com;
www.PuertoRicoTipOff.com;
www.76Classic.com; or
www.OldSpiceClassic.com. Fans can purchase travel packages to the tournaments by going to
www.AnthonyTravel.com or by calling 1-800-736-6377
ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership
The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 900 sporting events. Programming includes football, basketball, NCAA events, golf and NHRA events accounting for more than 2,200 live and/or original hours of programming. In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network; syndication rights-holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (e.g. – BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, Sun Belt, WAC).
ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several other sporting events, including collegiate football events: the St. Petersburg Bowl; the Papajohns.com Bowl; the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl; the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl; the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl, the New Mexico Bowl; the MEAC/SWAC Challenge; and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards; collegiate basketball events: the 76 Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); the Charleston Classic (S.C.); the O’Reilly Auto Parts All-College Classic (Oklahoma City); the Old Spice Classic (Orlando, Fla.); the SEC/BIG EAST Invitational; the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); and the O’Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters; as well as the ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway. For more information, visit www.espnplus.com.
ESPN contact: Jenny Zimmerman, at (407) 566-2213 or jennifer.j.zimmerman@espn.com
