ESPN Announces Matchups for 2009 Charleston Classic; Field Includes NIT Champion Penn State

Championship Game will Air Live on ESPN2

Download the Classic logo here.

ESPN Regional Television, Inc. (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, announced today the matchups for the 2009 Charleston Classic, set for Nov. 19, 20 and 22 at Carolina First Arena in Charleston, S.C.

The eight-team field includes Davidson, La Salle, Miami (Fla.), UNC Wilmington, Penn State, South Carolina, USF and Tulane. Four of the teams in the field played in the 2008-09 National Invitation Tournament, including NIT champion Penn State, Davidson, Miami and South Carolina.

In the first round of action Thursday, Nov. 19, Tulane will take on Miami at 1:30 p.m. ET; UNC Wilmington will face Penn State, live at 4 p.m. ET on ESPNU; USF will meet Davidson at 7 p.m. ET; and La Salle and South Carolina will square off live at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

The second annual Charleston Classic, a bracket-format tournament, will feature 12 games in three days, Nov. 19-22. Each team will compete in one game per day, with the two teams that remain undefeated facing off in a championship match Sunday, Nov. 22. The championship game will be televised live at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

The Southern Conference (SoCon) will again serve as the event’s sponsoring conference.

In the inaugural Charleston Classic in 2008, Clemson defeated Temple, 76-72, in the championship game. The Tigers, who went on to participate in the NCAA Tournament, also defeated Hofstra and TCU in the Charleston Classic, part of a 16-0 start to the season that vaulted Clemson into the top 10 in the polls by January.

The 2008 Charleston Classic was the first event at the brand new Carolina First Arena. Attendance for the six sessions was 12,620, an average of 2,103 per session. The largest crowd was 4,582 on Friday, Nov. 14, for the session that included College of Charleston’s season opener against SIU Edwardsville followed by Clemson vs. Hofstra.

Tickets for the 2009 Classic are expected to go on sale in late August. Fans can purchase official hotel accommodations and game tickets by going to www.anthonytravel.com (search Charleston Classic) or by calling 1-888-632-6951. Additional information can be found on the Charleston Classic’s official Web site at www.CharlestonClassic.com.

Tournament Schedule

(Davidson will be the home team in each of its games.)

ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership

The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 1,000 telecasts of 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. – SEC, BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, Sun Belt, WAC).

ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events, including collegiate football events: the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas); MAACO Bowl Las Vegas; New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Papajohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); St. Petersburg Bowl; the MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.); and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards; collegiate basketball events: the 76 Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); Charleston Classic (S.C.); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); All-College Classic (Oklahoma City); SEC/BIG EAST Invitational; ESPNU Road to the Championship and the ESPNU BracketBusters; as well as the ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway. For more information, visit ESPNPlus.com.

Media Contacts:

Charley Green, Media Coordinator, (214) 734-8028 or cgreen@breakaway-sports.com