Men's Basketball: Big East Invitational Tickets
September 30, 2007 06:36 PM | General
September 30, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Tickets for the inaugural Pizza Hut SEC/BIG EAST Invitational, which includes two games at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Ala., will go on sale Monday, Oct. 1., at 10 a.m. CT.
The two-night men’s basketball tournament takes place in two cities, with a doubleheader Dec. 5 in Birmingham, followed by a doubleheader Dec. 6 in Philadelphia.
On Wednesday, Dec. 5, ESPN will televise Georgetown vs. Alabama at 6 p.m. CT from the BJCC, followed by West Virginia vs. Auburn at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2. On Thursday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2, South Carolina faces Providence, followed by LSU vs. Villanova at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN in Philadelphia.
Fans who wish to attend the Dec. 5 doubleheader at the BJCC can purchase tickets through Ticketmaster at (205) 715-6000 or www.ticketmaster.com, or at the BJCC box office. Prices range from $20 to $40, depending on seating location.
Teams invited to participate in the Pizza Hut SEC/BIG EAST Invitational are chosen by ESPN in consultation with the conferences and are based on geographic and competitive criteria.
The Big East and SEC have combined to produce four of the last five NCAA men's basketball champions (Florida - 2007 and 2006, UConn - 2004, Syracuse - 2003) and seven of the last 12 national champions (UConn - 1999, Kentucky - 1998 and 1996).
In the 2006-07 season, the SEC qualified five teams for the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee and Vanderbilt made it to the Sweet 16, while Florida went on to win the championship.
The BIG EAST had six teams in the NCAA Tournament, with Georgetown making for the Final Four and Pittsburgh advancing to the Sweet 16. Additionally, West Virginia was the 2007 NIT champion. In 2006, the Big East sent eight teams to the NCAA Tournament, setting an NCAA record. The national sponsor of the event is Pizza Hut.
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, Western Athletic).
ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several other collegiate basketball events including the ESPNU Women’s Basketball Invitational, Dick’s Sporting Goods Spartan Clash (Auburn Hills, Mich.); the O’Reilly Auto Parts All-College Classic (Oklahoma City, Okla.); the Old Spice Classic (Orlando, Fla.), the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan),O’Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters, and the Anaheim Classic; and collegiate football events and golf events , including the Bell Helicopter Armed Forced Bowl; the Papajohns.com Bowl; the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl; the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl, the New Mexico Bowl; the MEAC/SWAC Challenge; and the National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway.
