ESPN Regional Television, Inc., (ERT) a subsidiary of ESPN, announced today the creation of the Charleston Classic, an eight-team men's college basketball tournament that will be played Nov. 14-16 at the brand new Carolina First Center in Charleston, S.C.
The tournament will feature 12 games through three days and will be the first event held at the 5,000-seat Carolina First Center on the campus of the College of Charleston. The Southern Conference, based in Spartanburg, S.C., is the sponsoring conference of the Charleston Classic. More information can be found on the official Web site: www.charlestonclassic.com.
The College of Charleston will be part of the inaugural field along with Clemson, East Tennessee State, Hofstra, Temple, TCU, Western Michigan and one more team to be determined.
"We're very excited to be part of the first Charleston Classic," Western Michigan head coach Steve Hawkins said. "We'd like to thank everyone associated with ESPN for inviting us to play in another one of their tournaments. We had a great experience at the Old Spice Classic and anticipate another first class experience in Charleston.
"Once again, they have put together another great field that will be a real eye-opener for our freshman and let them know what Division I basketball is all about in a hurry."
The Broncos were part of the first Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla., in November 2006 at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex. The Broncos defeated Virginia Tech, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, before falling to NIT champion West Virginia and Marist.
Clemson and Temple played in the NCAA Tournament last season, and four of the eight teams playing in the Charleston Classic won at least 19 games in 2007-08: Clemson (24-10), ETSU (19-13), Temple (21-13) and Western Michigan (20-12).
The Broncos return three starters in 2007-08 First Team All-Mid-American Conference guard David Kool, 2006-07 All-MAC Honorable Mention guard Shawntes Gary and two-year starting point guard Michael Redell among eight returning letterwinners from the 2007-08 MAC West champions.
“Charleston is one of the great destination cities in America,” said Dan Shoemaker, vice president, collegiate development. “ESPN Regional Television is proud to showcase the Charleston area and provide another chance for fans to enjoy college basketball with this caliber of a lineup.”
Each team will compete in one game per day, advancing through a bracket-tournament format. The two teams that remain undefeated throughout will face off in a championship match Sunday, Nov. 16, at 6:30 p.m. ET.
The College of Charleston will move its home games to the Carolina First Center this year after playing 24 seasons at John Kresse Arena.
“We are thrilled that ESPN has chosen the City of Charleston and our new arena as the site for their new college basketball tournament,” said Joe Hull, Director of Athletics at the College of Charleston. “The tournament will offer fans the beauty of historic Charleston along with great shopping, fabulous dining, fun beaches, perfect weather and great basketball. The teams and their fans will love Charleston in November.”
“We are extremely excited to be selected as a sports travel destination for ESPN's newest college basketball tournament,” said Kathleen Cartland, Executive Director, Charleston Metro Sports Council. “After six-plus years of developing a partnership with ESPN executives, the Sports Council leadership is eager to assist in hosting this top collegiate event. And with Charleston as a backdrop, we look forward to showcasing a new state-of-the-art arena and a multitude of other amenities for our first-time visitors.”
“We are delighted to welcome ESPN and the Charleston Classic to the beautiful new Carolina First Center,” said Helen Hill, Executive Director of the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “As one of the South's most celebrated destinations, Charleston is the perfect site for this tournament. We look forward to making sure that ESPN, the fans and players all have an extremely positive experience.”
ERT expects to release the tournament bracket and ticket information for the Charleston Classic later this summer. Fans can purchase travel packages to the tournament 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 College Football Awards; collegiate basketball events: the O'Reilly Auto Parts All-College Classic (Oklahoma City); the Old Spice Classic (Orlando, Fla.); the SEC/BIG EAST Invitational; the Anaheim Classic (Calif.); 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.
