Sept. 18, 2008
Tickets for the second annual SEC/BIG EAST Invitational, including two games at the Sommet Center in Nashville, are on sale now at the Vanderbilt ticket office for National Commodore Club members and Vanderbilt season ticket holders. The tickets, which are not a part of the Vanderbilt season ticket package, are $60 for lower bowl seats and $45 for upper level seats.
“Fans who would like to sit in the Vanderbilt block should get their tickets now,” said Vanderbilt’s Ticket Manager, Eric Jones. “Tickets remain, but are going fast, at the Vanderbilt ticket office. But, beginning next week, all tickets must be purchased at the Sommet Center.”
The two-night men’s college basketball tournament takes place in two cities, with a doubleheader Tuesday, Dec. 16, in Nashville followed by a doubleheader Thursday, Dec. 18, in Cincinnati. The schedule at the Sommet Center will feature Vanderbilt taking on South Florida at 6 p.m. CT, followed by Tennessee facing Marquette at 8:30 p.m.
“The Nashville Sports Council is very excited to partner with ESPN Regional Television to host this great basketball doubleheader,” said Scott Ramsey, President and CEO of the Nashville Sports Council, which will host the Dec. 16 event. “The SEC and BIG EAST are two of the premier conferences in men’s college basketball and we look forward to showcasing their programs to a national television audience live from Nashville.”
ESPN2 will televise Vanderbilt vs. South Florida on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 6 p.m. CT from the Sommet Center, while ESPN will feature Tennessee vs. Marquette at 8:30 p.m. Also part of the event is a Dec. 18 doubleheader at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, featuring Cincinnati vs. Mississippi State at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, followed by Louisville vs. Ole Miss at 9 p.m. on ESPN.
Teams invited to participate in the 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 six NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions (Florida – 2007 and 2006; Connecticut – 2004; Syracuse – 2003) and seven of the last 13 national champions (Connecticut – 1999; Kentucky – 1998 and 1996).
In the 2007-08 season, the SEC qualified six teams for the NCAA Tournament, including Vanderbilt and Tennessee. The BIG EAST sent nine teams to the NCAA Tournament, compiling a 13-6 record, led by Louisville advancing to the Elite Eight.
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 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl ; The Home Depot College Football Awards ; the MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney; the New Mexico Bowl ; the Papajohns.com Bowl ; the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl ; the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl ; and the St Petersburg Bowl ; collegiate basketball events: the 76 Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); the Charleston Classic (S.C.); the Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); the O’Reilly Auto Parts All-College Basketball Classic (Oklahoma City); the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); the O’Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters ; and the SEC/BIG EAST Invitational ; as well as the ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway . For more information, visit bigeastinvitational.com or www.espnplus.com .