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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 5, 2008
ESPN Announces Matchups for 2008 Anaheim Classic;
Six of eight teams reached post-season in 2007-08
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| USC’s Davon Jefferson was all amped up for the 2007 Anaheim Classic. |
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- ESPN Regional Television, Inc. (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, announced today the schedule of matchups for the 2008 Anaheim Classic, to be held on Thanksgiving weekend at the Anaheim Convention Center, adjacent to Disneyland. The second-year event will include 12 games in three days, and will be broadcast on ESPN2 and ESPNU.
The 2008 Anaheim Classic field includes eight teams: Arizona State, Baylor, Cal State Fullerton, Charlotte, Providence, St. Mary’s, UTEP and Wake Forest. Six of the eight teams earned post-season berths in 2007-08, with Baylor, Cal State Fullerton and St. Mary’s selected to the NCAA Tournament, Arizona State and Charlotte playing in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), and UTEP invited to the inaugural College Basketball Invitational (CBI).
At the Anaheim Classic, each team will compete in one game per day, advancing through a bracket-tournament format. In the first round of action, Thursday, Nov. 27, St. Mary’s of the WCC will take on UTEP of C-USA; Wake Forest of the ACC will face Cal State Fullerton of the Big West; Arizona State of the PAC-10 and Charlotte of the Atlantic Ten will square off; while Providence of the BIG EAST will close out the competition for the day by taking on Baylor of the Big 12.
“We’re pleased to have such a competitive field and outstanding pairings in our second season of the Anaheim Classic,” said Pete Derzis, senior vice president and general manager, ESPN Regional Television.
The two teams that remain undefeated throughout the tournament will face off in a championship match Sunday, Nov. 30 at 10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT on ESPN2. Complete matchups and bracket are listed below.
The Big West Conference will serve as the host for the Anaheim Classic at the 7,800-seat Anaheim Convention Center, which has served the conference for the past eight years as the site of its postseason tournament.
The inaugural Anaheim Classic was played in 2007 with USC defeating Southern Illinois in the championship game, 70-45. USC freshman O.J. Mayo earned Most Outstanding Player honors by averaging 18.0 points per game in the Trojans’ three victories.
Tickets to the 2008 Anaheim Classic will go on sale Monday, Sept. 2 at www.Ticketmaster.com or by calling 714-704-2000. Packages include all 12 games for $75 or single session tickets for $15. Special travel package information can be found by going to www.GETTRAVEL.com.
Additional information can be found on the Anaheim Classic Web site at, www.anaheimclassic.com. For more information on Disneyland Resort, visit www.disneyland.com.
ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU Tournament Schedule
(Home team listed second; Cal State Fullerton will be home team in each of its games)
| Date |
Time (ET/PT) |
Game |
Network |
| Thurs., Nov. 27 |
2 p.m. / 11 a.m.
4:30 p.m. / 1:30 p.m.
9 p.m. / 6 p.m.
11:30 p.m. / 8:30 p.m.
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St. Mary’s vs. UTEP (Game 1)
Wake Forest vs. CS-Fullerton (Game 2)
Arizona State vs. Charlotte (Game 3)
Providence vs. Baylor (Game 4)
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ESPNU
ESPN2
ESPNU
ESPN2
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| Fri., Nov. 28 |
3:30 p.m. / 12:30 p.m.
6 p.m. / 3 p.m.
10 p.m. / 7 p.m.
*12:30 a.m. / 9:30 p.m.
*Game 8 begins at 12:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 29/9:30 p.m. PT on Friday, Nov. 29 |
Game #5 (Game 1 vs. Game 2 winners)
Game #6 (Game 1 vs. Game 2 losers)
Game #7 (Game 3 vs. Game 4 losers)
Game #8 (Game 3 vs. Game 4 winners)
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ESPNU
ESPNU
ESPNU
ESPN2
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| Sun., Nov. 30 |
3 p.m. / Noon
5:30 p.m. / 2:30 p.m.
8 p.m. / 5 p.m.
10:30 p.m. / 7:30 p.m.
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Game #9 (7th/8th Place)
Game #10 (4th/6th Place)
Game #11 (3rd/5th Place)
Game #12 (Champion/2nd Place)
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ESPNU
ESPNU
ESPNU
ESPN2
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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 Forced 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.
ESPN contact: Jenny Zimmerman, at (407) 566-2213 or jennifer.j.zimmerman@espn.com
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