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Tickets Go On Sale for SEC/BIG EAST Invitational at Sommet Center;
Vanderbilt and Tennessee to be Featured in Doubleheader
Tickets for the second annual SEC/BIG EAST Invitational, including two games at the Sommet Center in Nashville, will go on sale Friday, Sept. 19, at 10 a.m. CT.
The two-night men’s college basketball tournament takes place in two cities, with a doubleheader in Nashville on Dec. 16 followed by a doubleheader in Cincinnati on Dec. 18. The games at the Sommet Center feature Vanderbilt taking on South Florida at 6 pm CT, followed by Tennessee facing Marquette at 8:30 pm.
Fans who wish to attend the Dec.16 doubleheader at the Sommet Center in Nashville can purchase tickets online at www.TicketMaster.com or charge by phone by calling the Sommet Center box office at (615) 770-2040. Prices are $32.50 for upper level seating, $47.50 for lower and club levels and $17.50 for college students.
ESP2 will televise Vanderbilt vs. South Florida at 6 p.m. CT Dec. 16 from the Sommet Center, followed by Tennessee vs. Marquette at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN. 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 9:00 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 both 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 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 76 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.secbigeastinvitational.com, www.bigeastsecinvitational.com, or www.espnplus.com.
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