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May 24, 2010

ESPN Regional Television announced today six of the eight teams in the field for the 2010 Charleston Classic, to be held Nov. 18-21 at Carolina First Arena in Charleston, S.C.

The field for the third annual Charleston Classic will include Charlotte, East Carolina, George Mason, Georgetown, North Carolina State and Wofford. The two teams that will round out the field will be announced at a later date. Four of the teams in the field played in the 2009-10 postseason, including NCAA Tournament participants Georgetown and Wofford. North Carolina State played in the National Invitation Tournament, and George Mason played in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

“This year’s field for the Charleston Classic once again demonstrates the Charleston Classic is building a tradition of outstanding basketball in one of the country’s great destination cities,” said Dan Shoemaker, vice president, collegiate development, ESPN Regional Television. “The Classic being heavy on teams from the Carolinas as well as storied programs like Georgetown and George Mason ensures an exciting event for the teams and fans alike.”

The 2010 Charleston Classic, a bracket-format tournament, will feature 12 games in three days, Nov. 18, 19 and 21. The Southern Conference (SoCon) will serve as the event’s sponsoring conference for the second straight year.

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. 21, on ESPN2.

An Atlantic Coast Conference team has won each of the first two Charleston Classic titles, with Miami (Fla.) winning in 2009 and Clemson winning the inaugural event in 2008.

Fans can purchase travel packages to the tournament by going to www.anthonytravel.com (search Charleston) or calling 1-800-632-6951. Additional information can be found on the Charleston Classic’s official website at www.CharlestonClassic.com. 

ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership

The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 1,000 telecasts of 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. – SEC, BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, WAC).

ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events, including collegiate football events: the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg; Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas); MAACO Bowl Las Vegas; New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Papajohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Texas Bowl (Houston); the MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.); and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards; collegiate basketball events: the 76 Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); Cancun Governor’s Cup; Charleston Classic (S.C.); SEC/BIG EAST Invitational; Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Puerto Rico Tipoff (San Juan); All-College Basketball Classic (Oklahoma City) and BracketBusters; as well as the new ESPNU Warrior Classic (Lacrosse) and the ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway. For more information, visit ESPNPlus.com.

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Media Contacts: Charley Green, Media Coordinator, 214-734-8028, [email protected]; Jenny Zimmerman, ESPN Communications, 407-566-2213 or [email protected]