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June 1, 2010
Eight-Team Field Includes Seven 2009-10 Postseason Participants
ESPN Regional Television announced today the field for the 2010 Cancun Governor’s Cup, an eight-team men’s college basketball tournament to be played Dec. 22-24 at the Poliforum Benito Juarez in Cancun, Mexico.
The field includes Appalachian State, Colorado State, East Tennessee State, Ole Miss, Northeastern, Saint Louis, Southern Miss and Texas State. Seven of those teams reached the 2009-10 postseason, including ETSU in the NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss advanced to the National Invitation Tournament’s final four, while Northeastern also played in the NIT. Colorado State and Saint Louis played in the College Basketball Invitational. Appalachian State and Southern Miss played in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
“We are pleased to launch the Cancun Governor’s Cup with these eight teams,” said Clint Overby, senior director of events, ESPN Regional Television. “This event is a wonderful showcase for Cancun and we’re excited for the teams and their fans to be able to enjoy all that the area has to offer.”
“The Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau is honored to once again welcome ESPN Regional Television, the largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, to Cancun – one of the world’s premier destinations,” said Jesús Almaguer, CEO of the Cancun Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It is a privilege for us to host the Cancun Governor’s Cup and we’re extremely excited to show the world the beauty, diversity and magic of Cancun.”
The new tournament will feature 12 games through three days. Each team will compete in one game per day, advancing through a bracket-tournament format. The two teams that remain undefeated will face off in a championship match. Conference USA will serve as the event’s sponsoring conference.
The Cancun Governor’s Cup supports youth basketball initiatives in Mexico started by the Telmex Foundation and Mexican NBA star Eduardo Najera, which strives to bring the game of basketball to the youth of Mexico. Since 2007, when the league was created, 60,000 kids from across Mexico have participated. The Cancun Governor’s Cup will annually offer tickets to the league for kids to experience collegiate basketball firsthand.
Cancun is a world-class vacation destination located on the coast of Mexico’s easternmost state, Quintana Roo. The area is known for its outstanding beaches, outdoor activities, dining and archaeological sites. December temperatures range from 68 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit.
In preparation for the 2010 Cancun Governor’s Cup, a single game was played last season at the Poliforum Benito Juarez, with Virginia Tech defeating Seton Hall 103-94 in overtime in front of a crowd of 2,365. The arena is located on Boulevard Luis Donaldo S/N, a few minutes from the Cancun International Airport and was opened last year as the home of the Pioneros Quintana Roo, the basketball team of the state of Quintana Roo.
For ticket or travel information, visit www.cancungovernorscup.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.
About Cancun
Cancun is located in the northern part of the southeastern Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is Mexico’s number one tourist destination and is known all over the world for its spectacular beaches, unique beauty and breathtaking turquoise waters.
Cancun’s shoreline recently underwent a $71 Million Dollar makeover, that featured 1.3 billion gallons of sand to renovating the Hotel Zone’s seashore. The most popular tourism destination in Mexico and Latin America has also added to its sun, beach, and nightlife, by creating a unique five-day route that will offer visitors a chance to experience adventure and interaction with nature. Cancun and the Treasures of the Caribbean invite travelers to discover the vast natural, cultural and gastronomical cultures of Puerto Morelos, and the four islands of the Mexican Caribbean: Holbox, Isla Mujeres, Contoy and Cozumel. Cancun is a multifaceted destination that combines nature, historical Mayan Culture, glamour, luxury and world class tourism with the seduction for adventure, the passion for paradisiacal nature and the enchantment of gastronomical magic.
For more information, visit the Cancun Convention and Visitors Bureau website at: www.cancun.travel.
Telmex Najera Youth League
The Telmex Najera Youth League is an initiative of Telmex Foundation to boost the participation of Mexican youth in basketball. With its motto “Leave the streets for the courts”, in its second year of operations 60,000 kids are playing all over the country. The Telmex Najera Youth League is the most important tournament of the country in its kind. For more information, visit www.ligatelmexnajera.org
Media Contacts: Charley Green, Media Coordinator, 214-734-8028, [email protected]
Jenny Zimmerman, ESPN Communications, 407-566-2213 or [email protected]
Cessie Cerrato, Newlink Communications, 786-522-0177, [email protected]
