San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 20, 2009 - ESPN Regional Television, Inc., a subsidiary of ESPN, announced here Friday the field for the 2010 Puerto Rico Tip-off led by five-time NCAA Champions North Carolina.

The 12-game, bracketed collegiate basketball tournament features eight schools. The games in 2010 will be played the week before Thanksgiving weekend at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico.  Tournament pairings and game times for the 2010 event on November 18, 19 and 21 will be announced at a later date.

Joining the Tar Heels of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the 2010 Puerto Rico Tip-off field are Davidson (Southern), Hofstra (Colonial), Minnesota (Big Ten), Nebraska (Big 12), Vanderbilt (Southeastern), West Virginia (Big East) and Western Kentucky (Sun Belt).

The eight schools in the 2010 Puerto Rico Tip-off field combined for a 189-80 record during the 2008-2009 season with four NCAA participants (Minnesota, North Carolina, West Virginia and Western Kentucky) and two NIT teams (Davidson and Nebraska).  Six of the eight schools also won more than 20 games each with North Carolina topping the list with 34 wins.

“Once again, an outstanding field will represent conferences from around the country for the Parts Puerto Rico Tip-off,” said Pete Derzis, senior vice president and general manager, ESPN Regional Television.  “The Puerto Rico Tip-off showcases quality competition and an outstanding off-court experience for the student-athletes, coaches and staff.  Fans will have an opportunity to spend the weekend watching college basketball and enjoying all that Puerto Rico has to offer.”

The Big East Conference again serves as the host for the Puerto Rico Tip-off at the 18,000-seat at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico.  The Puerto Rico Tip-off features four games each day, with the two undefeated teams competing in the championship game on one of the ESPN “family” of network outlets on the final day.

Along with the Puerto Rico Tip-off, ESPN Regional Television stages four other eight-team exempt basketball events: the 76 Classic in Anaheim; the Old Spice Classic at Disney’s Wide World of Sports near Orlando; the Charleston Classic in South Carolina; and the newly created Diamond Head Classic, which will debut this December in Honolulu.

Tickets for the 2010 Puerto Rico Tip-off are expected to go on sale next summer.  For more information, visit the official Web site: http://puertoricotipoff.com/.

The 2009 Puerto Rico Tip-off began Thursday at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico with five schools in the event currently being ranked nationally along with the eight-team competition being listed as one of the top five “in-season” tournaments this year.  Schools from the Atlantic Coast (Miami, Fla.) and Atlantic 10 (Xavier) Conferences won the first two tournaments in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

The 2009 Puerto Rico Tip-off features Boston University (American East), Dayton (Atlantic 10), George Mason (Colonial), Georgia Tech (Atlantic Coast), Indiana (Big Ten), Kansas State (Big 12), Mississippi (Ole Miss, Southeastern) and Villanova (Big East).

Dayton and Villanova earned berths in the 2009 NCAA Tournament while George Mason and Kansas State competed in the NIT.  Villanova advanced to the 2009 NCAA “final four” and lost to eventual champions North Carolina in the semi-finals at Detroit.

2010 Puerto Rico Tip-Off - Six of eight teams in2009 postseason with six winning 20+ games, 2009 NCAA champions in field

Team	Conference	2008-09 Record	2008-09 Postseason	2009-10 Record	Next Game
Davidson	Southern Conference	27-8	NIT lost 2nd round	0-3	N22 vs. Penn State
Hofstra	Colonial Athletic	21-11	did not participate	2-2	N 23 vs. Elon
Minnesota	Big Ten	22-11	NCAA lost 1st round	3-0	N26 vs. Butler
Nebraska	Big 12	18-13	NIT lost 1st round	2-1	N24 vs. UMKC
North Carolina	ACC	34-4	NCAA champions	4-1	N23 vs. Gardner-Webb
Vanderbilt	SEC	19-12	did not participate	2-0	N23 vs. Cincinnati
West Virginia	Big East	23-12	NCAA lost 1st round	1-0	N24 vs. Citadel
Western Kentucky	Sun Belt	25-9	NCAA lost 2nd round	1-1	N23 at Cal State Northridge

San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 20, 2009 - Here are what the coaches at the 2009 Puerto Rico Tip-off have to say about competing in this week’s third annual event at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico where the competition concludes Sunday with the last four games of the in-season collegiate basketball tournament.

Patrick Chambers, Boston University - "We are thrilled to be included in such a wonderful event. It is a great experience for our guys to have the opportunity to travel to Puerto Rico and compete against some of the top teams in the country."

Brian Gregory, Dayton - "(The Coliseo de Puerto Rico) is a great venue.  It's a great place to play.   As an assistant a long, long time ago, I coached in the old San Juan Shootout, and this tournament is even better.  It's top-notch.  We had a great crowd the first day.  The people with the tournament and in town have been so welcoming.  This is a great opportunity in a great location to play some quality teams and find out where we are at."

Jim Larranaga, George Mason - "Outstanding hospitality in an NBA venue. What more can you ask for?"

Paul Hewitt, Georgia Tech - "More than anything, it gives us a chance to play against some quality opponents in a short period of time, and to come to a tropical environment like Puerto Rico for four days makes our experience very enjoyable no matter what. Regardless of what happens, we still have a long season to go. But, when you have a chance to play some very good competition, we should know as a team and a coaching staff what we need to work on when we leave.”

Tom Crean, Indiana - “Coming to Puerto Rico has been a first class experience for our players, coaches, their families and our fans.”

Frank Martin, Kansas State - “The Puerto Rico Tip-off is one of the best in-season tournaments in college basketball.  The tournament organizers always put together a top-flight group of teams and this year is no exception.  The competition that this tournament has provided to our basketball team will benefit us the entire season, as we face another grueling campaign in the Big 12.  In addition, it was a great opportunity to not only get two of our players back home, but give our players a great chance to see how much Puerto Rico embraces the game of basketball.”

Andy Kennedy, Ole Miss - ““This has been a great experience. We’re excited to be here and be a part of this field.”

Jay Wright, Villanova - "This is a great basketball and vacation experience. The Conrad Condado Plaza is beautiful and the people who work there are charming. The Coliseo de Puerto Rico is state of the art and the enthusiasm of the people on the island is inspirational."