ESPN Announces Complete Field for 2009 O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off
ESPN Regional Television, Inc. (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, announced today the complete field for the 2009 O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off, to be held Nov. 19-22 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico, located in the cosmopolitan Hato Rey district of San Juan.
The field for the third annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off will include Boston University, Dayton, George Mason, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kansas State, Ole Miss and Villanova. UAB, which had been previously announced as part of the field, will be unable to participate due to a scheduling conflict.
Four of the eight teams announced reached the 2008-09 postseason. Villanova and Dayton played in the NCAA Tournament, with the Wildcats reaching the Final Four and the Flyers advancing to the second round. George Mason and Kansas State played in the National Invitation Tournament.
“The Puerto Rico Tip-Off continues to develop into a premier basketball tournament, as this year’s field represents outstanding conferences from around the country,” said Pete Derzis, Senior Vice President and General Manager, ESPN Regional Television. “We’re looking forward to this event, in its third year, showcasing such quality competition and a memorable experience for the fans, student-athletes, coaches and staff on and off the court in the great destination of San Juan.”
The 2009 O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off will feature 12 games in three days, Nov. 19-22. 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. 22.
In November 2008, Xavier defeated Memphis, 63-58, in the championship game. Both teams were eventually ranked in the top 10 in the polls later in the season. Miami (Fla.) won the inaugural O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off in 2007.
Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off Web site at
www.PuertoRicoTipoff.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, Sun Belt, WAC).
ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events, including collegiate football events: the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas); New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Papajohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); MAACO MAACO Las Vegas Bowl; Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); St. Petersburg Bowl; 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.); Charleston Classic (S.C.); Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); O’Reilly Auto Parts All-College Classic (Oklahoma City); SEC/BIG EAST Invitational; and the ESPNU BracketBusters; as well as the ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway. For more information, visit ESPNPlus.com.
Media Contacts:
Tim Simmons, Media Coordinator, (303) 678-8484 or bfishinc@aol.com
Jenny Zimmerman, ESPN Communications, (407) 566-2213 or jennifer.j.zimmerman@espn.com
