August 3, 2011

ESPN Announces Matchups for Fifth Annual Puerto Rico Tip-Off

ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, announced today the first-round matchups for the 2011 Puerto Rico Tip-Off to be held, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, Nov. 17, 18 & 20, at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in financial district of San Juan. The fifth-year event will include 12 games in three days and will be telecast on ESPN2 and ESPNU.

The Puerto Rico Tip-Off field features Alabama (Southeastern), Colorado (Pac-12), Iona (Metro Atlantic), Maryland (Atlantic Coast), Purdue (Big 10) Temple (Atlantic-10), Western Michigan (Mid-American) and Wichita State (Missouri Valley). Each school will compete in one game per day, advancing through a bracket-tournament format.

Highlighting the first day of action during the evening session on Thursday, Nov. 17 will be Alabama (25-12), Colorado (24-14) and Wichita State (29-8), with each having reached the finals weekend of the NIT in New York. Wichita State won the 2011 NIT by defeating Alabama 66-57 and the Tide defeated Colorado 62-61 in the semifinals.

The first session on Thursday has Temple (26-8) playing Western Michigan (21-13) at 11:30 a.m. (ESPNU), followed by Purdue (26-8) against Iona (25-12) at 2 p.m. (ESPNU). Both Temple and Purdue split a pair of games in the 2011 NCAA Championship, while Iona lost in the finals of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.  Western Michigan also competed in the College Insider postseason event as the Broncos split a pair of games.

Being played at the 18,000-season Coliseo de Puerto Rico, the largest indoor arena in Puerto Rico, the 2011 Puerto Rico Tip-Off 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 game Sunday, Nov. 20, at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.

The inaugural Puerto Rico Tip-Off was played in 2007, with Miami (Fla.) defeating Providence in the championship game. In 2008, Xavier captured the title by taking down Memphis in the championship game.  Villanova defeated Ole Miss for the 2009 Puerto Rico Tip-off title with Minnesota defeating West Virginia for the trophy in 2010.

Tickets (to the 2011 Puerto Rico Tip-Off will go on sale August 5, 2011 and can be purchased at www.ticketpop.com or by calling (866) 994-0001. Packages include all 12 games for $80 plus applicable taxes and fees, or single-session tickets for $15 plus applicable taxes and fees. Special travel package information can be found at www.anthonytravel.com/espn/puerto-rico-tipoff/ or by calling (888) 632-6951.

2011 Puerto Rico Tip-Off Schedule (Home team listed second)

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ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership
The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 1,200 sporting events. Content includes action from NCAA football, basketball and Olympic sports, NHRA and professional and amateur golf, accounting for more than 3,400 live and/or original hours of programming. ERT’s owned and operated events reach over a million fans a year and provides more than 200 additional hours of programming.

In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU; syndication rights-holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (SEC, BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, WAC) and manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.

ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events:

Collegiate Football

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg; Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); BBVA Compass Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); MAACO Bowl Las Vegas; Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas (Houston); MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.) and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards

Collegiate Basketball

76 Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); Champions Classic (Madison Square Garden; debuts 2011); Charleston Classic presented by Foster Grant (S.C.); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); All-College Basketball Classic (Oklahoma City) and BracketBusters

Collegiate Lacrosse

ESPNU Warrior Classic

Others

Hawaiian Islands Invitational (Soccer) and ESPN National Golf Challenge

For more information, visit ESPNPlus.com.

Media contacts: Rachel Margolis at 860-766-2798, or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; Tim Simmons, Media Coordinator, at 303-678-8484 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it