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2004 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic to Feature New Expanded Format

Princeton, NJ (September 21, 2004) – The Gazelle Group is pleased to announce a new expanded format for the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, the nation's premier preseason college basketball tournament. This year's event features 16 teams from 16 conferences competing at four regional sites hosted by top-ranked teams - Syracuse, Memphis, Cal and Mississippi State (in Birmingham, AL). Regional action begins November 11th - 13th. The winners from each site will advance to play in the semifinal and championship rounds at Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 18th - 19th. All four Championship Round games will be nationally televised on ESPN2.

Teams scheduled to participate at the regional host sites include: Alabama A&M, Belmont, Birmingham-Southern, Bucknell, Fairfield, George Mason, IPFW, Northern Colorado, Princeton, Savannah State, St. Mary's and UC Riverside. Outlined below are the dates, locations and match-ups for the event (click here for a complete bracket):

All opening round games to be played at each host site on November 11th. All regional Consolation and Championship Games in Syracuse, Birmingham, and Cal will be played on November 12th. Consolation and Championship Games in Memphis will be played on November 13th:

ESPN.com's Andy Katz featured Syracuse (No. 5), Mississippi State (No. 11), and Memphis(No. 19) in his Summer Sizzling 50 rankings and all three teams are projected to appear in the Top 25 at the start of the season. This year's event will include five John Wooden preseason All-America candidates on its rosters: Gerry McNamara (Syracuse), Hakim Warrick (Syracuse), Sean Banks (Memphis), Lawrence Roberts (Mississippi State), and Leon Powe (California).

The Coaches vs. Cancer program, created by the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches exists to leverage the strength, community leadership and celebrity of our country's basketball coaches to raise awareness and in turn, reduce cancer risk through education programs while raising funds for the American Cancer Society. Since 1995, The Gazelle Group, producer of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, has raised over $2.2 million for Coaches vs. Cancer.

Ticket Information:

Syracuse: 1-888-DOMETIX or www.dometix.com (Individual game tickets on sale Oct. 13th) Memphis: 1-888-867-UofM or www.gotigersgo.com (Individual game tickets on sale Oct. 15th)
California: 1-800-GO-BEARS or www.calbears.com (Individual game tickets on sale Oct. 1st)
Birmingham: Tickets can be purchased through Mississippi State now (1-888-GODAWGS or www.mstateathletics.com) or through Ticketmaster beginning Oct. 1st.

Championship Round tickets at Madison Square Garden are on sale now and can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (212) 307-7171 or through www.Ticketmaster.com.

For more information about the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, please visit www.coachesvscancer.com or contact Christopher Makos at (609) 921-1300 or cmakos@gazellegroup.com.