Guardians Classic to Become College Basketball Experience (CBE) Classic

Princeton, N.J. – The college basketball tournament formerly known as the Guardians Classic will now be called the College Basketball Experience (CBE) Classic. The 16-team tournament tips off November 12th-15th with the Regional Rounds taking place at four Host Sites: Duke (Durham, N.C.), Marquette (Milwaukee, Wisc.), Stanford (Palo Alto, Calif.) and Texas Tech (Lubbock, Texas).

Four teams will compete in each Regional of the Event. The winner of each Regional will advance to the Championship Rounds at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri, on November 20th and 21st. Game times, match-ups and the other 12 teams participating in the tournament will be announced in the near future.

In the 2005 Classic, the Texas Longhorns defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 68-59 in the Championship game.

The College Basketball Experience Classic was created to promote the NABC's "College Basketball Experience" and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, currently being developed within the new Sprint Center arena located in downtown Kansas City. The CBE Classic will fold into the College Basketball Experience Weekend, a three-day event celebrating the best of men's college basketball. The weekend kicks off on Sunday, November 19th, 2006, when five of the greatest names in college basketball history headline the founding class to be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

TICKET INFORMATION: Championship Round tickets at Sprint Center go on sale tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m CST. and may be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 816.931.3330 or through Ticketmaster.com.

For VIP Ticket packages, contact Brian Halligan at 609.921.1300 or bhalligan@gazellegroup.com

Tickets for the Regional Rounds may be purchased through the host schools’ box offices. On-sale dates for individual game tickets will be announced in the near future.

Duke University: (877) 375-DUKE or visit www.goduke.com
Marquette University: (414) 276-4545 or visit www.gomarquette.com
Stanford University: (800) STANFORD or visit www.gostanford.com
Texas Tech University: (888) GOBIG12 or visit www.texastech.com

The O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic is produced by The Gazelle Group in Princeton, N.J. The Gazelle Group is a sports marketing firm, specializing in event production/management, client representation, and sponsorship consulting. Gazelle produces numerous nationally-recognized events, such as the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. For more information on The Gazelle Group, please visit gazellegroup.com.

For more information on the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic, please visit the official tournament website at CBEClassic.com.