September 12, 2005
Contact: gazelle@gazellegroup.com, 609-921-1300

Florida, Syracuse, Texas Tech, Wake Forest to Host Regional Rounds

Princeton, NJ – Florida, Syracuse, Texas Tech, and Wake Forest — four teams projected to be among this year's top 25 — will host the Regional Rounds of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, the nation's premier season-opening college basketball tournament.

2K Sports, creator of the "College Hoops 2K" series of video games, has made a four-year commitment to become the Title Sponsor of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. 2K Sports develops and publishes the popular and highly acclaimed 2K series of sports video games, which are known for delivering the most innovative and realistic sports simulation gaming experience to fans every year.

The Coaches vs. Cancer program, created by 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 reduce cancer risk through education programs while raising funds for Coaches vs. Cancer. Since 1996, the Gazelle Group, producers of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, has raised over $2.8 million for the benefit of Coaches vs. Cancer.

"We are excited to tip off the college basketball season and support the Coaches vs. Cancer program," said 2K Sports Marketing and Promotions Director Tim Rosa. "The 2K Sports family is extremely proud to support further efforts in the fight against this serious disease."

The Regional Rounds of the tournament, which feature teams from 16 conferences, will be played November 8th-11th. The winner of each Regional Round will compete for the Championship at Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 17th and 18th.

Syracuse returns to the Classic to defend its 2004 title. Last year, the Orange defeated Memphis, 77-62, in the Championship Game.

Outlined below are the dates, locations, and matchups for the 2005 Event (a complete bracket can be downloaded here) Television coverage will be announced in the near future.

---- REGIONAL ROUNDS ----

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:

---- CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS ----

All four host teams, which averaged 25 wins last season, are projected to be in the top 25 this year. Five of the teams in this year's Event made the NCAA tournament last year, including the four hosts (who were all seeded No. 6 or higher) and Oakland. Each host will be led by all-conference performers from last season, including Eric Williams (Wake Forest), Corey Brewer (Florida), Jarrius Jackson (Texas Tech), and Gerry McNamara (Syracuse).

"This Event is a good test for any program because there are teams in it every year who compete for the national championship," Texas Tech head coach Bob Knight said. "Plus it's a great chance to support the fight against cancer. There aren't any of us anywhere that haven't been touched in some way by cancer."

TICKET INFORMATION: Championship Round tickets at Madison Square Garden are now on sale and may be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 212.307.7171 or through Ticketmaster.com.

For VIP ticket packages, contact Alex Hughes at 609.921.1300 or ahughes@gazellegroup.com.

Tickets also may be purchased through the host schools’ box offices.

Syracuse: 1-888-DOMETIX or www.dometix.com
Wake Forest: 1-888-758-DEAC or www.wakeforestsports.com
Florida: 1-800-34-GATOR or www.gatorzone.com
Texas Tech: 1-888-GO-BIG12 or www.texastech.com

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