Sportstime Ohio To Become Title Sponsor Of The 2006 BCA Classic Hosted By Ohio State University – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 14, 2006
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PRINCETON, NJ. – New regional sports network SportsTime Ohio has become the title sponsor of the Black Coaches Association Classic men’s college basketball tournament. The event will be hosted by Ohio State University from November 10th-12th at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. SportsTime Ohio will also broadcast a number of games during the event.
“The opportunity to be title sponsor of an event that brings together a great charity, Ohio State University, Kent State University and an event hosted in Columbus is a perfect fit for our young sports network,” said Jim Liberatore, President of SportsTime Ohio. “It is not often that a single event speaks to many of the attributes of our network including a high profile, local competition with a charitable focus.”
Joining Ohio State in the SportsTime Ohio BCA Classic will be Alabama A&M, IUPUI, Kent State, Loyola, Princeton, South Dakota State and Virginia Military Institute. (Click here to view the event field, bracket and dates).
The Buckeyes landed one of the nation’s top recruiting classes headed by the 2006 USA Today Player of the Year Greg Oden. The Buckeyes also signed two additional 2006 McDonald’s All-Americans in Daequan Cook and Michael Conley, while also landing David Lighty, who was ranked No. 30 on SI.com’s top 100 list. The Buckeyes will test their topflight freshmen against Virginia Military Institute in the first round of the SportsTime Ohio BCA Classic. Kent State enters the year as the defending Mid-American Conference champion. The Golden Flashes are coming off of their first NCAA tournament birth since 2002 and are looking to stay atop the MAC. They are matched up against the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State.
Loyola is coming off of its best season in over 20 years. The Ramblers finished 19-11 last year and are tabbed as the favorite to win the Horizon league. They will face Princeton University, which rallied to finish second in the Ivy League last season.
Alabama A&M will represent the SWAC as it competes against 2005 Mid Continent Conference co-champion IUPUI in the opening round.
Tickets for the 2006 SportsTime Ohio BCA Classic can be purchased by contacting the Ohio State University box office at 614-292-2624, 1-800-GO-BUCKS or by e-mailing a request to athletic.tix@osu.edu.
“We are especially pleased to have Ohio State University host this year’s SportsTime Ohio BCA Classic,” said Floyd Keith, Executive Director of the BCA. First of all, the field of teams is competitive and should gain national exposure because of the participants and the quality of play. Secondly, we are pleased to be working with OSU Athletics Director, Gene Smith and his staff to coordinate this event with Gazelle and the city of Columbus, Ohio.”
SportsTime Ohio is a Northern Ohio regional sports network designed to offer a variety of sports programming produced for the Ohio sports fan, with its initial venture being the largest television package in Cleveland Indians team history (158 games to be broadcast in 2006). Additional programming is geared specifically toward Ohio-area sports fans and the passion that makes the region the greatest sports community.
The Black Coaches Association is a non-profit organization whose primary purpose is to foster the growth and development of minorities at all levels of sport both nationally and internationally. The BCA is committed to creating a positive, enlightened environment and common ground where issues can be examined closely, debated seriously and resolved honestly. Throughout the BCA’s 19-year history, the organization has been at the forefront of the effort to enhance the employment opportunities and professional development of minorities aspiring to have a career in athletics.
