Old Spice

August 7, 2009

ESPN Announces Matchups for 2009 Old Spice Classic; Six of Eight Teams Reached 2008-09 Postseason

ESPN Regional Television, Inc. (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, announced today the schedule of matchups for the 2009 Old Spice Classic, to be held on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 26, 27 and 29, at the Milk House at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.

The event will include 12 games in three days and will be telecast on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. Tournament sponsors include Old Spice, ESPNU and Disney’s Wide World of Sports. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) again will serve as the event’s sponsoring conference.

The fourth annual Old Spice Classic field includes eight teams: Alabama, Baylor, Creighton, Florida State, Iona, Marquette, Michigan and Xavier. Six of the eight teams reached the postseason in 2008-09, including four in the NCAA Tournament.

In the first round of action Thursday, Nov. 26, Creighton will take on Michigan; Marquette will face Xavier; Alabama will meet Baylor; and Florida State will square off with Iona. The first three games will be televised live on ESPN2, while Florida State vs. Iona will air live on ESPNU.

Each team will compete in one game per day, advancing through a bracket-tournament format. The two teams that remain undefeated throughout the tournament will face off in a championship match Sunday, Nov. 29, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Complete matchups are listed below.

The inaugural Old Spice Classic was played in 2006, with Arkansas defeating West Virginia in the championship game at Disney’s Milk House. In 2007, North Carolina State edged Villanova for the Old Spice Classic championship. Last season, Gonzaga held off Tennessee to win the title.

Tickets to the 2009 Old Spice Classic will go on sale Monday, Aug. 17, at www.Ticketmaster.com or by phone at (407) 839-3900. Fans can purchase official travel packages, which include game tickets and official team hotel accommodations, by going to www.anthonytravel.com (search Old Spice) or by calling 1-888-632-6951.

Additional information can be found on the Old Spice Classic’s official Web site: www.oldspiceclassic.com. For more information on Disney’s Wide World of Sports, visit www.disneysports.com.

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU Tournament Schedule
(Home team listed second; Iona will be home team in each of its games)

Date Time (ET) Game Network
Thu, Nov 26 Noon Creighton vs. Michigan ESPN2
2 p.m. Marquette vs. Xavier ESPN2
6:30 p.m. Alabama vs. Baylor ESPN2
9 p.m. Florida State vs. Iona ESPNU
Fri, Nov 27 Noon Game 5 ESPN
2:30 p.m. Game 6 ESPNU
5 p.m. Game 7 ESPN2
7:30 p.m. Game 8 ESPNU
Sun, Nov 29 10 a.m. Game 9 ESPNU
Noon Game 10 ESPNU
5 p.m. Game 11 ESPNU
7:30 p.m. Game 12 (Championship Game) ESPN2

ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership
The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 1,000 telecasts of sporting events. Programming includes football, basketball, NCAA events, golf and NHRA events accounting for more than 2,200 live and/or original hours of programming. In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network; syndication rights-holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (e.g. – SEC, BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, Sun Belt, WAC).

ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events, including collegiate football events: the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas); MAACO Bowl Las Vegas; New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Papajohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); St. Petersburg Bowl; the MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.); and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards; collegiate basketball events: the 76 Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); Charleston Classic (S.C.); ESPNU Road to the Championship (Women; San Antonio); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); SEC/BIG EAST Invitational; All-College Classic (Oklahoma City) and ESPNU BracketBusters; as well as the ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway. For more information, visit ESPNPlus.com.

Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex
Opened in 1997 at Walt Disney World Resort, Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex is the leading multi-sport venue for amateur and professional sports in the United States. The sprawling 220-acre state-of-the-art complex features the Milk House, a 165,000-square-foot field house which seats 5,500 for basketball; the 9,500-seat Champion Stadium ballpark; the Hess Sports Fields, which include multiple baseball, softball and soccer fields; and the Jostens Center, an 80,000 square foot multi-sport field house. In addition, the complex has 11 tennis courts, including a stadium court, and a track and field complex. The complex is home to more than 180 amateur and professional sports and entertainment events each year, including the Major League Baseball Atlanta Braves spring training, the Pop Warner Super Bowl, Chelsea Football Club events, the Special Olympics Florida Summer Games and AAU National Championship events. Please visit www.disneysports.com for more information.