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2K Sports Named Title Sponsor of Coaches vs Cancer College Basketball Tournament

09/12/05

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2K Sports announced today that they have made a four-year commitment to become the Title Sponsor of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, the nation's premier season-opening college basketball tournament.

"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 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.

The Regional Rounds of the tournament, which will be hosted by Florida, Syracuse, Texas Tech, and Wake Forest — four teams projected to be among this year's top 25 — and 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. Five of the teams in this year's Event made the NCAA tournament last year, including the four hosts (which 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."