Charleston Classic Basketball Tournament

A Collegiate Men’s Basketball Invitational Tournament
Event Organizers: An ESPN Regional TV-owned and operated event (Charlotte, NC) and sponsoring conference is the Southern Conference (SoCon). Coordinated locally by the Charleston Metro Sports Council.

Venue: Carolina First Arena @ College of Charleston Campus

Tickets: Carolina First Arena Box Office at (843) 953-2632 or @ www.cofcsports.com

Seating capacity: 5,000

Location: Charleston (historic district), SC

Dates: November 17-22, 2010

Managing Director: Chuck Beddingfield, Ph#: 843-818-8498, chuck.beddingfield@gmail.com
www.charlestonclassic.com

Tournament Format: The men’s collegiate event is held at the beginning of the season and matches up eight teams, playing one game per day, for a total of three games while advancing through a bracket-tournament format. The two teams that remain undefeated face off in the championship match on Sunday.

ALL ACCESS Insiders’ View:

The Charleston Metro Sports Council and the College of Charleston Athletics Department work behind the scenes to successfully host this prestigious event each year. Before the fans arrive for a long weekend to watch NCAA Division I hoop action, the local host committee provides a number of pre-event activities including: Media and Sponsor “Meet and Greet” Event, Coaches “Chalk Talk” Tip-off Reception for Sponsors, Welcome Dinner for teams, coaches and traveling parties, Sponsor Appreciation Reception and A Fan Fest (new for 2010 tournament).

Participants and Attendance: Each year, seven to eight teams, with support staff/boosters visit the Charleston area for 4-5 days. With close to 11,000 in attendance for 2009 event, some 14,000 are expected in 2010 to cheer on teams representing the ACC, SEC, C-USA, CAA, Atlantic 10 and the host conference, Southern Conference.

Media Coverage: The 2009 event included seven games telecast live with four games on CSS, two games on ESPNU and the final game between Miami (ACC) and USC (SEC) telecast live on ESPN2. (Received a 1.8 rating.)

Local Contributions: ESPN presented the MUSC Children’s Hospital Fund with a $25,000 contribution during the final game.

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Charleston Classic Basketball Tournament