SOCON BA S KET B ALL CHAMPION S HIP 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship First Round March 7 (Friday) Game 1: No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed, 3:00 p.m. Opening Round Game 2: No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed, 5:15 Tuesday, March 18, 2008 p.m.* UD Arena - Dayton, Ohio Game 3: No. 6 seed vs. No. 11 seed, 7:30 p.m.* Host: University of Dayton Quarterfinals First and Second Rounds March 8 (Saturday) March 20 and 22, 2008 Game 4: No. 1 seed vs. winner of Game 1, Honda Center - Anaheim, Calif. Stephen Curry scored 29 points in the champion- 2:00 p.m. Host: Big West Conference ship game to lead Davidson to its second-consec- Game 5: No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed, 4:15 utive SoCon title in 2007. p.m.* Pepsi Center - Denver, Colo. Game 6: No. 2 seed vs. winner of Game 2, 7:00 p.m. Hosts: Mountain West Conference and The Southern Conference returns to the Colorado State University historic Charleston area and the North Game 7: No. 3 seed vs. winner of Game 3, 9:15 p.m.* Charleston Coliseum for the 2008 Southern Quest Center Omaha - Omaha, Neb. Conference Tournament. The Tournament Semifinals Hosts; Creighton University and is scheduled for March 7-10 at the 14,000- March 9 (Sunday) Missouri Valley Conference Game 8: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of seat venue. It marks the sixth time in the Game 5, 6::00 p.m. past seven seasons that the conference Game 9: Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Verizon Center - Washington, D.C. tournament has been held at facility. Game 7, 8:30 p.m. Host: Georgetown University Championship March 21 and 23, 2008 The oldest league tournament in the nation, March 10 (Monday) BJCC Arena - Birmingham Ala. the first tournament was held in 1922 and Game 10: Championship, 9:00 p.m. Host; Southeastern Conference 2008 marks the 88th year of the post-season (ESPN2) classic. Alltel Arena - Little Rock, Ark. *- Games scheduled to begin 30 minutes following the conclusion of the Host: University of Arkansas-Little Rock Tickets for the tournament are available by previous game. contacting any member institution ticket RBC Center - Raleigh, N.C. Host: North Carolina State University office. St. Petersburg Times-Forum - Tampa, Fla. Host: University of South Florida Regionals March 27 and 29, 2008 East Regional Charlotte Bobcat Arena - Charlotte, N.C. 2008 National Invitational Host: University of North Carolina at Charlotte Tournament West Regional US Airways Center - Phoenix, Ariz. First Round Host: Arizona State University March 18 and 19 Conference Tournament Longevity March 28 and 30, 2008 No. Conference Years Second Round Midwest Regional March 20-22, 24 1. Southern Conference 87 Ford Field - Detroit, Mich. 2. Atlantic Coast Conference 53 Quarterfinal Round Host: University of Detroit Mercy 3. Southeastern Conference 47 March 25-26 4. Ohio Valley Tournament 43 South Regional 5. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference 35 Semifinals and Championship Reliant Stadium - Houston, Texas 6. Big West Conference 31 Madison Square Garden Hosts: University of Houston and Rice Semifinals: University Big Sky Conference 31 Tuesday, April 1, 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. 8. Missouri Valley Conference 30 Championship: Final Four Sun Belt Conference 30 Thursday, April 3, 7:00 p.m. Alamadome - San Antonio, Texas Atlantic 10 Conference 30 Host: University of Texas-San Antonio 4 2007-08 Southern Conference Men’s Basketball SOCON BA S KET B ALL CHAMPION S HIP 2008 Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship March 7-10 • North charlestoN coliseuM • charlestoN, s.c. No. 8 seed Session 1, Game 1 March 7, 3:00 p.m. No. 9 seed Session 2, Game 4 March 8, 2:00 p.m. No. 1 seed Session 4, Game 8 March 9, 6:00 p.m. No. 4 seed Session 2, Game 5 March 8, 4:15 No. 5 seed CHAMPIONSHIP GAME Session 5, Game 10 March 10, 9:00 p.m. No. 7 seed Session 1, Game 2 March 7, 5:15 p.m. No. 10 seed Session 3, Game 6 March 8, 7:00 p.m. No. 2 seed Session 4, Game 9 March 9, 8:30 p.m. No. 3 seed Session 3, Game 7 No. 6 seed March 8, 9:15 p.m. Session 1, Game 3 March 7, 7:30 p.m. No. 11 seed Champions of North and South Divisions receive No. 1 and No. 2 seeds regardless of overall conference record. No. 1 seed will be the team with the best conference win-loss percentage. The bracket may be adjusted to allow the highest seeded local team to play a prime time (evening) game. Game times for March 7-8 are approximate. There will be 30 minutes between games on those days. www.SoConSports.com 5 Southern Conference History SOUTHERN CONFEREN C E HI S TORY The Southern Conference The Southern Conference, which began its 87th season of intercollegiate competition in 2007, is a national leader in emphasizing the development of the student-athlete and defining the league’s role in helping to build lifelong leaders and role models. The Southern Conference is the nation’s fifth-oldest NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association. Only the Big Ten (1896), the Missouri Valley (1907), the Pacific 10 (1915) and the Southwestern Athletic (1920) conferences are older in terms of origination. The Southern Conference has also excelled as the premier Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) conference. Southern Conference member Appalachian State won the 2006 and 2007 Football Championship Subdivision titles. The Conference currently consists of 11 members in four states The Southern Conference moved its offices into the historic Beaumont Mill in Spartanburg, SC in January, 2005. The mill was constructed in 1890 alongside Chinquapin Creek. The main products throughout the Southeast and sponsors in 1900 were carpet warps, seamless bags (for corn and grain), and wrapping twines for domestic 19 varsity sports and championships that market. In 1907, the mill operated with 12,360 spindles and 252 automatic looms. During WWII, produce participants for NCAA Division I Beaumont Mill produced “duck” which was the fabric made to outfit GIs in rafts and ammunition Championships. belts. The mill closed in 1999 and was partially dismantled in 2002. The Southern Conference was the first tenant in the revitalized mill. Academic excellence has been a major part of the Southern Conference’s tradition. League The Southern Conference office is located in well as a spacious library for storage of the athletes have been recognized countless the historic Beaumont Mill in Spartanburg, conference’s historical documents. times on Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All- S.C. A textile mill that was in operation America and district teams. A total of 19 from 1880 until 1999, Beaumont Mill was Membership History Rhodes Scholarship winners have been renovated in 2004 and today offers the SoCon The Southern Conference was formed selected from conference institutions. a first-class meeting area and offices as on February 25, 1921 at a meeting in Atlanta, Ga. as 14 institutions from the 30- member Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) reorganized as the Southern Conference. Those charter members included Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Washington & Lee. Athletic competition began in the fall of 1921. In 1922, six more schools - Florida, LSU, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tulane and Vanderbilt - joined the fold. A year later, the University of the South joined the ranks. th VMI became a member in 1925 and Duke 25 Anniversary of Women’s Championships was added 1929. Since then, conference The Southern Conference is celebrating 25 years of women’s championships in membership has experienced a series of 2007-08. The year-long celebration of women’s sports will highlight student- membership changes with 42 institutions athletes, coaches and teams. Commissioner Ken Germann spearheaded the having been affiliated with the league. The Southern Conference’s expansion to include women’s athletics. The Germann league has undergone two major transitions Cup, named in honor of the former commissioner, annually recognizes the top during its history. women’s athletics programs in the conference. From its humble beginnings, women’s athletics have become an integral part of the Southern Conference and The first occurred in December 1932 when the Southeastern Conference was formed its success. The league crowns champions in nine women’s sports including from the 23-school Southern Conference. cross country, soccer, volleyball, indoor track & field, basketball, tennis, golf, The league’s 13 members west and south of outdoor track & field and softball. the Appalachian Mountains reorganized to help reduce the extensive travel demands 8 2007-08 Southern Conference Men’s Basketball SOUTHERN CONFEREN C E HI S TORY that were present in the league at the time. In 1936, the Southern Conference invited The Citadel, William & Mary, Davidson, Furman, Richmond and Wake Forest to join the membership. The second major shift came about in 1953 when Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina and Wake Forest withdrew from the league to form the Atlantic Coast Conference. This change was brought about due to the desire of many of those schools to schedule a greater number of regular season basketball games against local rivals. Today, the league continues to thrive with a membership that spans four Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Current league members are The Atlanta Memorial Auditorium was the site for the first Southern Conference Basketball Championship in Appalachian State, College of Charleston, 1922. The SoCon basketball tournament is the longest of its kind in college basketball history.