North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: NC State Excels at Hosting NCAA Events
3/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. For the fifth time in the last eight years, NC State is hosting a major NCAA basketball event at the RBC Center.
The school is the official host of the 2009 Raleigh Regional in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, which means the athletics department staff has spent hundreds of hours over the last 12 months preparing to welcome the four teams to the area, make them feel at home and ultimately reward one of the teams with a trip to the Women’s Final Four in St. Louis.
“Hosting an NCAA event of this magnitude takes a tremendous amount of time and effort on the part of our staff,” said NC State athletics director Lee Fowler. “But it is also a wonderful opportunity to show our facilities, our hospitality and abilities of the top-notch people who work here to people around the country.
“The NCAA is a demanding client, but that is what makes the tournament such a success.”
| NCAA Raleigh Regional games | ||
| Saturday | | |
| Game 1 | No. 2 Baylor vs. No. 3 Louisville | Noon |
| Game 2 | No. 1 Maryland vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt | 2:30 p.m. |
| Monday | | |
| Game 3 | Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner | 7 p.m. |
It is also good preparation for attracting future events. This summer, the school will submit bids to host the men’s basketball tournament at the RBC Center in 2011 and 2012, in hopes of earning the venue’s first ever NCAA Men’s Basketball Regional. The school has a rich history of hosting regional rounds, dating back to the days when Reynolds Coliseum the premier basketball destination in the south, but has not yet hosted a Sweet Sixteen round for the men at the RBC Center.
“The level of detail that the NCAA demands to host these post-season events is substantial but the requirements for the men’s championship and women’s championship are similar in basketball,” said Dick Christy, associate athletics director for external operations. “Hosting as many events as we have, our staff is really battle-tested in its role as host.
“It’s practically impossible to estimate the number of hours that go into planning this kind of event. Without [assistant athletics director for marketing] Chris Alston as our tournament manager for the College Cups and the work of Adina Stock in that same role for this year’s regional games for the women’s basketball tournament, our success would not be possible.
Christy also noted that everyone involved in the process from marketing, media relations, ticket office, equipment and game-day operations participate in the organization above and beyond their regular duties within the athletics department.
And they do it extremely well, according to Scott Dupree, vice president for sports marketing for the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“In my opinion, NC State is as good as any school in the country at hosting championship events, in terms of willingness to host and doing a fantastic job as a host,” Dupree said. “It’s a real tribute to Lee Fowler and Dick Christy and the entire staff. Between men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer and gymnastics, there have been a lot of events here.
“This is the fifth time in eight years that the NCAA has awarded Raleigh some kind of basketball event, which is about as many as you could possibly have in that stretch of time. It says a lot about Raleigh, the RBC Center and NC State that the NCAA would award that many events in that stretch of time.”
This is the first time since 2002 that NC State has hosted a regional in men’s or women’s basketball. Last year, the RBC Center was a site for the first and second rounds of the men’s tournament and in 2006 it was the host of the first and second round of the women’s tournament.
The goal, however, is to prove that the organization and facilities are capable of hosting a men’s regional semifinals and championship game. So the NC State plans to submit regional hosting bids for both years, Christy said.
Competition, which begins Saturday at noon, is expected to be lively, since this is the only regional that has the top four seeds: No. 1 Maryland, No. 2 Baylor, No. 3 Louisville and No. 4 Vanderbilt.
Tickets for the entire event are $50 for adults and $30 for children, and are available through the GoPack.com Ticket Center. http://www.gopack.com/fls/9200/2009ncaawbbdiv1/index.html
Out-of-town visitors can find quick information about things to do during their visit at www.raleighroundballroadshow.com, an informational website that includes directions to the RBC Center, hotel availability, area restaurants and a variety of things to do before and after games.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
Following is a schedule of some of the events slated for this weekend.
Friday
Open practice for all four teams.
Noon - 1pm: Louisville practice
1:05 - 2:05pm: Baylor practice
2:10 - 3:10: Vanderbilt practice
3:15 - 4:15: Maryland practice
Saturday
Session I
Game 1: No. 3 Louisville vs No. 2 Baylor - Noon
Game 2: No. 1 Maryland vs No. 4 Vanderbilt - 2:30pm
Monday
Session II
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m.
Activities
Fans are invited to arrive early at the RBC Center Saturday (10:30 a.m. to noon) and Monday (5:30 to 7 p.m.) on the front lawn for entertainment from a local DJ and facepainting for kids. During halftimes of all three games, NC State will host the NCAA Pinnacle of Fitness. Four local middle schools (Wake Forest-Rolesville, Heritage, North Garner & Mount Vernon) will compete against each other in curl ups, pull ups, sit & reach, shuttle run, and quarter-mile mile endurance run. The winners on Saturday will compete on Monday night and the winner of that halftime will go to next week’s Women's Final Four in St. Louis to compete against other middle schools from around the country.
Tickets
Available through the GoPack.com Ticket Center and by phone at (919) 865-1510.
Information
Fans and visitors to the area can find all they need to know about the greater Raleigh area at www.RaleighRoundballRoadshow.com
