NCAA Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS, Monday, May 19, 2008 -- Ticket applications for the 2009 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Final Fours will be available online through May 31, 2008.

The 2009 Men’s Final Four will be held at Ford Field in Detroit. The all-session ticket prices are $170 for upper-level sideline, and $140 for upper-level behind the basket, and will admit the bearer to the national semifinals Saturday, April 4 and the national championship game Monday, April 6. The 2009 Women’s Final Four will be held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The all-session ticket price of $162 will admit the bearer to the national semifinals Sunday, April 5 and the national championship game Tuesday, April 7.    » read more »

April 1, 2008 -- ESPN’s extensive multimedia coverage of the NCAA Men’s Final Four will include in-depth analysis, news, interviews and highlights across many ESPN platforms as well as live telecasts of all three Final Four matchups on ESPN International. Coverage will feature on-site shows and reports on ESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, ESPNU and ESPN.com, and Tournament specific content on ESPN Classic and ESPN Mobile TV.

Highlights:
- On-site Analysis from Bob Knight;
- Semifinals and Championship Game Live on ESPN International;
- On-Site Coverage on SportsCenter, College GameDay, ESPNEWS, ESPN Radio, ESPNU and ESPN.com; Content on ESPN Classic and ESPN Mobile TV    » read more »

March 27, 2008 -- Leading into the “Sweet Sixteen” this weekend, ESPN’s exclusive coverage of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament has garnered double-digit increases in both viewership and ratings on ESPN2 and ESPN during the first two rounds (48 games within 13 telecast windows March 22 – 25), according to Nielsen Media Research. With games primarily shown on ESPN2 (12 windows), that network saw a 29 percent household jump over last year (546,000 vs. 423,000), based on a 20% ratings increase (0.6 vs. 0.5), while ESPN’s viewership is up 40 percent among households (482,000 vs. 344,000), based on a ratings increase of 25 percent (0.5 rating, compared to last year’s 0.4).    » read more »

Thursday, March 27, 2008, INDIANAPOLIS -- More NCAA basketball fans will attend Division I Men’s Basketball regionals in Charlotte, Detroit, Houston and Phoenix this weekend than at any time in the event’s 70-year history. Attendance at the four regional sites will surpass the previous record by more than 20 percent.    » read more »

How's Your Bracket? Redux

March 24, 2008 -- With a host of early round upsets and Cinderella runs in this year’s men’s college basketball championship tournament, millions of brackets in ESPN.com’s 13th annual Men’s Tournament Challenge presented by State Farm and Sprint were left in turmoil heading into the round of 16. An analysis of the more than 3.65 million entries submitted reveals:

* 2 picked all 16 of the Sweet 16 teams correctly;
* 4,621 picked Davidson, Villanova, and Western Kentucky to advance to the Sweet 16;
* 72 picked 15 of the 16 Sweet 16 teams correctly;
* 294,060 picked Davidson to defeat Georgetown in the Second Round;
* 2,091,856 picked Xavier to defeat Duke in the Second Round;    » read more »

SAN ANTONIO, March 21, 2008 – Kid Rock, the Grammy Award‐nominated artist known for his unique mix of Southern rock, hip‐hop, and blues‐and country‐tinged ballads, will perform at Pontiac Garage at the Final Four® on Saturday, April 5 as part of The Big Dance—a free, four‐day entertainment extravaganza in celebration of the NCAA® Men’s Final Four®. With over 22 million albums sold throughout his career, Kid Rock’s San Antonio appearance comes in the midst of the successful release of his 2007 Rock N Roll Jesus album—his first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart.    » read more »

- Trey Wingo to Host Selection Show with Dales and Lawson
- ESPNU to Simulcast; ESPNU to Air Women’s Championship Special
- NCAA Tournament Coverage Begins March 22

March 12, 2008 -- ESPN (also available on ESPN HD) will present the exclusive, live announcement of the women’s 64-team field on the NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Special March 17 at 7 p.m. ET. Trey Wingo will host alongside analysts Stacey Dales and Kara Lawson.    » read more »

Also, Four Hours of Coverage on ESPN Radio, Coverage on SportsCenter, ESPN.com and ESPN360.com

March 12, 2008 -- The final day of Championship Week, Sunday, March 16, will include daylong, multimedia coverage of Selection Sunday, when the men’s basketball NCAA Tournament brackets are determined. Selection Sunday will be highlighted by three hours of ESPNU Bracketology Presented by Staples on ESPN: a one-hour edition at 5 p.m. ET and a two-hour show at 7 p.m. (simulcast on ESPNU).    » read more »

Program Features Sports Fans Wearing Favorite Teams’ Attire for $5 Donation to Cancer Research March 20 & 21

- Tournament Challenge Games, Mobile Bracket Management, Alerts
- Integration with Selection Sunday, Selection Monday Telecasts
- Complete Editorial Coverage

14 Total Games February 22-24: ESPN2 to Televise Six, ESPNU Five, ESPN360.com Two and ESPN Classic One Game; #15 Drake at #10 Butler on ESPN2

- Event to Feature 14 Games with NCAA Tournament Hopefuls February 22-24
- Matchup Highlighted by #15 Drake at #11 Butler