March 1, 2005
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Basketball fans attending the West Coast Conference (Men's and Women's Basketball Championships on March 5th will get their first taste of NCAA® March Madness®, thanks to Cingular Wireless. The Cingular NCAA® March Madness® Shoot Out will visit the Leavey Center on the campus of Santa Clara University before the WCC semifinals and bring an interactive, high energy mix of music, basketball and entertainment directly to fans.
Anchoring the event will be a state-of-the-art, 2,500-person mobile arena, complete with a full-length basketball court, concert stage and house DJ spinning the latest music hits. While there, fans will be treated to performances and clinics by a nationally renowned team of Streetball All-Stars, a hip-hop concert performance by MC Lars, Motorola V180 handset giveaways every 20 minutes, basketball-themed games and activities, custom airbrushing and sampling of the hottest new products and services from Cingular Wireless. Additionally, 1993 Naismith Trophy winner and Texas Tech star Sheryl Swoopes will be on-site for photo and autograph opportunities, along with a display featuring the actual Naismith Trophy.
The Cingular NCAA® March Madness® Shoot Out supports Cingular's sponsorship of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA®). In addition to being a corporate champion, Cingular is the presenter of the Naismith Trophy, the most prestigious national award presented annually to the men's and women's college players of the year. This year, Cingular is making the selection process unique by giving college basketball fans an unprecedented voice in deciding who wins the Naismith Trophy. Fan voting, through the power and ease of wireless text messaging, will account for 25% of the final voting.
Since mid-February, CBS Sports has been highlighting past Naismith Trophy winners during its college basketball broadcasts. Fans can also enter the Cingular "Shot at a $1,000,000" promotion by text messaging "PLAY" to "26222" and opting in to answer 20 Naismith trivia questions for 20 chances to win. Each question answered is an entry for a chance to win a trip to the NCAA® Men's Final Four® in St. Louis and attempt a half court shot to win $1,000,000. For more information, visit www.shotatamillion.com.
The four finalists for the Naismith Trophy will be announced on CBS Sports on March 20th. The four finalists are selected by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country. CBS Sports will begin profiling the four Naismith Trophy finalists during its NCAA Tournament coverage starting in the first games of the NCAA ® Sweet 16 on March 24. Voting for the Naismith Trophy College Players of the Year will conclude on Saturday, April 2 at 9:00 PM EST. The Naismith Trophy College Players of the Year will be announced in St. Louis on Sunday, April 3.
Last year's Naismith Trophy recipient was Saint Joseph's University guard Jameer Nelson. Other notable men's college player of the year winners include Bill Walton, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and Christian Laettner.
ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB
The Atlanta Tipoff Club, an Atlanta Sports Council property, is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club has presented the Naismith Trophy since Lew Alcindor first won the award in 1969.
ABOUT CINGULAR WIRELESS
Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving more than 49 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC) and BellSouth Corporation (NYSE: BLS), has the largest digital voice and data network in the nation and the largest mobile-to-mobile community of any national wireless carrier. Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover℠, the wireless plan that lets customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Details of the company are available at http://www.cingular.com . Get Cingular Wireless press releases e-mailed to you automatically. Sign up at http://www.cingular.com/newsroom .
ABOUT THE NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 360,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 49,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA Championships in Division I, II and III sports. For more information, go to www.ncaa.org.
