PRESS RELEASE

February 1, 2012

2012 ESPNU Warrior Classic Moves to Charlotte

Hofstra, North Carolina, Rutgers and Syracuse Featured in Men’s Lacrosse Doubleheader

The ESPNU Warrior Classic, a men’s college lacrosse doubleheader, has a new home at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., home of Major League Lacrosse’s Charlotte Hounds. The third annual event will be played Saturday, April 14, and will feature Rutgers vs. No. 7 Syracuse in the first game at 11 a.m. ET, followed by No. 11 Hofstra vs. No. 6 North Carolina at 1:30 p.m. Both games will be televised on ESPNU.

Tickets will go on sale Wednesday, Feb. 15. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children, senior citizens and students with school ID. Group discounts will also be available at $12 per ticket (minimum 50 people).

Hofstra, North Carolina and Syracuse all reached the NCAA Championship in 2011. North Carolina has won four national titles and played in five consecutive postseason tournaments, after posting a 10-6 record in 2011. Syracuse has won 10 NCAA titles, the highest total among all schools, and went 15-2 a year ago. Hofstra finished 13-3 last season and reached the NCAA Championship for a school-record fourth consecutive time. Rutgers held a 5-8 record last season, and is now under the direction of first-year head coach Brian Brecht.

“We are thrilled and honored for the opportunity to be a part of the ESPNU Warrior Classic in Charlotte,” said North Carolina head coach Joe Breschi. “There are so many UNC fans across the great state of North Carolina and this will give the Tar Heel faithful an opportunity to see the Carolina Blue in action. With the growth of the sport in the South and the addition of an MLL team in Charlotte, this should be a sold out event!! Go Heels."

“We are thrilled about being part of bringing Division I lacrosse excitement to a growing area like Charlotte in the ESPNU Warrior Classic," said Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney. "The opportunity to expose our program and help grow the sport in a great sports town like Charlotte is quite exciting. Like last year in Connecticut, we thank ESPNU for putting together another great day of lacrosse."

“We’re excited about being part of this event,” said Syracuse head coach John Desko. “It’s unique for our program and our players to play in Charlotte and to receive some exposure there that we otherwise wouldn’t. We thank ESPN for that opportunity and look forward to facing Rutgers, one our conference rivals, on the national stage.”

“Rutgers is very excited to be part of such a prestigious event, and we want to thank ESPN, Warrior and New Balance for this opportunity,” said Rutgers’ Brecht. “Playing in a major league stadium and being part of a doubleheader with three other top 10 programs provides Rutgers with great national exposure, as well as giving our student-athletes an unbelievable experience that they will always remember.”

The first two years of the ESPNU Warrior Classic were played at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn. In the inaugural ESPNU Warrior Classic in 2010, Denver defeated Fairfield and Massachusetts defeated Georgetown. Last season, Syracuse defeated Rutgers and Hofstra defeated Massachusetts.

ESPNU has been televising NCAA lacrosse matches since the first week the network was launched in March 2005.

For more information, visit ESPNUWarriorClassic.com.

ESPNU

The 24-hour college sports television network airs more than 650 live events annually and offers over 600 original studio shows. ESPNU has seen a steady increase since its inception on March 4, 2005 and is now in over 73 million households. The brand is also available in high definition on ESPNUHD, now in over 20 million homes. The network has long-term carriage agreements with all 10 of the top multichannel TV providers – Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV (Channel 208), DISH Network (Channel 141), Mediacom, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV and AT&T U-verse.

ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership
The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 1,200 sporting events. Content includes action from NCAA football, basketball and Olympic sports, NHRA and professional and amateur golf, accounting for more than 3,400 live and/or original hours of programming. ERT’s owned and operated events reach over a million fans a year and provides more than 200 additional hours of programming.

In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU; syndication rights-holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (SEC, BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, WAC) and manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.

ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events:

Collegiate Football

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg; Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); BBVA Compass Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); MAACO Bowl Las Vegas; Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas (Houston); MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.) and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards

Collegiate Basketball

Anaheim Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); State Farm Champions Classic (Madison Square Garden; debuts 2011); DIRECTV Charleston Classic presented by Foster Grant (S.C.); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan) and Sears BracketBusters  

Collegiate Lacrosse

ESPNU Warrior Classic 

Additional Events

Hawaiian Islands Invitational (Soccer) and ESPN National Golf Challenge