GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNC Greensboro men's basketball coach Mike Dement confirmed Wednesday that two more games have been picked up for television this coming season, bringing the total to five.
The Spartans' home game with Maryland on January 3 will be aired by Comcast SportsNet MidAtlantic. That game will be seen throughout Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia and parts of Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Based in Bethesda, Md., CSN Mid Atlantic is also carried on DirecTV.
UNCG's game at The Citadel on Saturday, Feburary 20 has also been picked up by SportSouth as part of the Southern Conference's television package. The Southern Conference package consists of eight consecutive Saturday games in January and February. In addition, two women's basketball regular season games, all four men's and women's semifinal round games of the conference tournament and the women's championship game will be televised by SportSouth.
"Five television opportunities this coming season is outstanding for our program," said Dement. "Any time there is television in the mix, it can provide a boost in exposure to prospects both regionally and nationally. The move to the Coliseum certainly helps our ability to draw in television and in the recruiting process. We are excited about the opportunity."
SportSouth reaches more than 9.4 million homes in six Southeastern states and is the television home of the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Thrashers and Southern Conference. SportSouth also offers expanded coverage of the University of South Carolina and University of Tennessee. Combined, the four networks produce more than 800 live local events each year.
Last month, it was announced that the Spartans' opener at Duke on Nov. 13, the home opener against Clemson on Nov. 20 and the Dec. 31 date with NC State have all been picked up by Fox SportsNet South this season. The Duke and Clemson games are slated for 7 p.m. starts, while the NC State game has a special 6 p.m. start time for New Year's Eve.
The regional sports networks serving the Southeast - FOX Sports South, FOX Sports Carolinas and FOX Sports Tennessee - collectively reach more than 12.6 million cable and satellite television households in seven states in the Southeast - Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
The Spartans will be playing their first season in their new arena - the historic Greensboro Coliseum. UNCG Chancellor Linda P. Brady announced last December that the program was moving its home games to the Coliseum for the 2009-2010 season - a move to raise the visibility of the program and give it a first-class facility. The Spartans expect to typically play in a seating capacity of 7,613, but would expand that with a variety of configurations when necessary. Also included in the plan were a customized UNCG locker room and floor that will be used for the Spartans' home games. That floor was unveiled at a VIP function at the Coliseum last month.
For its game with Davidson last Feb. 5 at the Coliseum, UNCG drew 11,687 fans. Originally planned for the 7,613-seat configuration, Coliseum officials opened additional sections in both the lower and upper levels the day of the game. More than 1,800 walk-up tickets were sold for that game - surpassing the capacity of UNCG's on-campus facility Fleming Gym.
In the last 30 years, UNCG men's basketball has played 40 games in the Greensboro Coliseum - three of them against teams from the ACC: Virginia Tech (2006-07 season), Duke (2005-06) and Florida State (1994-95). The Duke game, on Dec. 31, 2005, when the Blue Devils were ranked No. 1 in the nation, drew 21,124 spectators - the largest crowd ever to see a UNCG athletic event.
Season ticket packages are available now through the UNCG Athletics Ticket Office by calling (336) 334-3250. Packages are available for $99 in the upper level and $149 in the lower level. Information on Spartan Club member season ticket packages can be obtained by calling (336) 334-5156 or online at www.spartanclub.org.
Single-game general sale tickets will be available for purchase through the Greensboro Coliseum box office and Ticketmaster in late-October. Student ticket pick-up plans will be announced in the coming weeks.
- UNCG -