MURFREESBORO - One basketball battle between the Sun Belt Conference and SEC just wasn't enough. So another was added.
Middle Tennessee State University will play Tennessee, and Western Kentucky will face Vanderbilt in a Dec. 11 doubleheader at Sommet Center in Nashville.
"We knew we could play Tennessee (in Sommet Center) and get 8,000 or 9,000 like other one-game events in that type of arena, or we could bring four different teams there for one night and get 17,000 or 18,000 and that much more enthusiasm," MTSU coach Kermit Davis said. "Having four teams there is what's neat about it."
It will be the second Sun Belt Classic. The first edition - which featured MTSU versus Memphis and Western Kentucky versus Tennessee in 2007 - broke the Sommet Center attendance record for a regular-season event, drawing 18,071 for the two games.
"It was such a great success two years ago that we were very excited to schedule it again," MTSU athletic director Chris Massaro said. "It is very important for us to have signature events in Nashville. This showcases four strong programs, and the caliber of teams in this event provides a great opportunity for another record crowd. This event provides a (NCAA) tournament atmosphere early in the season and that is something that is good for all four programs."
MTSU was scheduled to play Tennessee in the Sommet Center this season as the fourth game of a five-game contract, and it will count as a Blue Raiders' home game. The Vols beat the Blue Raiders 76-66 last November at MTSU's Murphy Center.
Ticket prices for the Sun Belt Classic are $45 for the lower bowl of Sommet Center and $25 for the upper section. Ticket price will be included in the MTSU season-ticket package, which will be approximately the same price as the previous season according to an MTSU press release.
The order of the two games has not been determined, and it will likely depend on TV preference if the games are televised. No TV coverage has been announced.
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Comments » 8
utvolz#637682 writes:
One hour up I-24? Yep, I'M THERE! GO VOLS!
gnm53108 writes:
Cool...but aint we on the eve of Football Time?
I mean you can almost smell it.
Break out the frost brewed koolaid boys,it's 41 more days till it's Football Time in Tenessee!
Go Vols!
ArealVolFan writes:
You are such a moron.
oldsmokey67 writes:
Tarheel please shut up.I remember when coy williams scheduled Binghampton.and it about cost your beloved turdheels.It would have been the biggest upset in the last ten years of college basketball.I think the turdheels won by wow 1-2 points.Every team gets a scare from a small school.I bet the Turdheels play at least 2-3 teams weaker than any team tennessee plays this season.So shut up,leave,and go to a duke site.Because u are not a true Turdheel fan.A true Turdheel fan would not waste his time on a tennessee site.U are mildcat fan,flarduh fan,tiger high fan,or roll tide roll down the toilet bowl fan.You don't even know who Jimmy Black or Jimmy Braddock are.A true Turdheel fan would know this.So leave and go bother a Puke fan or a Nc State fan.And do not correct me on my spelling of Roy Williams name.I did it to fire u up.
Chris4Vols22 writes:
That would be a cool atmosphere...Tennessee playing an awful MTSU team and seeing their underachieving student fan-base cry after we beat them by 20. Sorry I HATE MTSU.
GO VOLS!
oldsmokey67 writes:
hey turdheel. u think uconn is tougher than any team the turdheels play.i bet tennessee has a tougher strength of schedule this year than the turdheels.i know for a fact that our rpi was as good or better last year.
oldsmokey67 writes:
How can we talk when u know nothing about turdheel basketball.I respect turdheel basketball but i don,t respect you.Like i have said before u are not a turdheel fan.A true "TARHEEL" WOULD NOT WASTE HIS TIME ON A TENNESSEE SITE.You spend so much time praising memphis and their loser newb coach you must be a tigerhigh fan.Tennessee is not a top 50 program of all time in basketball but neither is mempis.trust me.I have seen the proof.So it will be fun to watch that ship of fools go 16-14 this year.and it will be awesome watching bruce pearl lead tennessee to another ncaa bid.So have fun cheering for your loser tigers.
oldsmokey67 writes:
By the way "TURDHEEL" Tennessee plays Uconn & Kansas.Who do the TurdHeels play.Wait I forgot u are a memphis fan.Sorry man.Memphis don't play teams like that.They are scared to.
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