March 4, 2008

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – In its continued effort to bring fans closer to the action with exclusive content and experiences on its new Web site, the BIG EAST is offering its first-ever online auction. The BIG EAST has put up for bid two premium tickets to the 2008 Men’s Basketball Championship game and a one-night stay at Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York.

The game will be played on March 15 at 9:00 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. and the teams will be determined based on who wins the semifinal games played the night before.

The winning bidder will have two of the best seats in the house to see one of the nation’s premier conference tournament championship games. The tickets are located next to each other in section CRT 23 row A. Click here to see the view from the seat locations at Madison Square Garden!

In addition, the winning bidder will be given a one-night stay at the Grand Hyatt, which is the BIG EAST headquarters for the entire tournament. The Grand Hyatt is a short cab ride from MSG or can be walked in about 10-15minutes. It is located adjacent to Grand Central Terminal in mid-town Manhattan and is just a few blocks away from Times Square, the Empire State Building and other attractions.

Fans should act quickly as the auction will end at 1:00 p.m. ET on March 12. The winning bidder will be notified directly from a BIG EAST representative immediately after the auction has closed. All bids are final.

The BIG EAST is also auctioning two championship game tickets and a one-night stay at the 2008 women’s basketball conference tournament. Click here to see both auctions.

— WWW.BIGEAST.ORG —

— The BIG EAST is the largest and most diverse Division I conference in the country. It was formed in 1979 and represents the athletic interests of 16 member institutions including the University of Cincinnati, University of Connecticut, DePaul University, Georgetown University, University of Louisville, Marquette University, University of Notre Dame, University of Pittsburgh, Providence College, Rutgers University, St. John’s University, Seton Hall University, University of South Florida, Syracuse University, Villanova University and West Virginia University. The BIG EAST Conference has captured 25 national championships in six different sports and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series. For more information on the Conference and its membership, please visit www.bigeast.org. —