April 29, 2010
BRISTOL, Conn. - Defending Big 12 Conference champion Texas A&M will face defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion Duke in the ninth annual Jimmy V Women's Basketball Classic to be held on Monday, Dec. 6, 2010, as announced by ESPN on Thursday.
The much-anticipated non-conference showdown between the Aggies and Blue Devils will be televised live nationally from Cameron Indoor Stadium on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. (ET) in Durham, N.C. The Jimmy V Men's Basketball Classic will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 7, at Madison Square Garden in New York City and pit Memphis versus Kansas and Michigan State versus Syracuse on ESPN.
"The opportunity to play Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium is an honor in itself," said Texas A&M head coach and two-time Naismith Coach of the Year finalist Gary Blair who will enter his eighth season in Aggieland in the fall. "(ESPN Vice President of Programming & Acquisitions) Carol Stiff called to see if we would be interested in moving our return game with Duke to Monday to be a part of the Jimmy V Women's Basketball Classic - and we jumped at the chance knowing how many great teams have played in it in the past. It is definitely a tremendous honor, not only to represent our school and program, but to represent the Jimmy V Foundation and its cause. We are excited to be a part of such a tournament to raise awareness for cancer research."
Texas A&M will make its debut in the Jimmy V Classic, while Duke is making its fourth all-time appearance in the event. The Aggies are an undefeated 3-0 in the all-time series with the Blue Devils including a 95-77 upset in the team's regular-season opener on Nov. 16, 2009 in College Station as well as a 77-63 win in the NCAA Sweet 16 en route to the program's first-ever Elite Eight appearance in 2008.
A&M is one of only three elite programs in the country next to defending national champion Connecticut and national runner-up Stanford to earn a No. 2 seed or better in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three years. Both schools finished among the nation's top 25 teams at the conclusion of the 2009-10 season and are expected to debut in the preseason Top 25 poll in the fall.
Once again, the two early-season college basketball events that showcase top programs on ESPN and ESPN2 will conclude the fourth annual Jimmy V Week, a weeklong initiative held from Dec. 1-7 across multiple ESPN platforms and programs featuring special content to help raise funds for cancer research.
Tickets for the Jimmy V Women's Basketball Classic will be available for purchase by calling the Duke University ticket office at 1-877-375-DUKE (3853) or duketix@duaa.duke.edu.
The Aggies, who return three starters, an All-America candidate and 13 letterwinners from last year's Big 12 Championship squad, will release their complete 2010-11 schedule at a later date which will also include another high-profile appearance and matchup versus Rutgers in the Maggie Dixon Classic to be held in December at Madison Square Garden before the Christmas holiday. Ohio State and UConn are the other two schools participating on the opposite side of the bracket in the Dixon Classic.
The V Foundation
The V Foundation for Cancer Research was founded in 1993 by ESPN and the late Jim Valvano, legendary North Carolina State basketball coach and ESPN commentator. Since 1993, The Foundation has raised more than $95 million to fund cancer research grants nationwide. It awards 100 percent of all direct cash donations and net proceeds of events directly to cancer research and related programs. The Foundation, which has received seven consecutive top 4-star ratings from Charity Navigator, awards grants through a competitive awards process strictly supervised by a Scientific Advisory Board. For more information on The V Foundation or to make a donation, please visit www.jimmyv.org.