BlueCross and BlueShield of Florida to Serve as Title Sponsor of 2009 SSC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Sunshine State Conference is proud to announce that BlueCross and BlueShield of Florida will serve as the title sponsor of the 2009 SSC Men's & Women's Basketball Championships hosted by Nova Southeastern University March 7-8 in the Arena at the Don Taft University Center.
Eight men's and women's teams will earn the opportunity to compete in the championships. Quarterfinal games will be hosted by the four highest men's and women's seeds on Wednesday, March 4. Quarterfinal winners will advance to the semifinals, which will be hosted by NSU.
The women's semifinal games will take place at noon and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 7, followed by the men's semifinals at 5 and 7:30 p.m. Semifinal winners will advance to Sunday's championship games, with the women's final tipping off at 1 p.m., followed by the men's final at 3:30 p.m. Both games will be recorded for tape-delayed broadcast on Comcast Charter Sports Southeast and Bright House Sports Network.
Both winners of Sunday's championship games will receive an automatic bid to compete in the NCAA Division II Basketball Championships. Location, dates and times for the NCAA tournament will be announced at a later date.
"We couldn't be more excited about the 2009 BlueCross and BlueShield of Florida SSC Men's & Women's Basketball Championships," said Michael J. Marcil, Sunshine State Conference Commissioner. "The student-athletes in the SSC work so hard all year in the classroom. For the second consecutive year, the SSC finished No. 1 among all NCAA Division II conferences in the NCAA Academic Success Rate rankings. Now, with the help of BlueCross and BlueShield of Florida, our student-athletes will also be able to showcase their talents in one of the most exciting basketball tournaments in the country, too."
Completed in August of 2006, the 4,500-seat Arena at the Don Taft University Center is one of the finest facilities of its type. Serving as the home for NSU's intercollegiate athletic program, the Arena hosts all of NSU's volleyball and men's and women's basketball home games. With one main game court, it has two practice/game-ready auxiliary courts on the upper level.
Founded in 1975, the Sunshine State Conference is comprised of nine member institutions: Barry University (Miami Shores), Eckerd College (St. Petersburg), Florida Southern College (Lakeland), Florida Tech (Melbourne), Lynn University (Boca Raton), Nova Southeastern University (Fort Lauderdale), Rollins College (Winter Park), Saint Leo University (Saint Leo) and the University of Tampa (Tampa). In addition to ranking No. 1 in the NCAA Academic Success Rate, SSC institutions have won 69 NCAA Division II national championships, and SSC student-athletes have annually ranked among the national leaders in fundraising for the Make-A-Wish charity.