College GameDay Coming to K-State
Released 08/18/2009 by Kansas State University
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Excitement for basketball season reached a new high on Tuesday, as ESPN announced that College GameDay Driven by State Farm is coming to K-State on Jan. 30 for its annual clash with archrival Kansas.
"I couldn't be happier that ESPN has chosen K-State as a site for its College GameDay show," said athletics director John Currie. "This will be a great opportunity for the rest of the country to see how passionate and enthusiastic our fan base is for Wildcat athletics. Excitement continues to build for our men's basketball program as Coach Martin and his staff has elevated our program to a high level with back-to-back postseason appearances and 20-win seasons."
K-State will be one of eight universities to host College GameDay in 2010, which will begin its sixth season on Jan. 16 for the women's game between Notre Dame and defending national champion Connecticut in Storrs, Conn. Other host sites for the show include Clemson (Jan. 23), Illinois (Feb. 6), Kentucky (Feb. 13), Washington (Feb. 20), Syracuse (Feb. 27) and Duke (Mar. 6).
It will mark the first time College GameDay has made an appearance at Bramlage Coliseum, while it will be the second time the show has covered the annual Sunflower Showdown. The show broadcast from the game at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence on March 1, 2008.
K-State, which has hosted the football version of the show on two occasions in 1998 (vs. Nebraska) and 2000 (vs. Oklahoma), will become just the 15th school (LSU, Boston College, Ohio State, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA and Notre Dame) to have hosted College GameDay for both basketball and football events.
A spin-off of its successful college football version, College GameDay made its debut on Jan. 22, 2005. Host Rece Davis is joined on the program by former Notre Dame head coach Digger Phelps, former Duke player and assistant coach Jay Bilas, former North Carolina standout Hubert Davis, college basketball's all-time winningest coach Bobby Knight and college basketball writer Andy Katz. The show will broadcast live twice, both for one hour from 10 to 11 a.m. CT and 5 to 6 p.m. CT.
The contest between the Wildcats and Jayhawks will be the Saturday Primetime game set for 6 p.m. CT, which is typically broadcast by the trio of Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale and Erin Andrews.
The primetime affair will be one of at least nine national television games for the Wildcats in 2009-10, all on the ESPN family of networks. In addition to the game with the Jayhawks, ESPN will broadcast the squad's Big Monday clash with Texas at Bramlage Coliseum on Jan. 18 at 8 p.m. CT. The team will also make at least three appearances on ESPN2 and four more on ESPNU.
"I encourage fans to get their season tickets today, as we expect to be at full capacity for the entire season," said Currie. "We want to show the whole country what kind of fan support we have at K-State by breaking the all-time attendance mark for a College GameDay crowd!"
K-State returns four starters and eight lettermen from a squad that produced a 22-12 overall record and finished in a tie for fourth place in the Big 12 in 2008-09. The Wildcats advanced to the second round of the NIT, where they lost to top-seeded San Diego State. In addition, the team will welcome a five-man recruiting class that has been judged to be amongst the top 20 in the nation by several outlets.
Season tickets for Kansas State's entire 17-game home schedule are currently on sale. There are a variety of season ticket options as well as payment plans. The most convenient way to order tickets is online at
www.k-statesports.com. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the K-State Athletic Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum or by calling toll-free, (800) 221.CATS.
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What are they thinking with this?
