Aug. 15, 2006

KANSAS CITY, MO - The College Basketball Experience Weekend, a three-day annual event celebrating the best of men's college basketball, will launch in November 2006 in Kansas City. It will combine inductions into the new National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame with the former Guardians Classic basketball tournament, which is being renamed the College Basketball Experience Classic.

This major college basketball multi-day event, which is being coordinated by the National Collegiate Basketball Coaches Association (NABC), will be televised nationally by ESPN. As the national broadcast partner, ESPN will televise the semi-finals and finals of the tournament, as well as the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, on its various sports networks.

Bill Russell, named inductee into 2006 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame as part of founding class.

Five of the greatest names in college basketball history will be inducted as the Founding Class of 2006 at the inaugural Induction Gala presented by Sprint on Sunday, November 19, 2006. The honorees include John Wooden, UCLA's legendary "Wizard of Westwood" who won more national collegiate basketball championships than any other coach; three-time national Player of the Year, NABC Player of the Year and NABC Player of the Century (20th Century) Oscar Robertson of the University of Cincinnati; Bill Russell, one of the game's great defenders who led the University of San Francisco to back-to-back NCAA titles in 1955 and 1956; former University of North Carolina head coach Dean Smith, the winningest coach in college basketball history; and Dr. James Naismith, who invented the game of basketball.

Oscar Robertson, 2006 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and member of founding class.

"Kansas City is proud to be the home of the new College Basketball Experience and National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame," said The Honorable Kay Barnes, Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri. "By combining the annual Hall of Fame inductions with a basketball tournament that is becoming one of the nation's finest, we are creating a wonderful, multi-day event that adds another chapter in Kansas City's rich tradition in college basketball."

Dean Smith, 2006 inductee into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame founding class.

The induction ceremonies are scheduled for Sunday evening (Nov. 19) at the Crown Center Exhibit Hall in Kansas City. The event will begin a three-day extravaganza of college basketball in the downtown area as the semifinals and finals of the College Basketball Experience Classic will follow on Monday and Tuesday (Nov. 20 & 21). The 2006 tournament will be played at Municipal Auditorium, with plans to then move to the new Sprint Center upon its completion in 2007.

This year's 16-team Guardians Classic will begin on Nov. 12-15 with the first two rounds to be played on the campuses of Duke University in Durham, N.C.; Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Tex.; Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis.; and Stanford University in Stanford, Calif. The four regional champions advance to Kansas City for the championship bracket.

James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball will be inducted in the 2006 Class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the founding class.

The event is named after the new college basketball fan interactive facility that is scheduled to open in November, 2007 as part of the Sprint Center. The "College Basketball Experience" will be the nation's only facility that celebrates, in its entirety, the sport of college basketball. The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame will be housed within the 41,500 square foot fan destination site.

"The NABC stands poised to create one of the most exciting, immersive entertainment venues in the world," said Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University's head coach who also serves as President of the NABC Foundation.

The CBE will be a world-class attraction for Kansas City, which has a rich history with college basketball and has hosted more Final Four tournaments than any other city. It will feature highly interactive venues in which college basketball fans will be able to feel the excitement, energy and spirit that the game generates in college arenas throughout America

"The College Basketball Experience Weekend is all about celebrating college basketball," said Jim Haney, executive director of the NABC. "At the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, we will celebrate coaches, players, fans and contributors to our great game. The energy, excitement, passion and unpredictability of college basketball is what makes it so exciting."

The five inaugural honorees being inducted this fall into the Hall of Fame represent each of the three categories that will be recognized every year - coach, player and contributor. They are part of a Founding Class of over 100 individuals who are members of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame with roots in college basketball and are automatically being included in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. The remaining Founding Class members will be officially inducted over a period of years at the annual induction ceremony in Kansas City.