Alfred "Butch" Beard and the Bears are set to play in the 2005 BCA Classic.
PRINCETON, N.J. (August 9, 2005) - The Gazelle Group is pleased to announce the field for the 2005 Black Coaches Association (BCA) Classic men's college basketball tournament. The University of Washington will host the eight-team tournament at Bank of America Arena in Seattle on November 13-15, 2005. The other participating teams in this year's BCA Classic include Air Force, University of Miami, Morgan State, Northern Arizona, UNC Greensboro, UT-Arlington and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. (Click here to view the event field, match-ups, date, and times)The Washington Huskies were last season's 2005 Pac-10 champions and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Huskies advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, finishing the year No. 9 in country. Romar received numerous accolades on the season including the 2005 Pac-10 Coach of the Year and the Fritz Pollard Award as the BCA Male Coach of the Year. This season, the Huskies will return three of last year's top five scorers in Brandon Roy, Bobby Jones and Mike Jensen.
"We are excited to be hosting this year's BCA Classic," said Washington head coach, Lorenzo Romar. "It will be great for our kids to face such strong competition this early in the year."
Second-year head coach Frank Haith, a 2005 Naismith National Coach of the Year finalist, and the Miami Hurricanes enter the 2005-06 season looking build off last season, when they earned their first postseason bid since 2002. Coach Haith's squad returns four of five starters including his star guard, Guillermo Diaz, who was a Second Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection last season.
Air Force, which lost 69-65 to Marquette in the Championship Game of the 2004 BCA Classic, went on to have the second best season in school history, finishing 18-12. This year's Falcons feature new head coach Jeff Bzdelik and the return of four starters - Nick Welch, Antoine Hood, Jacob Burtschi and Matt McCraw - who all earned All-Mountain West Conference honors last season. BCA Classic champion, Marquette, finished the season with a 19-12 record and a bid to the NIT tournament. Last year's BCA Classic MVP Travis Diener was recently picked 38th in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic.
The Huskies' first-round opponent, Morgan State, is coached by former Seattle Supersonic, Alfred "Butch" Beard. Other first-round matchups include UW-Green Bay versus UNC Greensboro, Air Force versus Northern Arizona, and Miami versus UT-Arlington.
Tickets for the 2005 BCA Classic can be purchased by contacting the University of Washington box office at (206) 543-2200 or by visiting gohuskies.com.
"We are very grateful to have the University of Washington hosting this year's BCA Classic," said Floyd Keith, Executive Director of the BCA. "Seattle is a terrific city, and we look forward to having a great three-day event at Bank of America Arena."
The Black Coaches Association is a non-profit organization whose primary purpose is to foster the growth and development of minorities at all levels of sport both nationally and internationally. The BCA is committed to creating a positive, enlightened environment and common ground where issues can be examined closely, debated sincerely and resolved honestly. Throughout the BCA’s 17-year history, the organization has been at the forefront of the effort to enhance the employment opportunities and professional development of the minority professional.
For more BCA Classic event history click here. Media and logo information can be accessed here.
The BCA Classic is produced by The Gazelle Group. For more information about the event, please visit bcaclassic.com or contact Matt Borrello at (609) 921-1300 or mborrello@gazellegroup.com.
