Brackets Revealed for PK80 – to be Played Over Thanksgiving Weekend 2017 (original) (raw)

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Two eight-team brackets – “Motion” and “Victory” with three 2017 Final Four participants including title winner North Carolina

PORTLAND, Ore. (May 31, 2017) – The “Motion” and “Victory” brackets for PK80 presented by State Farm – the 16-team, early-season men’s college basketball event honoring Nike co-founder and 2012 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Phil Knight celebrating his 80th birthday – have been finalized.

The two eight-team brackets will run simultaneously in the Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Ore., with the crowning of two champions. Games will be played Thursday, Nov. 23, Friday, Nov. 24 and Sunday, Nov. 26.

To view the bracket, click here. All games from Portland will be televised on ESPN networks (to be announced at a later date). PK80 was created on behalf of the schools and is owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, in conjunction with the Rose Quarter.

Ticket Information Limited All Session and Moda Only Ticket Packages are still available exclusively at pkinvitational.com/tickets. Single-session tickets, which include seats for two games, will go on sale Friday, June 9 at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets will be available at ticketmaster.com, the Rose Quarter Box Office (M-F 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.), by calling 800.745.3000 or online atpkinvitational.com/tickets. Fans can join the presale for single-session seats by signing up now at https://pkinvitational.com/event-info/.

Field Breakdown One of the largest regular-season multi-team events in college basketball history, PK80 sports a field featuring some of the top schools in the nation.

• The field boasts 24 National Champions, including 10 of the past 14 winners
• Participants include three 2017 NCAA Final Four teams (National Champion North Carolina, Runner-up Gonzaga and Oregon)
• Also, earning berths in the 2017 NCAA Tournament was Arkansas, Butler, Duke, Florida and Michigan State, in addition to field participants UConn, Georgetown, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Portland, Portland State, Stanford and Texas

Bracket Breakdown The PK80 brackets are named as a tribute to Phil Knight and the iconic sports brand he created.

• “Victory”: In Greek mythology, Nike was considered the goddess of Victory
• “Motion”: The swoosh logo is not only meant to represent motion, but to also resemble the wings of the goddess Nike

The “Motion” bracket will feature Butler, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Ohio State, Portland State, Stanford and Texas.

• The early session will showcase Duke vs. Portland State and Butler against Texas
• The evening session pairs Florida against Stanford and Gonzaga vs. Ohio State

The “Victory” bracket will showcase Arkansas, UConn, Georgetown, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon and Portland.

• North Carolina will face Portland and Arkansas will play Oklahoma in the day’s early session
• The evening games will feature Georgetown against Michigan State and UConn vs. Oregon

Rose Quarter Established in 1995, the Rose Quarter is a 30-acre sports and entertainment district located on the east bank of the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. The region is highlighted by two multi-purpose arenas, the 19,393-seat Moda Center and 12,888-seat Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Together, the venues serve as homes to the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, WHL’s Portland Winterhawks and AFL’s Portland Steel, in addition to a wide variety of concerts, family shows and other events. Founded in 1970 and purchased by Paul G. Allen in 1988, the Trail Blazers are the foremost resident of the Moda Center after winning the 1977 NBA Championship at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Widely known for its innovative approaches to sustainability and environmental practices, the Moda Center earned LEED Gold Recertification in 2015 after becoming the first existing professional sports venue in the world to receive LEED Gold status in 2010. The Rose Quarter also includes a large commons area, annex office building, four parking garages, signature restaurant and bar Dr. Jack’s, and easy access to the city’s robust public transportation system. For more information and a list of upcoming events, visit rosequarter.com.

ESPN Events ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; FCS opening-weekend game; 14 college bowl games, 11 college basketball events and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 300-plus hours of programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over 700,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in Albuquerque, Birmingham, Boca Raton, Boise, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Montgomery and St. Petersburg, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.

For more information, visit the official website, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube pages.

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It was always a dream of mine to work at ESPN, and here I am! I joined the College Sports PR team in March 2016. Hailing from the great Garden State, I graduated from Seton Hall University (Go Pirates!) with a degree in sport management, where I not only sang the National Anthem at games, but was also a member of the Seton Hall Sapphires Dance Team and a student reporter for Pirate Sports Network. Before joining ESPN, I served as a Public Relations Associate for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.