University of Tennessee Athletics
O'Reilly All-College Basketball Classic Field Finalized
July 12, 2005 | Men's Basketball
July 12, 2005
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Oklahoma City All Sports Association Executive Director Tim Brassfield announced today the participating teams in the 70th annual O'Reilly All-College Classic. Downtown Oklahoma City and the Ford Center will play host to two games involving four prestigious collegiate basketball programs. The scheduled games will feature the Oklahoma State Cowboys taking on the University of Tennessee Volunteers and the Oklahoma Sooners against the West Virginia University Mountaineers. ESPN2 will televise the All-College Classic doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. CST on December 22 (last year's event was held on December 28). Tickets for the All-College Classic will go on sale to the general public on November 1.
ESPN Regional Television owns and operates the O'Reilly All-College Classic in conjunction with the Oklahoma City All Sports Association.
The Oklahoma State basketball program will try to build off their recent success. After a trip to the Final Four two years ago, last year's team finished with a 26-7 record before suffering a heartbreaking loss to the University of Arizona in the Sweet 16. New Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl, after achieving a record of 86-38 and two NCAA tournament appearances at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, will be looking to achieve similar results at Tennessee.
Oklahoma will boast one of the strongest frontcourts in the nation, led by standouts Kevin Bookout and Taj Gray. The Sooners finished the 2004-05 campaign with a record of 25-8 before losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Kelvin Sampson has now led the Sooners to eight consecutive 20-win seasons. West Virginia will return four starters from a team that fell just one point shy of reaching the Final Four. After their surprising run through the NCAA Tournament the Mountaineers will strive to build on last year's success.
"We are extremely excited to have both the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University once again involved in the All-College Classic," Brassfield said. "Having the Cowboys and Sooners involvement, as well as the national reputation of their opponents will only add to the excitement of the All-College Classic. From a college basketball fan's perspective, this will be the most balanced fields to compete in recent memory. With thecontinuedleadershipof ESPN Regional Television, we are confident that fans will be excited about the O'Reilly All-College Classic."
Pete Derzis, senior vice president, ESPN Regional Television, said, "We are thrilled to bring another strong line-up to Oklahoma City and the All-College event on the heels of last years sell out. We welcome our new title sponsor - O'Reilly's Auto Parts -- and continue to enjoy our relationship with the All-College Association. We greatly appreciate the commitment of Coach Sutton and Coach Sampson to this event. Their support has helped create a fantastic showcase for college basketball."
The O'Reilly All-College Basketball Classic is the world's oldest basketball tournament, outdating the NCAA, NIT, NAIA, and NBA. It was originated and sponsored for 21 years by the Oklahoma Publishing Company. In 1957, the All-College became the annual project for the Oklahoma City All Sports Association. O'Reilly signed on as the title sponsor of the All-College in April of 2005.
Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl said, "The All College Classic is right up there among the best tournaments in the nation. To be on the same floor as Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and West Virginia will put Tennessee in front of the nation. Personally, the opportunity to coach against Eddie Sutton is a challenge but a great honor."
West Virginia Coach John Beilein said, "Playing Oklahoma in such a prestigious tournament will certainly figure to be one of the highlights of my coaching career at West Virginia. I hold both the tournament and Oklahoma in the highest regard because they represent a tradition of excellence in Division I basketball."
Oklahoma Coach Kelvin Sampson said, "It's great to see a school like West Virginia come to national prominence and we look forward to competing against them in the All-College Classic. This event has long been a favorite of our program with it's rich tradition and we are proud to be a part of it."
Oklahoma State Coach Eddie Sutton said, "We are proud to be a part of the All-College Classic and look forward playing Tennessee. Given all of the teams involved, this will be a great night for college basketball fans to watch four very balanced teams compete."
