Sept. 15, 2008
DALLAS (SMU) --- The SMU men's basketball team will host its third-annual Tip-Off Dinner at Moody Coliseum on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 6:30 p.m. Former basketball coach and analyst Fran Fraschilla will serve as the keynote speaker and head coach Matt Doherty will give insight into the 2008-09 season on the Hilltop.
Mustang fans can buy individual tickets for $100 or sponsor a table for $750, which includes nine tickets plus a coach or student-athlete. To register or get more information, contact SMU at 214-768-1384, esutton@smu.edu or visit www.SMUMustangs.com.
"It is an honor to have a commitment from one of college basketball's best ambassadors in Fran Fraschilla," says Doherty. "He coached the game very successfully for more than two decades and has proven to be one of the best television analysts since going to ESPN in 2002. He is a great friend to the SMU program and it will make for a wonderful evening at Moody Coliseum."
Keynote speaker Fran Fraschilla is in his seventh season as an analyst for ESPN's college basketball coverage. He spent 23 years in the collegiate coaching ranks and was the head coach at Manhattan, St. John's and New Mexico.
Fraschilla went 175-100 (.636) in nine seasons as a head coach, leading teams to the postseason in eight of those campaigns with three NCAA Tournament berths. He was named NABC Coach of the Year in 1994-95 after leading Manhattan to a 26-6 record and an upset of Oklahoma in the NCAA first round.
Fraschilla becomes the third member of an elite list of speakers for the event, following SMU great Jon Koncak (2006) and television commentating legend Bill Raftery (2007).
The Mustangs' 2008-09 schedule includes 12 games against 2008 postseason teams and five games against last season's RPI top-50 including Texas A&M and Memphis as well and nine matchups against the top-100.
The season opens at South Florida on Nov. 14. The home slate begins with the SMU Tip-Off Classic from Nov. 21-23 against 2008 NIT participants Illinois State and Alabama State as well as Houston Baptist.
The Mustangs host Colorado on Jan. 5 before Conference USA action begins when UTEP visits Moody Coliseum on Jan. 10. The Conference USA Championship is in Memphis March 11-14.
The slate includes teams from the Big East (South Florida), Big Ten (Northwestern), Big 12 (Colorado and Texas A&M), Missouri Valley (Illinois State), and Mountain West (TCU), which marks the first time since 1991-92 SMU will have non-league games against teams from five of the previous season's top-ten conferences.
The Mustangs enter their first full season of training in the state-of-the-art Crum Basketball Center and have garnered consecutive top-35 recruiting classes. For game ticket information call 214-SMU-GAME, visit www.SMUMustangs.com, call the Ticketmaster Charge-By-Phone line at 214-373-8000, or go to www.ticketmaster.com.