The popular holiday basketball tournament that showcases some of the nation’s top college recruits will get a new name and sponsor starting this year and running through 2016, tournament organizers announced on Nov. 29, 2011.
Capitol Broadcasting Company of Raleigh has acquired the naming, marketing and broadcasting rights to the Holiday Invitational Tournament for six years under a deal with the Triangle Educational Advancement Foundation, the nonprofit group that has organized the annual tournament at Broughton High School and other local venues for 40 years.
The tournament will be called the HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational Tournament, named after the popular high school sports website started by Capitol’s CBC New Media Group in 2008. The tournament previously was called the Glaxo Holiday Invitational Tournament.
In addition to offering extensive web coverage, CBC will promote and provide coverage of the tournament on WRAL-TV and on its two sports radio stations, 99.9 FM The Fan ESPN Radio and 62O AM The Buzz.
“We continue to expand our coverage of high school sports. It’s important to our audience and sponsors,” said James F. Goodmon Jr., vice president of CBC and general manager of CBC New Media Group. “The tournament is nationally recognized and has evolved into a significant community event over four decades. It’s a good fit, and we are enthusiastic about supporting the tournament’s very meaningful scholarship program.”
Students from 39 public schools in the Triangle are eligible to receive one of the ten annual scholarships in the amount of $5,000 that goes towards their college education during their freshman year of college. All totaled, including next spring’s scholarship program, the Triangle Educational Advancement Foundation will have awarded over $1,000,000 in scholarships to Triangle-area students since its inception.
“We could not ask for a better partner than Capitol Broadcasting Company as we continue this community tradition,” said Clayton Somers, President of the Triangle Educational Advancement Foundation. “One of the reasons the Triangle is one of the best places to live is because of corporate citizens like Capitol – their support will have a lasting impact both on the court and in the lives of young people and their families.”
Bill Sewell, the Foundation’s Executive Director, added “We are committed to further enhancing the HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational Tournament’s local and national reputation as one of the top high school tournaments in the country for teams and spectators alike.”
Capitol’s coverage plans include radio play-by-play coverage of some games and video streaming of daily pre- and post-game shows and press conferences on the HighSchoolOT.com website and iPhone and Android mobile apps.
The 2011 HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational features 20 boys teams and 12 girls teams, making it the largest field in tournament history.
The tournament will feature recruits committed to Duke, NC State, Wake Forest, Florida, Arizona, Florida State, Indiana, Missouri and Michigan alongside more of the top 100 players in the classes of 2012 through 2014.
The four-day event will be held at historic Broughton High School Dec. 27-30. The girls tournament tips off on Dec 26 at Cary Academy.
HighSchoolOT.com is produced by the CBC New Media Group. The site reaches as many as 250,000 unique visitors a month and delivers up to 2.5 million page views a month. The site provides extensive coverage of high school sports in and beyond the WRAL-TV viewing area.
|
About the Triangle Educational Advancement Foundation
The Triangle Educational Advancement Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization that was established in 1994 to oversee the Holiday invitational basketball tournament and to provide scholarships to Triangle area high school students. The tournament has become a holiday tradition for the Triangle community and has provided lifelong athletic experiences for players, coaches and fans.
|
Thanks to WRAL-TV’s Debbie Tullos for this capcom story.
