April 15, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

Matchups for the 10th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge--featuring top college basketball programs playing for conference supremacy and the Commissioner's Cup on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU--will be highlighted by North Carolina vs. Michigan State at Ford Field in Detroit, site of the 2009 Final Four. This year's schedule will also include defending Big Ten regular-season and Conference Tournament Champion Wisconsin at Virginia Tech, Duke at Purdue and four other first-ever Challenge showdowns.

For the fourth consecutive year, the event will feature 11 games and will include two telecasts on ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network.  ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to televise the remaining nine games.  The event will be played on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday after Thanksgiving (December 1-3). 

2008 ACC/Big Ten Challenge schedule (times and networks are to be determined)

 Date                               Game

Monday, Dec. 1	Wisconsin at Virginia Tech
Tuesday, Dec. 2	Duke at Purdue
	Clemson at Illinois
	Ohio State at Miami
	Virginia at Minnesota
	Iowa at Boston College
Wednesday, Dec. 3	North Carolina vs. Michigan State (from Ford Field)
	Indiana at Wake Forest
	Michigan at Maryland
	Florida State at Northwestern
	Penn State at Georgia Tech

2008 Challenge highlights:

First-Ever Meeting: Wisconsin and Virginia Tech will square off in the first meeting between the two programs.

Pursuing Perfection: Two teams will look to continue their undefeated streaks in the Challenge: Duke is 9-0 while Boston College has won its previous two games.

First Time Around: Six of the 11 games will feature the first Challenge matchup between the schools: Wisconsin at Virginia Tech, Clemson at Illinois, Ohio State at Miami, Iowa at Boston College, Duke at Purdue, Michigan at Maryland.

Unfamiliar Opponent: Iowa and Boston College's first Challenge matchup will also mark the first time the teams have met since 1974, a Boston College victory.

Commissioner's Cup: The ACC has won the Commissioner's Cup the previous nine years.

Since 2000, the ACC (8) and the Big Ten (7) have combined for 15 Final Four appearances (42 percent of the Final Four field) and four national titles - North Carolina (2005), Maryland (2002), Duke (2001) and Michigan State (2000). The ACC and the Big Ten also rank 1-2, respectively, in all-time NCAA Tournament bids, NCAA Tournament victories and Final Four appearances.