Hurricanes To Make Another Appearance At The 2006 MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic

June 22, 2006

Miami, Fla. (www.orangebowl.org) – The hometown University of Miami Hurricanes have agreed to square-off against one of their gridiron rivals, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, in the first half of the 2006 MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic to take place on December 30th. The Orange Bowl Committee’s 13th annual double-header will also feature reigning NCAA National Champion Florida Gators taking on the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB). Both contests will be played at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise during FedEx Orange Bowl Festival Week. Game times will be released at a later date.

Tickets are currently available by contacting the OBC ticket sales office at (305) 341-4701 or by visiting www.orangebowl.org. Each ticket, with prices range from $15 – $75, includes both games.

For more than a decade, the Orange Bowl Committee has been dedicated to bringing quality college basketball to South Florida and, with this year’s tip-off coming at the height of historic Bowl Week 2006, these games should add to an already impressive history.

Last year’s Classic was one of the most successful all-time with nearly 11,000 fans in attendance to see Miami battle Louisville and Florida State take on Nebraska. The UM/Louisville game was also the first OB Classic game to be broadcast to a national television audience.

Many of college basketball’s most prestigious and successful programs have traveled to South Florida to take on the Classic’s traditional anchor schools – Miami, Florida and Florida State. Among them are Louisville, North Carolina, Indiana, Georgia Tech, UNLV, Gonzaga, Michigan, Nebraska, UAB, Xavier, Temple, Charlotte, Ohio State, Tennessee, DePaul, and Providence.

Miami, an anchor school since the Classic’s inception, will be making their 13th consecutive appearance. Frank Haith’s Hurricanes faced Louisville in the OB’s first-ever nationally-televised game in 2005 and have a combined 4-8 record in past OB games. One of the most historic Orange Bowl games was played in the 2001 Classic when the Hurricanes defeated Indiana, 58-53, during a season in which the Hoosiers would eventually be the National runner-up in the NCAA Tournament.

Matching up against the Hurricanes are the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who return to South Florida for the second consecutive year and third time overall. Last year, the Cornhuskers fell to Florida State, 74-60, and hold a 1-1 record in OB games. Led by Coach Barry Collier, a South Florida native who earned an Associate of Arts degree from Miami-Dade South Community College before completing his degree at Butler (IN) University in 1976, and Palm Beach Dwyers’ Kyle Marks, the Huskers and Hurricanes have a match-up fitting for the Orange Bowl. Nebraska and Miami have faced each other four times on the gridiron, each time at the FedEx Orange Bowl. This time, it will be on the hardwood where these familiar foes will do battle.

The second game of the double header will bring Billy Donovan and his Florida Gators to the Classic for the eighth time in school history, with their last appearance in 2004. The Gators defeated Providence, 84-66, that season and hold a 6-1 all-time record in the Classic. The Gators recently made a historic march through the 2005 NCAA Tournament capped by a dominating 73-57 victory over the UCLA Bruins in the National Championship Game. Several star players from last year’s team return in 2006, including Tournament Most Outstanding Player Joakim Noah, Lee Humphrey, Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Adrian Moss, among others.

Coached by Mike Davis, who was the coach of that Indiana squad in 2001, UAB will be making its second appearance in the Classic. The Blazers previously handed UF its lone defeat, 80-73, in the 1997 OB Classic. Former Florida International University head coach and FSU assistant Donnie Marsh serves as assistant head coach for the Blazers. The UAB roster features Miami Beach High School graduate Wen Mukubu, a junior guard/forward who last played in 2002-03 with the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Sunrise Sports & Entertainment is the premier company of its kind in South Florida. Home to more than 185 events annually and the Florida Panthers Hockey Club, the BankAtlantic Center is consistently a top 15 U.S. venue according to Pollstar. The BankAtlantic Center welcomes more than two million guests each year and is also the home of the Sinatra Theatre presented by BankAtlantic and two monthly South Florida publications: Live On Stage Credentials and Unrestricted.

The Orange Bowl Committee is a not-for-profit, 329-member, all-volunteer organization that exists as a self-sustaining, independent organization supporting and producing activities and events which enhance the image, economy, and culture of South Florida. Among the OBC core events are the Orange Bowl Festival, FedEx Orange Bowl and World-Class Halftime Show, the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, the Orange Bowl PATCH Beach Bash, the Miller Lite Orange Bowl Tailgate Party, Boston Market Orange Bowl Youth Football Championships, Orange Bowl Cheer & Dance Championships, Orange Bowl Swim Classic, Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships and Orange Bowl Sailing Regatta Series.