SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Southern Conference's 2011-12 men's basketball season opens November 11 as ten league teams will take the floor. The league's complete composite schedule is now available at www.soconsports.com and will conclude with the 2012 Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville, N.C.
Southern Conference teams are scheduled to make at least 11 appearances on national television during the season, including the 2012 Southern Conference men's tournament final, which is slated for a 9:00 p.m. tip on either ESPN or ESPN2 on March 5. League teams will also make an additional 12 appearances on numerous regional sports networks. The league will also broadcast eight regular season games on the SoCon Sports Network in addition to the semifinals of the conference tournament. In addition, the league will produce nine games that will be carried exclusively on ESPN3, along with the men's quarterfinals of the league tournament. A full schedule of games on the SoCon Sports Network and ESPN3 will be announced at a later date.
League teams are slated to participate in a number of prestigious exempt tournaments, including the All Military Classic (The Citadel), Maui Invitational (UNCG), South Padre Island Invitational (Western Carolina), Chicago Invitational (Wofford), Battle 4 Atlantis at Paradise Island (College of Charleston), Hoosier Classic (Chattanooga). Appalachian State, College of Charleston, Davidson and Wofford will also take part in the Sears BracketBuster event, scheduled for February 18.
Wednesday, November 30th marks the start of conference play as Furman visits Elon. The league's other ten schools open conference play the next night (December 1) as 2011 league champion Wofford hosts Davidson. Last year's North Division co-champion Western Carolina visits Samford, while Chattanooga, which also earned a share of the North Division title in 2011, travels to Georgia Southern. UNCG visits Appalachian State and The Citadel faces College of Charleston, the 2011 South Division co-champions along with the Terriers, in a cross-town rivalry game to begin league play.
All 12 teams will take part in the annual Southern Conference tournament, the longest-running conference tournament in the nation. The men's tournament returns to the Civic Center in Asheville, N.C., March 2-5. The league's postseason event was held in Asheville from 1984-1995.