Men's Basketball Southern Conference

Phoenix to Take Foreign Trip to Europe

ELON, N.C. - The Elon men's basketball team will get a head start to the 2011-12 campaign when the team makes a foreign trip that will include stops in cities in Germany, Austria and Italy from August 12-22.
 
NCAA regulations allow teams to make a foreign trip once every four years and this will be the first time an Elon team has traveled abroad for such a trip. The Phoenix will also be allowed 10 on-campus practice sessions prior to departing for Munich, Germany on Thursday, August 11.
 
"This is an incredible opportunity to not only travel, practice and play games, but to have an academic and cultural experience in line with the Elon Commitment to give our student-athletes a global experience," commented Elon head coach Matt Matheny.
 
One of the themes of Elon's strategic plan, the Elon Commitment, is to offer an unprecedented university commitment to diversity and global engagement that includes an objective to provide 100 percent study abroad access. This trip provides Elon basketball players, who typically are unable to study abroad because the seasons overlap both fall and spring semesters, the chance to participate in a global experience.
 
"All of us are really excited to be taking this trip overseas since most of us have never had the chance to study abroad," noted senior Drew Spradlin. "It is also a good opportunity to get the younger guys in the gym earlier and practice so it is like a jump-start to our season in that way."
 
"Our team is excited for this trip because we have the rare opportunity to play against professional basketball organizations and experience foreign culture halfway around the world," said sophomore Jack Isenbarger. "More importantly, it gives us a chance to bond and build an identity for this team."
 
The student-athletes will be taking a course as part of their summer trip with classes beginning on August 2 on Elon's campus before the travel portion begins. Taught by Dr. Eric Hall, who will be accompanying the team on the trip, the class is titled Globalization and Contemporary Sport with topics that focus on the economic, political, societal and cultural effects of sport in global age.
 
The group will depart Raleigh around noon on Thursday, August 11, traveling through Atlanta, before arriving in Munich at 8 a.m. CEST on August 12. The team will tour the city and visit places such as Olympic Park, site of the 1972 Olympics, and the Dachau concentration camp located just outside of Munich.
 
Elon will play two of its four games on Saturday, August 13 in Vilsbiburg, Germany. The Phoenix will face off against Baskets Vilsbiburg, a team that finished atop its division in German Regionalliga Two, at 6 a.m. EST. Later that day, Elon will challenge BG Leitershofen at 4 p.m. EST. BG Leitershofen was the runner-up in German Pro B League and is moving up to the Pro A League next season.
 
The next stop during the trip will be in Nuremberg, Germany where Elon will compete on the hardwood against German Pro A League member Nuremberg Basketball Club. The game will take place on Monday, August 15 at 12 p.m. EST.
 
The group will have several days of travel and study before its final game. Elon will travel through the Alps and visit Neuschwanstein Castle, which was commissioned by Ludwig II, King of Bavaria from 1864-86, as a retreat for himself and a tribute to famous composer Richard Wagner.
 
After a stay in Innsbruck, Austria on August 16, the team will continue on to Treviso, Italy, a small town in the northeastern part of the country. Elon will have the chance to tour Treviso and spend a day in Venice before traveling to Verona en route to Milan. The group will spend its remaining few nights in Milan, touring the city and seeing such sites as da Vinci's "The Last Supper." Elon will play its final game on August 20 against Blu Basket Comark Treviglio, a finalist in the Italian A Dilettanti. The group will return to Elon on August 22.