Men's Basketball Southern Conference

General Shale to be Presenting Sponsor of Basketball Championships

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – General Shale, one of the largest building materials companies in North America, has signed on to become the presenting sponsor of the Southern Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, league Commissioner John Iamarino announced Wednesday at the SoCon Basketball Tip-Off at Biltmore’s Lioncrest facility.

The three-year deal will see General Shale serve as the presenting sponsor for the 2015, 2016 and 2017 tournaments, all of which will be played in Asheville, N.C., at Kimmel Arena and ExploreAsheville.com Arena at the U.S. Cellular Center.

“The Southern Conference is proud to partner with General Shale, a company that had its formation in the 1920s just like the SoCon,” Iamarino said. “They have established a long tradition of producing high-quality building materials to help build the American Dream. We are delighted to partner with them in promoting our basketball championships.”

Based in Johnson City, Tenn., General Shale offers an endless array of brick in a spectrum of colors, textures and shapes. Offering brick, stone, outdoor-living, concrete and building-materials products, General Shale manufactures more than one billion bricks per year at production facilities near large population centers.

Recent acquisitions have broadened the company’s product line and expertise into new hardscape products, and General Shale grew even stronger when it joined Wienerberger Group of Vienna, Austria, the world’s largest brick manufacturer.

“General Shale is excited to enter this new relationship with the Southern Conference,” said Charles Smith, president and CEO of General Shale. “Both of our organizations have been helping individuals achieve their dreams since the 1920s, and we believe this partnership is an excellent fit for continuing that mission. We look forward to working together to further the history and traditions of the Southern Conference as it serves some of the most esteemed public and private educational institutions in the Southeast.”

The 2015 Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale will be the 95th edition of the tournament, making it the oldest collegiate league basketball tournament in America. The 2015 tournament will be the 16th contested in Asheville, which has hosted the championship each year since 2012 after previously serving as the tournament’s home from 1984-95. The Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale, which originated in 1984, will be making its fifth appearance in Asheville in 2015 (1995, 2012-14).

“The SoCon and its 10 member institutions are excited to announce this presenting sponsorship of the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships,” said Rick Thompson of SoCon Sports Properties. “Asheville has always been a great destination for the league’s premier event. Our ability to build a successful sales platform and deliver the six-state footprint the Southern Conference members represent will continue to allow us to attract quality sponsors and advertisers for the SoCon’s championship events.”

ABOUT GENERAL SHALE
General Shale is one of North America’s largest brick, stone and concrete block manufacturers, supplying a wide variety of masonry materials for residential, commercial and specialty architectural projects. These materials include brick, thin veneers, stone, outdoor living kits, concrete block and various building materials, which include Arriscraft® Stone Products. The company offers an endless array of sizes, colors and textures to complete any building project. With a life cycle of more than 100 years, the sustainability of brick is the company’s commitment to responsible stewardship.
 
Throughout the U.S. and Canada, General Shale operates manufacturing facilities in nine states and provinces, in addition to a network of more than 50 retail showrooms and over 300 affiliated distributors across North America. In 1999, General Shale strengthened its operations when it joined Wienerberger AG of Vienna, Austria, the world’s largest brick manufacturer.
 
General Shale was founded in 1928 and is headquartered in Johnson City, Tennessee. For more information, visit www.generalshale.com.

ABOUT THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
The Southern Conference, in its 94th season of intercollegiate competition, is a national leader in emphasizing the development of the student-athlete and helping build lifelong leaders and role models. The conference has been on the forefront of innovation and originality in developing creative solutions to address issues facing intercollegiate athletics. From establishing the first conference basketball tournament (1921), to tackling the issues of freshman eligibility (1922), to developing women’s championships (1984) to becoming the first conference to install the 3-point goal in basketball (1980), the Southern Conference has been a pioneer. The Southern Conference is the nation’s fifth-oldest NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association. The conference currently consists of 10 members in six states throughout the southeast and sponsors 20 varsity sports and championships that produce participants for NCAA Division I Championships.

ABOUT SOCON SPORTS PROPERTIES
SoCon Sports Properties, created in 2013, is the official multimedia rights holder for the Southern Conference. We provide the excitement and attraction of college athletics as a unique advertising and marketing opportunity to communicate your company’s message while influencing your business. SoCon Sports Properties (SSP) offers corporate customers a multitude of marketing and multimedia sponsorship opportunities that include television, venue signage at all of our Championship events, event impact and gameday marketing, as well as corporate marketing, promotions, hospitality, print and brand exposure on SoConSports.com.
SSP can build a customized marketing package for your business or corporation that capitalizes on our loyal fans throughout each season, during Championship events, as well as throughout the entire Southern Conference member institutions' footprint.

Please contact SoCon Sports Properties for more information on collaborating with the Southern Conference and its multiple media and marketing platforms and Championship events.

Contact Information: Rick Thompson, SoCon Sports Properties
702 North Pine Street Spartanburg, SC 29303
678-448-2115
rthompson@socon.org

-www.SoConSports.com-