With the Southern Conference Basketball Championships back in Asheville, N.C., for a third straight year, the league continues to expand its impact on the community outside of the 19 games that will be played over the course of four days in March. Now in its 94th year, the nation’s oldest collegiate conference tournament continues to evolve, offering everything from top-flight college basketball to live music to a 5K road race, all designed to engage and entertain a community that has welcomed the SoCon tournament with open arms.
“The Southern Conference is excited about the lineup of activities surrounding this year’s men’s and women’s basketball championships,” SoCon Senior Associate Commissioner Geoff Cabe said. “Asheville’s reputation as a destination location is well known, and these events will just add to the allure that the city will have that weekend for SoCon fans and alumni.”
The nearly weeklong schedule of activities begins Wednesday, March 5, with the Mission Health Kids Clinic at ExploreAsheville.com Arena at the U.S. Cellular Center, site of the entire men’s tournament and the semifinals and final of the women’s tournament. There, former Wake Forest and South Carolina coach Dave Odom will lead a clinic for local children.
Thursday, March 6, will be the final tuneup for the 21 SoCon men’s and women’s teams before the beginning of tournament play. The women’s teams will take the court for team practices at Kimmel Arena, site of the first two rounds of the women’s tournament, with the men practicing at the U.S. Cellular Center. Practices on this day are open to the public and admission is free.
After various league mascots visit Mission Children’s Hospital at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 7, the 2014 edition of the SoCon Basketball Championships will officially get under way at 11 a.m. with a pair of PNC Bank Education Day contests. Education Day will return for a third consecutive year, bringing thousands of excited elementary school students from four area schools systems – Asheville City Schools, Buncombe County Schools, Henderson County Schools and Polk County Schools – to first-round games at Kimmel Arena and the U.S. Cellular Center.
Throughout the tournament, from Saturday to Monday, fans can enjoy the new “Asheville Infusion,” a collection of local artists and music incorporated into the atmosphere of the U.S. Cellular Center. Select musicians will perform on the concourse of the U.S. Cellular Center before games, at halftime and between games. On Saturday, Evergreen Community Charter School’s EMBE Marimba Band (evergreenccs.org) will keep the beat under the musical direction of Sue Ford. That evening, Asheville’s Skinny Beats Drum Crew (skinnybeatsdrums.com) will play before the third and fourth games as well as during halftime of the third game. Crooked Pine Band (crookedpineband.com) will be playing during Sunday’s first two games and Jonathan Scales Fourchestra (jonscales.com) will perform during halftime of the women’s final on Monday and before the men’s final.
In the concourse on Saturday and Sunday, artist Emilio Jeffries will be painting two murals that he will award to this year’s SoCon champions. Jeffries attends Western Carolina University, where he is pursuing a BFA in graphic design. During games, fans can also enjoy Dr. Bob’s Interactive Sonic Experience. Located at court level in the U.S. Cellular Center, this interactive musical exhibit for children features an array of synthesizers, theremins and other Moog inventions. Provided by The Bob Moog Foundation, the Experience will be free and open to all ages Saturday and Sunday.
Also new in 2014 will be “SoCon Overtime,” a free-admission, downtown event Friday evening at Grove Arcade featuring local area bands and vendors from Asheville’s restaurants and breweries. Patrons at SoCon Overtime may purchase tokens for food and drink. SoCon Overtime will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and will also feature opportunities for participants to purchase tickets for music and entertainment events that same night at local venues The Orange Peel, The Millroom and Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.
The SoCon’s Downtown Dribble, which debuted in 2013 with approximately 350 children in attendance, will this year be preceded by a 5K run to benefit The Arc of North Carolina, which provides advocacy and services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The SoCon and the Asheville-Buncombe Regional Sports Commission are helping to co-sponsor the race, which will begin Saturday, March 8, at 9 a.m. and will be followed by the Downtown Dribble. Registration for the run costs $25, with the option to add a ticket for a session of the tournament for an extra $10. More information can be found at thearc5kmarchrunwalk.com.
The Downtown Dribble, which was modeled after an event run by the NCAA prior to the Women’s Final Four, is a parade of music, team mascots, cheerleaders and several hundred boys and girls dribbling basketballs through the closed streets of Asheville from Pack Square to the U.S. Cellular Center. Participants in the Downtown Dribble will receive a free ball and T-shirt and will be granted free admission to Saturday afternoon’s games. Registration for the Downtown Dribble begins at 9:30 a.m. at Pack Square Circle.
After Saturday’s full slates of games at Kimmel Arena and the U.S. Cellular Center, the women’s tournament moves from Kimmel to U.S. Cellular on Sunday, March 9, for its semifinals, followed by the men’s semifinals that evening.
The final day of the tournament, Monday, March 10, will start with the SoCon Hall of Fame luncheon at noon in the U.S. Cellular Center Banquet Hall. There, at the invitation-only event, the league will honor the 2014 induction class.
That night, the SoCon’s two champions and NCAA automatic qualifiers will be crowned, bringing the tournament to a close. The women’s championship game will tip at 5 p.m., followed by the men’s title contest at 9 p.m.
“Asheville is thrilled to partner with the SoCon to put together such a robust weekend of events for the SoCon fans and our local community,” said Ben VanCamp, executive director of the Asheville-Buncombe Regional Sports Commission. “With so many events taking place at the SoCon Basketball Championships, the action on the court will just be the beginning of the excitement in 2014.”