May 14, 2007
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big Ten announced the formation of an annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge for women's basketball, which will span at least four years and will begin in the fall of 2007. Maryland was paired up with Big Ten regular-season champion Ohio State for the first year of the challenge. The clash will take place on Friday, November 30 at Comcast Center.
The Big Ten/ACC Challenge will match the 11 teams from each conference in head-to-head competitions, traditionally beginning on the first Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after Thanksgiving, following the men's basketball Challenge.
"Having women's basketball take part in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge is very exciting," said Terrapin head coach Brenda Frese. "It has been a terrific event on the men's side. Ohio State is a national-caliber program and is a great addition to our home schedule. We have great fans and I know they're going to give this event big-time support."
The Terps last meeting with the Buckeyes was at Comcast Center in 2005 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Maryland fell to then-second seeded OSU, 75-65. That season, 2007 Kodak All-American Crystal Langhorne (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) was the ACC's Rookie of the Year.
Under the direction of head coach Jim Foster, Ohio State won the regular-season Big Ten title in 2007, falling in the title game of the league tournament. The Buckeyes, who captured both the regular season and tournament conference crowns in 2006, have been ranked in the top 10 over the last three years.
The Terps are coming off their fourth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance under Frese, winning the national championship in 2006. Maryland will return four starters from this year and eight letterwinners, overall.
The inaugural Big Ten/ACC Challenge will feature games outside the traditional timeframe as the first contest pits Michigan at Miami on Nov. 19. The Big Ten will then host the next two games on Nov. 28, as Wake Forest travels to Northwestern and Iowa hosts Georgia Tech. Three games are slated for Nov. 29, with Michigan State hosting Clemson, Purdue traveling to North Carolina and Illinois heading to NC State. ACC teams will host three of the four Nov. 30 games including the Terps. Virginia Tech hosts Minnesota and Wisconsin travels to Virginia on Nov. 30, as well. In addition, Indiana will serve as host to Florida State on Nov. 30. The 2007 Big Ten/ACC Challenge concludes on Dec. 2 with Duke competing at Penn State.
The Big Ten and ACC conferences coordinated the 11-game schedule. The ACC will select the top 11 teams from the previous season from its 12-team membership. In addition, the official title of the Challenge will rotate each year, beginning with the Big Ten/ACC Women's Basketball Challenge in 2007. The 2008 event will be referred to as the ACC/Big Ten Women's Basketball Challenge and will mirror the official title of the two conference's Challenge agreement for men's basketball.
Game times, as well as television and broadband coverage, will be announced at a later date. For more information, go to www.theacc.com.
-TERPS-
