"March Madness", as one may recognize college basketball's most celebrated month, kicks off here in New Orleans with the 2018 Sun Belt Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, presented by First Bank and Trust. The championship event will feature all 12 men's and 12 women's teams from the Sun Belt Conference going head-to- head for an opportunity to represent the league at the NCAA Basketball Tournaments.
This year's championship will take place from March 6-11 at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. All told, 22 games will take place, and two champions will be crowned. A complete schedule of events can be found on the Sun Belt Basketball Championship Central pages: MEN | WOMEN
There is no shortage of ways to get involved in the championship action this March as the Sun Belt offers affordable tickets and family driven packages for fans looking to enjoy the games. Adult tickets are $15 a session. Each session includes two games, excluding the championship games on Sunday, March 11. Kid tickets are $5 a session and include a FREE hot dog and FREE drink.
Fans can also purchase entire session booklets for $120.00. VIP tickets are still available and will include a hospitality area as well as one of the best seats in the Arena. To purchase VIP tickets fans should contact John Barranco at the Sun Belt office (barranco@sunbeltsports.org).
To purchase session tickets or booklets visit TICKETMASTER.com or the Lakefront Arena box office.
Aside from the on-court action the Sun Belt will also host the Sun Belt Sports Fest on Saturday, March 10 from 9 a.m. CT until 12 p.m. CT. The sports fest will include the annual Sun Belt Dribble Drive at 11 a.m. CT, where kids ages 3-12, dribble from the Sports Fest to Lakefront Arena. All Dribble Drive participants will receive a FREE t-shirt, FREE basketball and two (2) FREE tickets to the men's semifinal games on Saturday, March 10.
To register for the Dribble Drive visit - http://sunbeltsports.org/2018DribbleDrive.
New Orleans continues to be recognized as a top destination to visit because of its world- renowned annual festivals, culture, cuisine, music and hospitality. Visiting the "Big Easy" in 2018 should be no different, as the city will be recognizing its Tricentennial throughout the calendar year.
Visit New Orleans during March and take time out to head over to the 2018 Sun Belt Men's and Women's Basketball Championship at Lakefront Arena.
About the Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference continues to establish itself as a force to be reckoned with in competition. The 2016-17 athletic season showed that the Sun Belt Conference takes a back seat to no other league in its competitive balance and in proving itself deserving of its status as a member of the NCAA’s highest conference tier.
The Sun Belt has gone 8-3 in bowl games the past two years, which makes the Sun Belt’s winning percentage the best among all conferences. In fact, over the past four years, no one ranks higher in bowl winning percentage than the Sun Belt. The Sun Belt also had the most wins and best win percentage among the “Group of Five” peer conferences, including victories over teams in the two top-rated leagues in the final computer rankings.
During the recent 2016-17 academic year, Sun Belt member institutions awarded over $50 million in scholarships to more than 3,100 student-athletes, while also providing life experiences such as team building, domestic and foreign travel, community service, mentoring and recognition through honors and awards.
Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisiana, ULM, South Alabama, Texas State and Troy will give the league 10 football members and enable the Sun Belt to inaugurate divisional football play and stage a conference championship game in 2018. Little Rock and UTA compete as Sun Belt members in all sports other than football.
For more information on the Sun Belt Conference, visit http://www.sunbeltsports.org.
