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2010 NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST/SECOND ROUNDS IN KNOXVILLE The University of Tennessee Athletics Department is pleased to serve as host of the 2010 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship First/Second Rounds at Thompson-Boling Arena. For members of the media assigned to cover this event, the items listed below should help provide key information to those who need to obtain credentials and work this round of the tournament. We look forward to your visit to Knoxville. GAME TIMES The 2010 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship First/Second Rounds will be played at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., on March 20 and 22. Saturday's First Round game times are at noon and 2:30 p.m. Eastern time. Monday's Second Round contest is slated for 7 p.m. ET. The 2010 championship bracket will be announced on Monday, March 15 at 7 p.m. Eastern on ESPN (Game times are tentative and subject to change). MEDIA CREDENTIALS General media desiring credentials/parking to cover tournament games in Knoxville must apply online at www.NCAA.com/media. There you will find links to the NCAA’s online registration system as well as instructions, credential criteria and media policies. The deadline for application for local media credentials is March 5, 2010. Media questions should be directed to Associate A.D. for Media Relations Debby Jennings or co-media coordinator Eric Trainer by calling 865-974-4275. Media covering a specific team playing in Knoxville should request credentials, parking and lodging through the participating institution's media relations representative. MEDIA CREDENTIAL DISTRIBUTION Media credentials may be picked up at the Thompson-Boling Arena media entrance, which is described below under the heading "Media Entrance," during the following times: Friday, March 19 (10 a.m. - 4 p.m.), Saturday, March 20 (2 hours prior to first tip), Sunday, March 21 (noon - 2 p.m.), Monday, March 22 (2 hours before tip). A photo I.D. must be shown before individual credentials will be granted. MEDIA LODGING The media headquarters for the 2010 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds will be the Four Points By Sheraton Knoxville Cumberland House. General media must make reservations online at www.NCAA.com/media, while media specifically covering one of the four teams must make their request via that school's media relations representative. MEDIA PARKING Media parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis in the G-10 parking garage, with entrance on Phillip Fulmer Way. The lot is located just east of Thompson-Boling Arena and adjacent to Neyland Stadium. Admission is done by name on a list, with only those who have requested parking via the NCAA online credentialing system being granted admission. SATELLITE TRUCK PARKING Satellite truck parking is located in the south end loading dock area at Thompson-Boling Arena, with entrance off Lake Loudoun Blvd. into the lot adjacent to Pratt Pavilion. Spaces are limited and will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. Please call Tim Reese at (O) 865-974-0953 or (C) 865-387-5115 to make arrangements. MEDIA ENTRANCE The media entrance to Thompson-Boling Arena is on the southeast corner of the building on the lower level. To reach the entrance, exit the G-10 garage, enter Staff Lot 5 and proceed beneath the arena overhang. The doors to the media entrance will be straight ahead. MEDIA WORKROOM Upon entering Thompson-Boling Arena, the media work room will be located on the opposite end of the building in the northwest corner. In addition to offering work space and telephones (credit card, toll-free and operated-assisted calls only), this area will also contain media kits from all four teams and closed-circuit television monitors to provide viewing of press conferences and Knoxville games in progress. The media workroom will open at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 19, 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 20, noon on Sunday, March 21, and at 4 p.m. on Monday, March 22. MEDIA PRESS CONFERENCES All press conferences will be held in the Ray Mears Room, which is located at court level on the west end of Thompson-Boling Arena, directly across from the media workroom. Team news conferences on Friday and Sunday as well as post-game news conferences on Saturday and Monday will be held here. Please see the schedule of events for times. PREGAME MEDIA MEALS Prior to the first set of games on Saturday and the contest on Monday, pre-game media meals will be served in the Arena Dining Room. Doors will open an hour and 45 minutes prior to game time and will close 15 minutes before tip-off. To access the Arena Dining Room, proceed on court level to the northeast corner of the building and take the elevator or stairs to level 2. Upon exiting the elevator or stairwell, take a left and the entrance will be straight down the hall. MEDIA CONCESSIONS Light snacks and beverages for the media will be located adjacent to the media work room. MEDIA SERVICES The University of Tennessee will provide complete in-game statistical services as well as coach and player quotes from all news conferences during the championship. All those documents will be available in the media workroom and stats will be distributed courtside as well as to the post-game news conferences. A faxing/e-mail service will also be offered upon request. Sign-up sheets will be posted on the wall outside the main media workroom in Thompson-Boling Arena. TELEPHONES There will be a limited number of telephones (credit card, toll-free and operator) located in the media workroom at Thompson-Boling Arena. Individual media telephone service will be provided by the University of Tennessee at the media outlet's expense. Media representatives should contact the Tennessee media relations office at 865/974-4275 to order individual telephone services. PHOTOGRAPHY AREAS Photographers working the NCAA First and Second Rounds will be assigned a specific photo box on the floor with the photographer's affiliation marking the box. A diagram of photo box assignments will be placed in the media workroom and at courtside prior to the Saturday and Monday sessions. There also will be a photo distribution area inside the media workroom in the northwest corner of the arena for photographers. TELEVISION FEED Because sessions will be broadcast by ESPN, no local television mini-cameras will be allowed in the playing arena during the three scheduled games. The NCAA does, however, allow stations to establish a site presence, so camera crews may enter the playing arena prior to the day's first game, provided they leave the area no later than 30 minutes prior to tip-off. They may not, however, “go live” inside the building at any time. There is a designated location for live shots just outside the southwest entrance at the loading dock. These policies will be strictly enforced. Stations may acquire a video feed of game action and all news conferences for their local reports by requesting access to a "mult box" in the video/audio distribution area of the Ray Mears (news conference) Room. POST-GAME INTERVIEW POLICIES Following the cooling-off period, the coaches and designated student-athletes will be brought to the interview area located in the Ray Mears Room. The period begins when the head coach reaches the locker room area and will be 10 minutes for the losing team and 15 minutes for the winning team. A coach may shorten the cooling-off period but may not extend it. The locker room shall be open to the media for 30 minutes after the cooling-off period ends, providing media representatives are present the entire time. 2010 NCAA FIRST/SECOND ROUNDS SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR MEDIA (TENTATIVE)
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