2019 Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans Fort Myers Tip-Off field announced

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Nov. 21, 2018 - PRLog -- Intersport today announced the four men's college basketball programs that will comprise the 2019 Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans Fort Myers Tip-Off field, adding to the excitement surrounding the final day of the inaugural tournament.

The second annual tournament will include the Bradley Braves of the Missouri Valley Conference, the Kansas State Wildcats of the Big 12 Conference, the Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten Conference and the Pitt Panthers of the Atlantic Coast Conference. These programs, which boast a combined 65 NCAA Tournament appearances and seven Final Four berths, are led by coaches with winning pedigrees. Kansas State's Bruce Weber (Illinois), Northwestern's Chris Collins (Duke) and Pitt's Jeff Capel (Duke) have all helped guide teams to National Championship games during their coaching careers, and Bradley's Brian Wardle entered the 2018-19 campaign ranked second among Division I coaches younger than 40 with 133 career victories.

"The beautiful shores of Southwest Florida have provided an unbelievable backdrop for the competitive basketball that we've witnessed this week during the inaugural Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans Fort Myers Tip-Off," said Drew Russell, Intersport's Executive Vice President of Sports Properties and Media Assets. "We are thrilled to welcome these four elite men's college basketball teams and their fans to Fort Myers next November."

The tournament will once again be staged at Suncoast Credit Union Arena, a $28 million state-of-the-art arena where Boston College, Loyola Chicago, Richmond and Wyoming have been competing this week in the inaugural Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans Fort Myers Tip-Off. Loyola Chicago won the tournament's first-ever game over Richmond 82-66 while Boston College defeated Wyoming in the second game 88-76 on Nov. 19. Richmond and Wyoming will meet in the consolation game tonight at 5 p.m. ET while Loyola Chicago will meet Boston College in the Championship game tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET to determine who will #OwnTheFort. Both games will be televised live on FS1.

Game times and matchups for the 2019 Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans Fort Myers Tip-Off will be announced at a later date.

Fans can immediately begin planning to catch all the action at the 2019 Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans Fort Myers Tip-Off. Visit www.fortmyerstipoff.com to sign up for the latest updates regarding ticket presales and travel packages, good for access to all four games of the 2019 Tournament. For more information on the tournament and all event updates, please follow us on Twitter, @FtMyersTipoff (https://twitter.com/FtMyersTipOff), or visit www.fortmyerstipoff.com.

For the official Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans Fort Myers Tip-Off logo, visit https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7vrr8x2xeyef49f/AAChSt4Lu1VEWkgwy0I-4nR6a?dl=0.

2019 Participants' Matchup History – Quick Facts

·         The last time that Pitt and Bradley faced was in the 2006 NCAA Tournament's Round of 32. Bradley defeated Pitt 72-66 to advance to the Sweet 16. The Braves and Panthers have faced six times total, with Bradley leading the series 5-1.

·         Northwestern and Pitt have met more times than of any of the other participants (18 games), but have not played since 1996 when Pitt defeated the Wildcats 60-42 in Honolulu. NU leads the series 10-8.

·         Pitt and Kansas State have only met once in their histories. Pitt won 70-47 during the 2014 Maui Invitational.

·         Bradley and Northwestern have gone the longest stretch of time since their last matchup. They last met in 1985 and have faced nine times in total. NU leads the series 8-1.

About Intersport

Since 1985, Intersport has been an award-winning innovator and leader in the creation of sports, lifestyle, culinary and entertainment-based marketing platforms. With expertise in Sponsorship Consulting, Experiential Marketing, Hospitality, Retail Engagement, Content Marketing, Productions and Property Creation, this Chicago-based Marketing & Media Solutions Company helps its clients engage consumers with compelling ideas, content and experiences. To learn more about Intersport, visit www.intersportnet.com, like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/IntersportBuzz) or follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/IntersportBuzz) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/intersportbuzz/).