March 26, 2008

Contact: Stacey Schmeidel
Director of College Communications
cell 704/682-2629

No loans. No laundry. No cost to attend the “Sweet 16.”

At Davidson College—the academically rigorous North Carolina liberal arts college that upset 2^nd-seed Georgetown Sunday in the 2^nd round of the NCAA basketball tournament—students have just learned that they’ll be able to watch their Wildcats play 3^rd-seed Wisconsin in person in Detroit Friday night—for free.

Davidson’s Board of Trustees announced this afternoon that its members are contributing money to cover costs for any student who wants to attend Friday’s “Sweet 16” matchup. The new gift will cover the cost of tickets for Friday night’s Session 1 Davidson-Wisconsin game, as well as tickets for Sunday’s Session 2 contest;  bus transportation between Davidson and Detroit (11 hours each way); and two nights of lodging at a Detroit area hotel.

The total cost of the endeavor is not yet known; it will depend on how many students sign up for the trip.  “Given the extraordinary nature of the success of the men’s basketball team,” President Tom Ross ’72 said in an e-mail message to the college community, “Davidson’s Trustees have graciously offered to pay the expenses of those students who are able to attend the game in Detroit on Friday night…We know that at Davidson, academics come first,” Ross continued, noting that Friday’s classes at Davidson would go on as planned. “Students, please consider going to the game ONLY if this is, academically, the right decision for you.”

Students unable to attend Friday’s game in Detroit are invited to watch the contest on large-screen TVs in the Alvarez College Union. Hundreds of students, faculty, staff and community members have turned out to watch previous tournament broadcasts.

Buses will leave Davidson College at 6 am Friday, March 28, and arrive in Detroit around 5 or 6 pm. The college will make hotel reservations for interested students, who will bunk two per room. Game tickets cover Friday night’s Davidson-Wisconsin matchup, as well as Sunday’s Session 2 matchup with either Villanova or Kansas. Buses will leave Detroit for Davidson on Sunday afternoon after Session 2 ends and will arrive back on campus Monday between 4 and 6 am.

Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,700 students. Since its establishment in 1837 by Presbyterians, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country.

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