April 10, 2008

Contacts:
Stacey Schmeidel, Director of College Communications    704/894-2798
Marc Gignac, Director of Sports Information    704/894-2123
Sara-Lynne Levine, Communications Director, Town of Davidson    704/940-9602


Officials from Davidson College and the Town of Davidson invite Wildcats basketball fans to celebrate Davidson’s 2008 NCAA Tournament success at an event to be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, in Belk Arena at Davidson College.

There is no charge to attend, and fans are encouraged to wear red and black. Fans also are invited to contribute the bed sheets that they displayed in their yards during the tournament. Sheets brought to Davidson Town Hall by noon Monday, April 14, will be displayed in Belk Arena at the Tuesday night event.

The event will feature the Davidson College men’s basketball team, as well as video highlights and special guests. Speakers will include Davidson College President Tom Ross ’72, Davidson Mayor John Woods, men’s basketball coach Bob McKillop, director of athletics Jim Murphy ’78 and graduating team members Boris Meno, Jason Richards and Thomas Sander. The Davidson College cheerleaders, mascot and pep band will also participate.

"We are immensely proud of the Wildcats basketball team and are thrilled we are able to give them a proper welcome home," said Davidson Mayor John Woods. "These young men are not only fantastic athletes and students, but they became ambassadors for the college and the town. They represented all of us in the absolute best way. From our youngest resident to our oldest senior citizen, our town rallied around this team in a way we have never seen before, and we are just so excited to show them how much they mean to us all."

Davidson College President Tom Ross ’72 added, “The past few weeks have been an extraordinary time for Davidson. We are proud of what our student-athletes accomplished, and we’re proud, too, of the way they represented Davidson in their encounters with people throughout the tournament. We’re grateful for the support that Davidson received from fans here in town, in Charlotte and across the nation. And we look forward to celebrating this remarkable moment in our history with a few thousand of our closest friends on Tuesday night!”

Davidson advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1969, won its third straight Southern Conference Tournament Championship and tied last year’s school record for victories in a single season, finishing the campaign with a 29-7 mark. Wildcat sophomore guard Stephen Curry was named second-team All-America by The Associated Press, Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News and earned Most Outstanding Player honors for the Midwest Regional; he also is a finalist for the Wooden Award, which will be presented later this week. Coach Bob McKillop was named Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and won the Coach Clair Bee Award, given to a Division I men’s basketball coach who, through his actions on and off the court, makes an outstanding contribution to the sport of college basketball.

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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