Pete will host Pitt-less Women’s NCAA Tournament

The Pitt athletic department spent two years preparing to host the Women’s NCAA… The Pitt athletic department spent two years preparing to host the Women’s NCAA Tournament first- and second-round games.

This weekend, the Petersen Events Center finally hosts No. 2 Ohio State versus No. 15 St. Francis (Pa.) and No. 7 Mississippi State against No. 10 Middle Tennessee State.

Missing from the list of teams is Pitt, which accepted a bid to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament on Monday night, but senior associate athletics director and senior women’s administrator Carol Sprague said that wouldn’t change how the athletic department handles the weekend.

“We’re going to run the Tournament for these four teams the same way we would run the Tournament if Pitt was in it,” Sprague said. “It’s still great exposure for our women’s basketball program.”

Pitt made a bid to the NCAA to be a host site years ago. Sites were reviewed and selected by the 10-person NCAA Basketball Committee. The Petersen Events Center and 15 other locations were chosen to house first- and second-round games.

For Sprague and the rest of the athletic department employees, hosting the games means coordinating media and team hotels, preparing media credentials, setting up the media buffet and preparing wireless internet in the workroom and on the floor.

Most importantly, the Petersen Events Center has to meet NCAA specifications. While the actual court already meets the requirements, workers have to make sure that the site fills the qualifications for the Tournament’s uniform look.

“Bench chairs, water bottles, coolers, everything … wherever you are watching an NCAA Women’s Basketball game, it will all look the same,” Sprague said.

From scorers’ table signs to the floor itself, Sprague said that when a person switches from game to game, every site will appear the same. There are even special requirements for the placement of logos on the court and signs throughout the building.

The Michael Bublé concert held in the Petersen Events Center on Wedneday made the basketball event even more difficult to set up. Sprague said they had to tear down the set inside the building and rebuild it for basketball.

But before Sprague and the athletic department started setting up for the weekend, they had two years worth of advertising to handle — and Sprague didn’t leave many advertising outlets unused.

Pitt promoted the event to season ticket holders in every sport, as well as to high schools and grade schools in the area. Sprague also utilized radio, television and newspaper advertising.

Both men and women’s basketball games featured advertisements, including the “I’m dancing, are you?” videos displaying various people from the Pittsburgh area dancing on screen to Whitney Houston’s song “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”

Pitt also marketed to the Alumni Association and Panther Club members.

So far, Pitt has sold around 4,300 tickets. Sprague’s goal is to sell 6,000, in order to fill the lower bowl.

Luckily for Sprague and Pitt, St. Francis (Pa.) was selected to play at the Petersen Events Center. St. Francis is located about 80 miles from Pittsburgh.

“I think everyone is making their final arrangements right now, but I would expect that they will bring fan buses and fans driving their own cars down,” Sprague said.

She also expects Ohio State to bring its fair share of fans from the bordering state.

Ohio State won the Big Ten regular season and the Big Ten tournament en route to its eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. St. Francis won the Northeast Conference tournament to earn its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2005.

Mississippi State received its second consecutive at-large tournament bid after advancing to the Southeastern Conference tournament semifinals. Middle Tennessee State advanced to the Tournament after winning the Sun Belt Conference tournament. It’s the 13th Tournament appearance for the Blue Raiders, who played in 2006, 2007 and 2009.

Overall, Sprague expects the event to bring national recognition to Pitt, the Petersen Events Center and the women’s basketball program. All of the games will be broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2.

“It’s really an honor to be selected as a site for this,” Sprague said. “It’s a compliment to our University and our athletic department and to the growing stature of our women’s basketball program.”