|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NAIA, NJCAA and women make debut for 2004
January 11, 2004
Manheim, PA, January 10, 2004 - The nation's top collegiate wrestlers will converge on the Cleveland State University Convocation Center January 16-18 to battle for national supremacy at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Dual presented by Ice Breakers.
Along with the NCAA Championships, the Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals is the premier collegiate wrestling event in the country. The event brings together the top-16 teams in NCAA Division I, II and III to compete for the national dual meet championship in their respective division. Included for the first time is a final four championship for the NAIA and National Junior College Association. This event is believed to be the only intercollegiate competition in the nation featuring all collegiate divisions (NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA, and NJCAA) competing under one venue for national titles in their respective divisions.
The NWCA's marquee collegiate event will be kicked off on Friday evening with a premier ten-team high school showcase along with a four-team collegiate women's competition. Competing in the high school event will be four nationally ranked teams including St. Edwards, Walsh Jesuit, Davidson (MI), and Clarkston (MI). This will be the inaugural year for the women's teams.
The event, which is moving to Cleveland for the first of two years, will be hosted by the Cleveland Sports Commission and Cleveland State University. These two entities hosted one of the most successful NCAA Championships in history. The organizations have a proven track record of success in promoting amateur events in the Greater Cleveland Area.
This year also marks the first year that Ice Breakers will be joining the event as the presenting sponsor. Ice Breakers, is popular product line of the Hershey Foods Corporation consisting of mints and gum. The NWCA and Hershey Foods Corporation have recently inked a three-year deal for Ice Breakers to be the presenting sponsor of the National Duals. Ice Breakers will be actively involved in all aspects of the championships.
The NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals is a dream weekend for all wrestling fans. This year's championships will undoubtedly be special considering the following:
The NWCA has partnered with the College Sports Television (CSTV) to provide a special opportunity to all fans that purchase group tickets. Fans who purchase group tickets (10 tickets or more) will be invited to a special motivational talk and photo opportunity with wrestling legends Dan Gable and Cael Sanderson on Sunday January 18 at the Cleveland State Convocation Center. The January 18 motivational talks are presented by CSTV: College Sports Television, the first 24-hour college sports network, the NWCA, Cleveland Sports Commission and Adelphia Cable.
Fans seeking group sales tickets can call 216-587-5122 and mention the "Gable/Sanderson group plan."
CSTV will be airing the duals on tape delay on January 29 at 8:00pm EST. CSTV is available to more than 15 million homes nationally on cable and satellite. The network is available in Cleveland on Adelphia Digital Plus channel 175 and on DirecTV channel 610. For information on CSTV, consumers can log on to www.cstv.com or call their cable or satellite operator.
Individual tickets are still available and can be purchased at ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 216-241-5555.
To learn more about the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals presented by Ice Breakers visit www.nwcaonline.com.