The Belmont University athletic department announced that SunTrust Bank has been signed as the title sponsor of the 2005 SunTrust Bank Atlantic Sun Men’s Basketball Championship. The Atlantic Sun Conference will send its top eight men’s basketball teams to Nashville to compete for the conference’s automatic berth to March Madness. The entire event will again will be hosted by Belmont University March 3-5 in the Curb Event Center.
It is the second consecutive year that Belmont has hosted the tournament in its one-year old, 5,000 seat venue which was financed through SunTrust Bank.
“We are very proud to sponsor the 2005 Atlantic Sun Tournament for the second year in a row,” stated SunTrust Bank President Woody Woodring. “Belmont is a great partner and we’re glad that we’ve been given the opportunity to continue to work together. This year’s tournament will build on the success of last year’s and continue to be a great event for Belmont and the city of Nashville.”
“Having the support of a powerful title sponsor is crucial to the success of the Atlantic Sun Men’s Basketball Tournament,” said Eric Jones, Belmont’s assistant athletic director for marketing. “It was a great event in 2004 for SunTrust and this bodes well for both the Atlantic Sun Conference and Belmont University that SunTrust decided to reinvest in the success of NCAA men’s basketball here in Nashville.”
The eight-team event will take place over three days with a total of seven games played – four quarterfinals on day one, two semifinals on day two and the championship game on day three. Five of the seven games will be televised with two quarterfinals games and the semifinals seen live on Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS). The title game will be shown live on ESPN2 at 1:00 pm (CST).
“We are extremely pleased and honored to extend the association between SunTrust Bank and the Atlantic Sun Conference,” said A-Sun Commissioner Bill Bibb. “SunTrust represents many of the same great values as our member institutions and we look forward to promoting SunTrust Bank and the A-Sun Men’s Basketball Championship all season long. We will have a tremendous race for the championship this year and are proud to have SunTrust as our partner as we share the excitement of A-Sun basketball.”
SunTrust Banks, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, is one of the nation’s largest commercial banking organizations. The company operates an extensive distribution network primarily in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and the District of Columbia and also serves customers in selected markets nationally. Its primary businesses include deposit, credit, trust and investment services. Through various subsidiaries the company provides credit cards, mortgage banking, insurance, brokerage and capital markets services. SunTrust’s Internet address is www.suntrust.com.
The winner of the 2005 SunTrust Banks A-Sun Men’s Basketball Championship will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. For ticket information, contact the Curb Event Center Box Office at 615-460-8500. More information on Belmont athletics can be found at Bruins Online (www.belmont.edu/athletics) while the best source for information regarding the Atlantic Sun Conference is via the internet at www.atlanticsun.org.
