All 10 Horizon League Members Headed to Sears BracketBusters X

The 10^th annual Sears BracketBusters, a three-day men’s college basketball event pitting potential NCAA Championship hopefuls against each other Feb. 17-19, will feature 13 nationally televised games – on either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN3. The hopefuls will be selected from a pool of 142 teams from 16 conferences, the largest Sears BracketBusters pool in the event’s history.

One of the founding conferences of the Sears BracketBusters, the Horizon League will once again have all 10 members participating in the event. In 2011, the Horizon League turned in nationally televised victories by both Valparaiso and Wright State on the ESPN Networks. In the League's third game on ESPN Networks, Norris Cole set the Ted Constant Convention Center opponent scoring record with 35 points in a loss at Old Dominion.

Horizon League teams hosting home games this year include Butler, Cleveland State, Detroit, Green Bay and Milwaukee. Loyola, UIC, Valparaiso, Wright State and Youngstown State will all be on the road.

For the seventh straight year, ESPNU will feature five Sears BracketBusters games, while ESPN or ESPN2 will television up to six and ESPN3 will carry two. The 13 Sears BracketBusters matchups will be announced Monday, Jan. 30 with dates, times and networks. The television matchups are selected by ESPN, while a Committee of Conference Commissioners determines the additional non-televised games.

Sears BracketBusters, named because of the success of the teams in NCAA Championship play, will provide the 26 televised teams an opportunity to play other top non-conference opponents three weeks before Selection Sunday. The 116 teams not selected for Sears BracketBusters will compete against each other through the same three days.

The 142-team field will feature teams from 16 conferences: 12 each from Colonial Athletic Association, Mid-American Conference and Southland; 11 each from Ohio Valley Conference and Big South; 10 each from Horizon League, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Missouri Valley and Summit League; nine each from America East, Big Sky and Big West; eight from the Western Athletic Association; four from the Southern Conference; three from the MEAC; and two from the West Coast Conference.

As part of the agreement, all 13 of the Sears BracketBusters home teams in televised games, as well as the remaining 58 home squads, will play a return game at the home facility of their opponent in November or December of the 2013-14 season.

SearsBracketBusters is part of ESPN’s college basketball franchise programming, along with Rivalry Week, Feast Week presented by Lowe’s, Holiday Hoops Presented by Kay Jewelers, Judgment Week andChampionship Week Presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Teams participating this season in Sears BracketBusters have produced 88 appearances in the last six NCAA Championships, including Butler's national title game appearance in 2010.

About Sears BracketBusters
The Sears BracketBusters concept, named because of the success of participating teams from these conferences in NCAA Tournament play through the years, provides programs with an opportunity to play top non-conference opponents roughly three weeks before Selection Sunday. Each conference selects its participating teams before the season, and the matchups for the event are determined by ESPN in conjunction with the conferences. Sears BracketBusters is an example of ESPN college basketball franchise programming. Others include Rivalry Week, Feast Week Presented by Lowe’s, Holiday Hoops Presented by Kay Jewelers and Judgment Week and Championship Week Presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods.