June 29, 2007

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. --- North Carolina will welcome national powers Arizona State, Maryland and Oklahoma to Chapel Hill for the 2007 State Farm Tip-Off Classic on November 11. The event will feature UNC against Arizona State on ESPN at 2:30 p.m. and Oklahoma versus Maryland at 5 p.m. on ESPN2. Both games will be played at the Dean E. Smith Center.

"We are thrilled to be hosting the Tip-Off Classic in Chapel Hill and welcoming some of the best women's basketball programs in the nation," said head coach Sylvia Hatchell, 2004 Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee. "It will be a great opportunity for our fans to see women's basketball played at the highest level and to get excited about the upcoming season."

The 2007 Tip-Off Classic promises to feature two competitive matchups, as all four teams finished the 2006-07 season ranked among the nations best. North Carolina advanced to the 2007 Final Four in Cleveland and Maryland, Arizona State and Oklahoma finished out the season ranked seventh, eighth and eleventh, respectively.

This year marks the 15th consecutive year that the State Farm Tip-Off Classic will help usher in another collegiate season for women's basketball. During the past 14 years, the event has featured some of the nation's best - players, coaches and teams.

At halftime of both games the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2008 will be introduced to the arena and the national television audience. The 2008 Induction will mark the 10th anniversary of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, which held its grand opening and inaugural induction in 1999. When the Class of 2008 is officially inducted in Knoxville, Tenn. on June 13-14, 2008 the list of individuals who have been recognized as Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductees will increase to 103.