Virginia and Virginia Tech will both open their 2007 football seasons with games on national television while Maryland will begin the year on the Internet, as the Atlantic Coast Conference announced its schedule for the first three weeks of the season.
Maryland is scheduled to meet Villanova on Saturday, Sept. 1 at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium. The game will be shown on ESPN360, the national sports network’s broadband outlet.
The Hokies’ season and home-opener against East Carolina will be broadcast on ESPN2 while the Cavaliers’ visit to Wyoming will be televised on Versus. Maryland was on ESPN360 four times in 2006, including at Virginia and its first three non-conference games of the season.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Three local college players were among 30 invited to participate in USA Basketball trials for the Pan American Games basketball competition that takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 25-29.
Maryland forward James Gist of Silver Spring, Georgetown center Roy Hibbert of Adelphi, and Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds of Herndon will head to Haverford College from July 12-14, compete for spots on a 12-member final roster. The finalists for the team will have a six-day training camp, including three sessions at Verizon Center on July 19-21, prior to the announcement of the final 12 who will travel to Brazil for the first game in preliminary pool play, against Uruguay, on July 25. The team will be coached by Reynolds’ coach at Villanova, Jay Wright.
THOMPSON NAMED BCA COACH OF THE YEAR: Georgetown coach John Thompson III was named the recipient of the Fritz Pollard Award last week for the second straight season, an award presented by the Black Coaches Association for male coach of the year.
Thompson, who was also a finalist for the Naismith men’s coach of the year award, guided the Hoyas to their first 30-win season since 1984-85, including Big East regular season and tournament championships, and a trip to the Final Four.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
T.C. Williams rising junior Tierra Ruffin-Pratt and Potomac (Va.) rising senior Lynetta Kizer were chosen to compete in the 2007 USA Basketball women’s youth development festival June 13-17 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The festival features the top U.S. high school rising juniors and seniors, divided into three teams, and a national team from Brazil.
