Clemson Named by EA SPORTS One of the Toughest Places to Play in the Country

by Press Release - Mon Feb 02 11:34:30 GMT-04:00 2009

Over 100,000 college basketball fans participated in an EA SPORTS online poll to determine the “Toughest Places to Play” in college basketball and the results are in. Fans have determined 15 finalists, whose home courts were judged to be the most difficult for opposing teams to play in, that will form an integral part of a new game mode in the EA SPORTS NCAA Basketball videogame franchise next year.

“Enabling fans to participate in the early development of next year’s game is another way for us to tap into the amazing passion and excitement that surrounds college basketball,” said NCAA Basketball 09 Producer Sean O’Brien. “We have given over 100,000 college basketball fans a voice in making the game next year.”

According to fan balloting at http://www.easports.com/ncaabasketball the 15 Toughest Places To Play in college basketball are:

Clemson University (ACC)

Duke University (ACC)

Syracuse University (Big East)

UCLA (Pac-10)

University of Arkansas (GSC)

University of Florida (SEC)

University of Illinois (Big 10)

University of Kansas (Big 12)

University of Louisville (Big East)

University of Maryland (ACC)

University of North Carolina (ACC)

University of Pittsburgh (Big East)

University of Tennessee (GSC)

University of Texas (Big 12)

Xavier University (A10)

College basketball fans can now vote at http://www.easports.com/ncaabasketball/toughvenues.action to create the official "fans ballot" that will determine the final ranking of the 15 finalists.

Producers of the NCAA Basketball franchise will visit the home court of many of the final 15 schools to experience each school’s home environment on game day in order to capture and replicate the experience in game.

“When we visit schools we will pay full attention to the specifics and overall pageantry that make each school’s home court unique,” continued O’Brien. “We will consider the atmosphere, arena, mascot, spirit groups, band and competitiveness of the team to make sure we capture and replicate every detail for this feature.”

The EA Sports Tour will visit Littlejohn Coliseum on February 17 as Clemson hosts Maryland. Along with judging the game day atmosphere, the tour will hand out video games, t-shirts and host an NCAA Basketball 09 tournament leading up to the game with the finals played on Paw Vision before the start of the Maryland game.

To learn more about NCAA Basketball 09 visit www.easports.com/ncaabasketball09.

Developed in Burnaby, B.C., by EA Canada, NCAA Basketball 09 is available for the Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 and PlayStation 2. It is rated “E” for everyone by the ESRB. Screenshots can be downloaded at http://info.ea.com.