July 2, 2007

Greenville, S.C. - By: Ann Green The Greenville News

Furman men's basketball coach Jeff Jackson isn't complaining about the changes ahead for the Southern Conference tournament in 2008.

The league's 11 athletic directors recently voted to change the dates for the 2008 SoCon men's and women's basketball tournament, hoping to boost overall attendance and TV viewership of the championship games, as well as cut down on class time missed by athletes.

The tournament will return to the North Charleston Coliseum, with the men scheduled for March 7 (Friday) through March 10 (Monday). The women's tournament will be played from March 6 (Thursday) through March 10.

The men's championship game will be televised nationally on ESPN2. The women's championship will be televised on SportSouth.

"Our exam week falls two weeks prior to the conference tournament next season, but what I like about it is it expands our season a little bit," Jackson said. "It gives us a little more time to prepare for the tournament, and hopefully playing on Monday night on ESPN will give the conference more exposure."

Furman isn't planning to add any games to the schedule at this late date, Jackson said.

Jackson, who is entering his second season as head coach, applauded the strategy to try to increase attendance.

"It makes sense to me that if the tournament is hosted primarily on the weekend, you'll probably have a better opportunity for people to travel and see the competition," he said.

According to SoCon figures, 27,722 people (5,542 per game) attended the 2007 men's tournament, the third-largest attendance in the last decade. That marked an increase of almost 2,000 per session from the previous year.

In the 2007 championship game, Davidson beat the College of Charleston before a coliseum-record college basketball crowd of 8,009 and earned the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. In the women's tournament, Chattanooga beat Western Carolina.

The Furman men lost to Davidson in the semifinals, while the women fell to Western Carolina in the quarterfinals.