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Plans Unveiled for the 2008 Final 6 Men's Basketball Championship... Announcements include naming Peter Benoite as 2008 Honourary Chair and increasing involvement with local minor basketball

February 22, 2008 (HALIFAX, NS) - At a news conference held today in Halifax, Atlantic University Sport and the organizing committee of the 2008 Men's Final 6 Basketball Championship announced plans for the upcoming tournament being held in Halifax.

"We are looking forward to another successful championship weekend this year," commented Phil Currie, Executive Director of Atlantic University Sport. "Our conference has proven to be extremely competitive this season and any one of the top six teams in our conference could possibly walk away with the banner this year. There is no doubt this year's championship will provide the basketball fans of Atlantic Canada with some exciting basketball."

"We are also pleased to announce that Peter Benoite, a former star with the Memorial Sea-Hawks and the 1996-97 Atlantic University Sport Most Valuable Player, has accepted the Honourary Chair position for 2008," said Currie. "Peter has been a great ambassador for basketball both in his home province of Newfoundland and here in the Halifax community since joining the Halifax Rainmen and we could not think of a more appropriate way of recognizing his contributions."

Peter, a native of Little Barasway, NL, graduated with a degree in mathematics and statistics and was an academic all-Canadian in each of his five seasons at Memorial. He was also selected as a first team all-Canadian in 1996-97 and in 98 career regular season games with the Sea-Hawks, he averaged 14.6 points per game and his 1429 career points rank second in school history. He is a former Newfoundland Athlete of the Year (1993), was awarded the prestigious James Bayer Memorial Scholarship award in 1997 and was nominated for a Rhodes Scholarship in 1998.

Benoite, a former assistant coach with the Memorial program and currently the team captain of the Halifax Rainmen, was humble and honoured in accepting the chairmanship. "This is a special celebration and an honour for me to be associated with this year's event," stated Mr. Benoite, "having been involved in this tournament as a player and coach, I know that coaches, athletes and fans from all over Atlantic Canada will be treated to some outstanding basketball and I look forward to presenting the championship trophy to this year's winner."

Mr. Currie also announced that the organizing committee will be increasing their relationship with Basketball Nova Scotia. Minor basketball and the Steve Nash Youth Basketball program will be showcased throughout the weekend, the midget girls and boys basketball championships will be taking place on the Saturday afternoon of the tournament at the Halifax Metro Centre and local minor basketball teams will be able to take advantage of discounted ticket prices available through Basketball Nova Scotia.

The 2008 championship tournament is scheduled for March 7th-9th and the participating teams are the Acadia Axemen, the Cape Breton Capers, the Dalhousie Tigers, the Saint Mary's Huskies, the StFX X-Men and the UPEI Panthers.

Tickets packages are currently on sale and can be purchased through Ticket Atlantic at 902-451-1221 or online at www.ticketatlantic.com.

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(Photo's are courtesy of the Halifax Rainmen.)

For more information, please visit www.atlanticuniversitysport.com/final6/ or contact:

Mr. John Keefe
Communications Manager
Atlantic University Sport
P: 902-425-4235
C: 902-471-7796
E: jkeefe@atlanticuniversitysport.com