Bulldog game watch gatherings planned across the nation

The men’s basketball team will play Western Kentucky in the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla.

Drake University alumni and friends of the Bulldogs will gather accross the nation to watch the 2008 Missouri Valley Conference Champion Drake men’s basketball team compete in the West Regional of the NCAA Basketball Tournament in Tampa, Fla. 

In addition, the Drake women’s basketball team has
earned a berth in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, and will host Green Bay at 4:07 p.m. on Saturday, March 22, at the Drake Knapp Center. More information on the WNIT is available online.

The NCAA game and how to watch it

The Bulldog men will play Western
Kentucky at 11:30 a.m. CST on Friday, March 21, at the St. Pete
Times Forum in Tampa, Fla. Should the Bulldogs advance to the second
round, the game would take place at either 11:10 a.m. or 1:40 p.m. CST. Tournament details are available on the Drake Athletics Web site.

The NCAA Tournament Drake games will be broadcast
on CBS affiliates in various
markets. Tim Brando and Mike Gminski will handle the announcing duties for the first and second round games in Tampa. If you are a DirecTV
subscriber, you can pick up the Mega March Madness
package to get tournament games outside of your market area for $69. To get this package, visit the Web site. To watch the NCAA
Tournament games online, access the NCAA’s streaming coverage option on the Web site.

The game will be described by Larry Cotlar and Dolph Pulliam on KRNT radio (1350 AM) in Des Moines and also will be carried on Westwood One Radio.

Planning to be in Tampa?

For Drake alumni and friends of
the Bulldogs, the Drake University Alumni Association will host pre-game
receptions prior to each Bulldog game in Tampa. The gatherings will start three hours before each Drake game at Stumps Supper Club, located at 615 Channelside
Drive (three blocks from the arena). Contact Stumps at 813-226-2261.  

Also,
join alumni in Tampa from 8-11 p.m. on Thursday, March 20, at Dirty Shame Pub, 1929 E. 7th Avenue for
an evening of fun and entertainment. Appearing Live…just for Drake Bulldog
fans…will be the Hat Trick Heroes (Combustion Music recording artists) to get
everybody rockin’. It’s a free event if you are wearing Drake colors!  

For more information on the
first and second rounds of the tournament, please visit the Drake
Athletic department’s “Tournament Central” online. At this time, Drake’s ticket allotment has been depleted,
but you can contact the arena (St. Pete Times Forum) at 813-301-6500 to check availability of
remaining tickets.

Join Fellow Bulldog Faithful

For fans in Iowa who are not heading to Tampa, join fellow Bulldogs starting at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, March 21, for game watch parties during Drake’s run this weekend at:

• Boston’s
  Pizza, 12401 University Avenue in Clive
• inPlay, 615 3^rdStreet in Downtown Des Moines
  
• Drake University’s Student Life Center, Pomerantz Stage in Olmsted Center, 2875 University Ave.

Additional game-watch opportunities around the country are listed below. If you do not see your city listed and
you would like to host a game-watch party for fellow Bulldog faithful, please
call the Drake University Alumni office at 800-44-DRAKE, ext. 2500.

• Chicago (city) — Mother Hubbard’s, 5
  West Hubbard Street, phone: 312-828-0007; contact: Jeremy Glenn at jeremy.glenn@mbtlaw.com
• Chicago (suburbs) — Arena Sports
  Grille, 630 West Lake St, Elmhurst, IL (Friday only),
  www.arenasportsgrille.com; contact: Chris Swan at swan@rsmr.com
• Peoria — Vonachen’s Old Place, 5934
  N. Knoxville, phone: 309-692-7033; contact: Dave Zentgraf at david_zentgraf@hotmail.com
• Twin Cities — FRIDAY: Joe Senser’s
  Sports Theater, 16605 County Road 24, Suite 210, Plymouth MN; SUNDAY: Joe
  Senser’s, 4217 American Blvd West, Bloomington, MN, contact: Nick Hugunin at nhugunin@lblco.com
• Raleigh — Macgregor Draft House, 107
  Edinburgh South, Cary, NC, phone: 919-461-1633; contact: Kim
  Braschwitz at kim.braschwitz@tekelec.com
• St. Louis — J. Bucks, 1000 Clark
  Avenue (Friday only), phone: 314-436-0394

• Denver — Sports Column, 1930 Blake
  Street, phone: 303-296-1930

• Kansas City — 810Zone, 4686 Broadway
  (Country Club Plaza), phone: 816-268-9663

• Washington D.C. — Penn Quarter Sports
  Tavern, 639 Indiana Avenue NW, phone: 202-347-6666
• Sarasota — Sports Page, 1319 Main
  St, Sarasota, FL, phone: 941-365-0469

• Cincinnati — Willie’s, 8740
  Montgomery Road, phone: 513-891-2204
• Charlotte, North Carolina — Fox and Hound, 15235 John J Delaney Drive (Ballantyne
  area), phone: 707-544-8902, contact: Brad Golke, BN’93
• Council Bluffs — Barley’s Bar and Grill 114 W Broadway phone: 712-322-0306, contact:
  TJ Patterman, AS’90, 402-740-8430 or tjpattermann@smithpeterson.com 
• Omaha — Tiger Tom’s Pub and Grill, 7103 Military Ave., Omaha, Neb., phone: 402-572-8400, Contact:
  Kris Covi, AS’95, phone: 402-896-4208