March Madness is heating up and to add more flames to the fire, the Farmers Branch 2012 SWAC Basketball Tournament, presented by Verizon, comes to North Texas March 6-10.
It will all be taking place at the Special Events Center in Garland, Texas beginning Monday through Saturday. The Southwestern Athletic Conference, headquartered in Birmingham, AL, is made up of historically black universities throughout the south who participate in the NCAA’s Division 1. It contains schools from 5 states: Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas. The winners of this tournament will receive the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
Eight teams have qualified for the 2012 SWAC Tournament. Unfortunately Southern and Grambling won’t be playing since they received one-year postseason bans in men’s basketball.
SWAC Schools:
Alabama A&M
Alabama State
Alcorn
Grambling State
Jackson State
Mississippi Valley State
Prairie View
Southern (Baton Rouge)
Texas Southern
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
Follow the 2012 SWAC Tournament Bracket HERE!
Since teams and college basketball fans will be in North Texas for about 6 days they might as well have some entertainment in between the games. From comedy shows and golf tournament to college expos and live concerts, there is an entire week of events surrounding the basketball tournament. Here are some of the ones worth mentioning:
Monday, Mar 6
Charity Golf Tournament – 7am – 12noon
$340/Team
Pecan Hollow Golf Course (4501 14th St, Plano)
Click here to Register.
Erykah Badu will perform Live Wed Night at the Prophet Bar
Wednesday, Mar 7
College Expo – 8am
Special Events Center
Live Hip Hop Concert
featuring Erykah Badu & DJ Premiere – 10pm-2am
$10
The Prophet Bar (2548 Elm St, Dallas)
Thursday, Mar 8
College Expo – 8am
Special Events Center
HBCU Alumni Mixer – 5pm-12am
Live performances by Anthony David, Logan 7 Just a Few Cats
$5
Beamers Night Club
(2343 Walnut Hill Ln, Dallas)
Friday, Mar 9
Step-off Competition
$10 – standing
$15 – seated
$20 – day of events
The Palladium (1135 S. Lamar St, Dallas)
Annual Ballers of Comedy – 7:30–11:30pm
Damon Williams, Rod Thompson,
Jeremiah “JJ” Williamson & Kelly “K Dubb” Walker
$20-$30
Dallas Black Academy of Arts & Letters (650 S. Griffin St., Dallas)
Lance Gross hosts the Official SWAC After Party Sat night
Saturday, Mar 10
FREE Super Saturday featuring Miguel – 10am – 1pm
Family Fun: Battle of the Bands, Step Show, Slam Dunk Contest, Vendor Village & Live performance by Miguel)
Special Events Center
The Official After Party Hosted by Lance Gross – 9pm – 2am
$15 cover
Victory Tavern
(2501 N. Houston St, Dallas)
**For a complete schedule of the entertainment events click here.
To check game results click here.
The Championship Game for the Women will be Saturday at 5pm and the Men’s will be at 7pm.
Click Here for Tickets and Tournament Packages!
Special Events Center - Garland, TX
~2012 SWAC Tournament~
Special Events Center
4999 Naaman Forest Boulevard
Garland, TX 75040
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