2023 Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic Field Announced

The ESPN Events men’s college basketball tournament will be played Nov. 16, 17 and 19 at TD Arena

ESPN Events has announced the eight-team field – Dayton, LSU, Houston, North Texas, St. John’s, Towson, Utah,
and Wake Forest – that will compete in the 2023 Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic. The annual men’s college
basketball tournament will be played November 16, 17 and 19 at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C.
Seven of the eight teams in the field are coming off winning records in the 2022-23 season. Houston comes to Charleston
as a new member of the Big 12 Conference. Last season they finished with one of the best records in school history (33-
4) and won their second straight American Athletic Conference regular-season championship. They capped off their
successful season by earning the #1 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

North Texas finished the 2022-23 season with a 31-7 record and won the National Invitation Tournament. St. John’s will
be led by new coach Rick Pitino. During his 35 seasons as as collegiate head coach, the Hall of Famer has a 834-293
overall record. Pitino was the first coach to take three different schools to the NCAA Final Four and first coach to win an
NCAA Championship at two different schools.

The field includes six of the 40 winningest coaches based on career Division I winning percentage among active coaches:
St. John’s Rick Pitino (.708), Wake Forest’s Steve Forbes (.700), Houston’s Kelvin Sampson (.673), Dayton’s Anthony
Grant (.647) and Utah’s Craig Smith (.614). Matchups, times and ESPN platform designations for will be announced at a
later date.

Owned and operated by ESPN Events, the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic is in its 15th year. Past Classic
champions include College of Charleston (2022), St. Bonaventure (2021), Florida (2020) and Virginia Tech (2019).
The family-friendly event offers teams a week of practice, play and experiences in and around historic Charleston.
Information on travel packages, tickets and more is available at the Charleston Classic website. Tickets will be available
for purchase following the announcement of the complete tournament schedule later this summer. In the meantime, fans
can secure first access to the best seats and all-tournament tickets by signing up for the pre-sale at
www.charlestonclassic.com.

About Shriners Hospitals for Children
Shriners Children’s is a leader in providing care for orthopedic conditions, burn injuries, spinal cord injuries and other spine
disorders, rehabilitation, sports injuries and craniofacial conditions. We also offer specialized services, including orthotics
and prosthetics and motion analysis. We strive to provide the care and support our patients need to reach their goals and
discover their full potential. All care and services are provided regardless of the families’ ability to pay or insurance status.
To view our full range of specialties, please visit shrinerschildrens.org.

ESPN Events
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In 2023, the 32-
event schedule includes four early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, 9 college basketball
events, a college gymnastics event, and a college softball event, which account for over 400 hours of live programming on
ESPN platforms, while reaching 60 million viewers and attracting more than 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the
portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With
satellite offices in more than 10 cities across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and
local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.
For more information, visit the official website, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube pages.