CHICAGO --- rEvolution, a Chicago-based sports marketing and media agency, today announced a strategic partnership with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to offer unique hospitality to the semi-final and final games of the 2006 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship in Indianapolis. Hosted at the Indiana Convention Center adjacent to the RCA Dome, the Tournament Club program is designed to provide organizations with the opportunity to obtain comprehensive packages which include hospitality, tickets and hotel accommodations, thereby eliminating reliance on third-party ticket brokers.

The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, the second-most-watched sporting event in the United States behind the Super Bowl, is one of the most sought-after event tickets in the sporting industry. This program marks the first time in the event’s history the NCAA will offer The Tournament Club, a unique and convenient hospitality venue adjacent to the RCA Dome. The Tournament Club will allow selected groups the opportunity to experience the NCAA Men’s Final Four at a level similar to sanctioned PGA and Super Bowl hospitality programs. The NCAA will continue to offer special hospitality access to its Corporate Champions and Partners as part of the exclusive NCAA marketing program.

The Tournament Club offers four separate packages at varying levels including the President’s Club, Executive Club, Ambassador Level and the Final Four Experience. The Tournament Club hospitality packages include limited tickets to both the national semi-final games on April 1st and the national championship game on April 3rd, hotel accommodations during the tournament weekend and admittance to a custom event experience at The Tournament Club. The proceeds will be utilized to enhance the NCAA’s 88 national championships and elevate the NCAA’s Corporate Champion/Corporate Partner Program.

“We are committed as an organization to enrich NCAA basketball through the fan experience,” said Greg Shaheen, vice president of Division I men’s basketball and championship strategies, National Collegiate Athletic Association. “The Tournament Club has been designed to offer a new ticket package for fans that captures the spirit and prestige of college sports’ most respected competition. This new program also affords the NCAA a measure of greater control over the secondary market for these tickets in a way that returns benefits to our programs rather than to those who have no connection to the NCAA’s mission. In doing so, the NCAA and CBS will continue to enhance unique in-venue access and opportunities for our Corporate Champions and Partners.”

“The NCAA recognizes that protecting the integrity of and access to one of its most important assets, the Men’s Final Four, is crucial to the growth of its student-athlete programs,” said John Rowady, president of rEvolution. “We are proud to partner with the NCAA to offer NCAA basketball fans the opportunity to enjoy the championship games with an unforgettable experience. The NCAA should be commended for providing additional services to its patrons to advance NCAA programs.”

To learn more about this unique new program, visit www.ncaasports.com/hospitality. To purchase The Tournament Club ticket and hospitality packages, call 888.207.4007.

About rEvolution
A full-service sports marketing and media agency, rEvolution utilizes the platform of major sporting events, leagues, teams and athletes to promote its clients’ consumer and business-to-business brands. rEvolution is Chicago-based with a global reputation. rEvolution’s marketing division offers such services as creative strategy, sponsorship negotiation, branding, event marketing, promotion, research and hospitality. rEvolution’s media selling, buying and planning division, called the rEvolution Sports Network, provides custom-designed, on-air strategies for advertisers interested in reaching national and regional audiences through college football and basketball, World Cup Soccer, as well as other major sports programming vehicles.

Unencumbered by a network of holding company interests to consider, rEvolution, the mid-sized, independently owned agency, joins forces with clients in creating and implementing business-building ideas. Three long-standing industry experts, who possess more than 50 years of collective global sports experience and relationships, lead rEvolution’s skilled team of professionals. More information about rEvolution and the experiences created and executed is available at www.revolutionworld.com.

About NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 360,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 49,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA Championships in Division I, II and III sports. Visit www.ncaa.org for more details about the Association, its goals and members, and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.

The NCAA is proud to have the following elite companies as official Corporate Champions and Corporate Partners: Cingular, Coca-Cola, Pontiac; and DiGiorno, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, The Hartford, Lowe’s and State Farm.