LL Cool J to entertain fans Sunday during the NCAA^® Men’s Final Four^® Weekend

INDIANAPOLIS, March 18, 2010 –The NCAA is proud to announce actor, author, recording artist, two-time Grammy Award-winner and NAACP Image Award-winner LL Cool J will perform during the NCAA Men’s Final Four weekend.  Big Dance Sunday will wrap up the free three-day concert series taking place in downtown Indianapolis’ White River State Park, April 2 – 4.

First introduced to the world in 1984 as a Def Jam Records flagship artist, LL Cool J has appeared on Billboard charts more than 42 times and was the first rap artist to amass 10 consecutive platinum-plus-selling albums. Currently, fans can see LL Cool J in the CBS drama “NCIS: Los Angeles.”

The Big Dance offers a unique music spectacular featuring today's chart toppers and headliners. Fans can enjoy music, entertainment and interactive areas all weekend, and there will be plenty of food and festivities to go along with this special concert event.  Official NCAA Corporate Champions AT&T and Coca-Cola are making it possible to offer all of this activity free to both local residents as well as visiting fans.

“We are bringing sports, music and entertainment fans together during the NCAA Men’s Final Four weekend,” said Greg Shaheen, NCAA senior vice president for basketball and business strategies. “LL Cool J is a great addition to The Big Dance line up, and we’re thrilled to be able to feature a talented, award-winning entertainer of his caliber at White River State Park in Indianapolis.”

Also joining LL Cool J on Sunday at the free concert series will be the globally-acclaimed band, the Goo Goo Dolls, who were previously announced.   The NCAA also reported that Grammy-award winning group Stone Temple Pilots will play at the Big Dance on Friday night, April 2, during the AT&T Block Party.   Also announced for the Big Dance was recording artist Daughtry and Country Music Association New Artist of the Year, Darius Rucker, both of whom will perform at the Coke Zero™ Countdown on Saturday, April 3.  

White River State Park, site of The Big Dance, is conveniently located in downtown Indianapolis. The Park is home to numerous tourist attractions, including the NCAA Hall of Champions, a facility that features sports exhibits and displays while explaining the academic and athletics mission of NCAA student-athletes and the mission of the Association.  There also will be a variety of new exhibits during the Men’s Final Four such as a vintage exhibit highlighting some of the best games throughout the history of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. 

The NCAA has an entire weekend of exciting activities for local residents and visitors during the Final Four, which includes the fan interactive event Bracket Town (Thursday night  through Monday night April 1-5) at the Indiana Convention Center and Final Four Friday (a free event beginning at noon April 2 at Lucas Oil Stadium).   More information on The Big Dance and all NCAA Men’s Final Four events and activities can be found at NCAA.com/finalfour.

In addition, look for iHoops throughout the Men's Final Four weekend - the official youth basketball initiative of the NCAA, NBA and USA Basketball.  – As part of iHoops introduction to Final Four fans, great giveaways and information about the initiative will be distributed throughout downtown Indianapolis.  Log on to iHoops.com today for basketball tips and drills, recruiting information, NCAA eligibility, iHoops programs, education for coaches and officials, health and wellness for the body and mind, cool videos and much more.  Also, be sure to visit iHoops.com and enter contests for a chance to win prizes.

About the NCAA

The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletics opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.NCAA.org and www.NCAA.com 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 — AT&T , Capital One and Coca-Cola — and the following elite companies as official Corporate Partners — Enterprise, The Hartford, Hershey’s, LG, Lowe’s, Planters, State Farm and UPS.