Sun Belt Dribble Drive, Sports Fest set for March 16 in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS – The 2019 Sun Belt Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships presented by First Bank and Trust might be the marquee event at the Lakefront Arena, but the conference’s annual Dribble Drive and Sports Fest will be the center of attention on March 16.

The annual event, a part of the Sun Belt Sports Fest, is scheduled for Saturday, March 16, beginning at 2 p.m. at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. The Sun Belt Sports Fest takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Lakefront Arena grounds with the Dribble Drive scheduled to commence at 2 p.m. on that Saturday.

Children ages 3-12 are welcome to join in on the fun and dribble their basketballs starting from around the venue grounds to inside the Lakefront Arena where the championship games will be taking place. Each Dribble Drive participant will receive a free t-shirt, a free basketball and two tickets to the March 16 men’s semifinal games slated for 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Click HERE to register for the 2019 Dribble Drive. Pre-registration is recommended. Walk-up registration will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 16.

The Sun Belt Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships presented by First Bank and Trust are set for March 11-17 with ten men’s teams and ten women’s teams vying for Sun Belt tournament titles and automatic bids to the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships. First round games will be held on Monday, March 11, at campus sites for the women and Tuesday, March 12 at campus sites for the men.

The winners of the first round games will head to New Orleans.

Single-session tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children ages 3-12. A children’s ticket also includes a hot dog and a drink. Each session consists of two games, with the exception of the men’s and women’s Championship games.

Tickets are available for purchase online at www.Ticketmaster.com or through the Lakefront Arena box office by calling 504-280-7222.

2019 SUN BELT MEN’S AND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
All Times Central and Subject to Change

Note: First round games 1 and 2 will be played on campus. The women’s first round will be played on Monday, March 11, and the men’s first round will be played on Tuesday, March 12.

Wednesday, March 13
Session 1
Women’s Game 3 — 11:30 a.m.
Women’s Game 4 — 2:00 p.m.

Thursday, March 14
Session 2
Women’s Game 5 — 11:30 a.m.
Women’s Game 6 — 2:00 p.m.
Session 3
Men’s Game 3 — 5:00 p.m.
Men’s Game 4 — 7:30 p.m.

Friday, March 15
Session 4
Women’s Game 7 — 11:30 a.m.
Women’s Game 8 — 2:00 p.m.
Session 5
Men’s Game 5 — 5:00 p.m.
Men’s Game 6 — 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 16
Session 6
Women’s Championship — 11:00 a.m.
Session 7
Men’s Game 7 — 3:00 p.m.
Men’s Game 8 — 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 17
Session 8
Men’s Championship — 1:00 p.m.

About the Sun Belt Conference
Entering the second decade of the new millennium, the Sun Belt Conference continues to challenge itself, and its competitors, in all aspects of intercollegiate athletics. Not content with being simply the youngest football conference in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the conference has shown that it can rise each and every season that comes along. And since the birth of the league as an FBS member in 2001, the evidence is clear that the conference is indeed rising above competitors and peer conferences.

Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisiana, ULM, South Alabama, Texas State and Troy give the league 10 football members. Little Rock and UTA compete as Sun Belt members in sports other than football.