College Basketball Fans Encouraged to Vote for Naismith Student Section of the Year Award

ATLANTA, Jan. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- With the college basketball season heating up, the buzz is growing in anticipation of NCAA® March Madness® and the Naismith Student Section of the Year Award, where fans across the nation will have a say in determining the best student section in college basketball.

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By visiting www.facebook.com/ILoveCollegeHoops fans can vote once per day for one of the nearly 160 basketball schools that submitted a nomination. The Naismith Student Section of the Year Award, which is presented through a partnership of The Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), an affiliate of IMG College, and the Atlanta Tipoff Club, administrators of the Naismith Awards, is dedicated to celebrating fans that love college hoops and provide support to their college basketball team with devotion and passion.

The Naismith Student Section of the Year Award will be determined through two rounds of public votes, combined with a scoring of finalists by the Naismith Awards Board of Selectors, which will review criteria such as the student section's name and attendance, as well as photos, video, and a write-up submitted by the nominating school.  Complete details on the selection process can be found at facebook.com/ilovecollegehoops.

"In just the second year of the award, we are excited that twice the number of Division I basketball schools have submitted nominations touting their student section as the best in college basketball," said Eric Oberman, Executive Director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club.  "Now it's time for students, alumni, and fans of these schools across the country to make their votes count and help their school win this award."

"College basketball student sections showcase the emotion, energy, and passion that define what it means for a team to truly have a home court advantage, and we want to celebrate that," added Catherine Gammon, Senior Vice President of Brand Development for CLC. "We encourage all fans to vote to cast their vote and ensure their favorite school gets recognized for the spirit they display in supporting their team."

The winning student section gets bragging rights, while the winning school will receive $10,000 to be used in its general scholarship fund.

Last year's basketball season marked the first-ever Naismith Student Section of the Year Award, with The University of Kansas serving as the official winner of the competition.

Participating schools include:
Air Force
Alabama Birmingham
Albany SUNY
Alcorn State
Arizona
Arizona State
Arkansas
Arkansas State
Auburn
Baylor
Boise State
Boston College
Bowling Green
Bucknell
BYU
Cal
Cal Davis
Cal State Northridge
California Polytechnic State University
Central Connecticut State
Cincinnati
Citadel (The)
Clemson
Colorado
Colorado State
Dayton
Denver
Drexel
East Carolina
Eastern Illinois
Eastern Kentucky
Florida
Florida A&M
Florida Atlantic
Florida State
Fordham
Fresno State
Furman
George Washington
Georgetown
Georgia
Georgia State
Georgia Tech
Gonzaga
Hawaii
Hofstra
Howard
Idaho
Idaho State
Illinois
Illinois State
Indiana
Iowa State
James Madison
Kansas
Kentucky
LaSalle
Liberty
Long Beach State
Longwood
Louisiana at Lafayette
Louisiana Monroe
Louisiana Tech
Louisville
LSU
Marquette
Marshall
Maryland
Memphis
Miami
Michigan
Michigan State
Middle Tennessee State
Minnesota
Missouri
Missouri State
Montana
Montana State
Morgan State
Murray State
NC State
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Mexico
New Mexico State
Norfolk State
North Carolina Greensboro
North Florida
North Texas
Northern Arizona
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Oakland
Oklahoma State
Ole Miss
Oregon State
Pacific
Penn State
Pepperdine
Pittsburgh
Portland State
Providence
Purdue 
Quinnipiac
Rhode Island
Rice
Rutgers
Saint Joseph's
Saint Louis
Saint Mary's College of California
San Diego State
San Jose State
Santa Clara
SMU
South Carolina
South Carolina State
South Florida
Southern
Southern Illinois
Southern Miss
Southern Utah
St. Bonaventure
Stephen F. Austin
Syracuse
TCU
Temple
Tennessee
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas El Paso
Texas State
Texas Tech
Toledo
Tulane
Tulsa
UCF
UCONN
UNC - Charlotte
UNLV 
US Military Academy
UT Arlington
UT Chattanooga
UT Martin
Utah
Utah State
Valparaiso
Vanderbilt
VCU
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
Washington State
Weber State
West Virginia
Western Kentucky
Wichita State
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Xavier

About The Collegiate Licensing Company
CLC is a division of global sports and entertainment company IMG. Founded in 1981, CLC is the oldest and largest collegiate trademark licensing agency in the U.S. and currently represents nearly 200 colleges, universities, bowl games, athletic conferences, The Heisman Trophy and the NCAA. The mission of CLC is to be the guiding force in collegiate trademark licensing and one of the top sports licensing firms in the country. CLC is dedicated to being a center of excellence in providing licensing services of the highest quality to its member institutions, licensees, retailers and consumers. Headquartered in Atlanta (Ga.), CLC is a full-service licensing representative, which employs a staff of more than 80 licensing professionals who provide full-service capabilities in brand protection, brand management, and brand development. For more information on CLC, visit: www.clc.com or www.imgworld.com.

About The Atlanta Tipoff Club
The Atlanta Tipoff Club, an Atlanta Sports Council property, is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club, founded during the 1956-57 season, has presented the Naismith Trophy every year since UCLA's Lew Alcindor first won the award in 1969.  Old Dominion's Anne Donovan won the inaugural Women's Naismith Trophy in 1983.

The Naismith Award has become the most prestigious award in all of college basketball, recognizing the Men's and Women's College Basketball Player of the Year, Men's and Women's College Basketball Coach of the Year, as well as awards for outstanding achievement in high school basketball, officiating, and contribution to the game.

SOURCE The Collegiate Licensing Company