March 4, 2011

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The 2011 Zappos.com West Coast Conference Basketball Championships gets started today, Friday, March 4, with both the LMU men's and women's basketball teams in action. The women will start the action at 2:30 p.m., against San Diego; while the men will play at 6 p.m., against Portland. Lions' All-Access is in Vegas and offers a preview of the opening day.

Men's Preview
Women's Preview

Follow all the action all weekend at LMU's WCC Tournament Central. In addition, check out how else fans can follow the Lions.

BYUtv/ESPN3.COM TO AIR FIRST TWO DAYS
The West Coast Conference announced that the first two rounds of both the 2011 Zappos.com West Coast Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships will be produced and televised live by BYUtv on Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5. In addition, all eight of these early round games will be simulcast on both ESPN3.com and/or ESPN Full Court.

BYUtv is currently in 55 million homes nationwide in the basic tiers of DirecTV and Dish Network and approximately 500 other cable systems in the United States. BYUtv is also seen in over 140 countries across the globe. A comprehensive list of where to find BYUtv is available at http://www.byutv.org/about/getbyu.

The early round championships coverage is in addition to ESPN's continuing WCC Basketball Championships coverage of the men's semifinals and final and women's final on Sunday, March 6 and Monday, March 7.

SMARTBUG TO GIVE FANS INSIDE LOOK
Fans attending this week's 2011 Zappos.com West Coast Conference Basketball Championships at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas can follow the game in greater detail thanks to two new features being introduced by the WCC.

The WCC has teamed with SmartBug radio to provide fans with the real-time radio broadcasts from all eight schools during every game of this year's championships. Fans who purchase the three-channel SmartBug Personal Listening device from merchandise stands at the Orleans Arena can also hear the national radio call provided by the WCC and its broadcast partners for all 14 men's and women's contests. With the addition of SmartBug, WCC fans can now enjoy the same listening experience available to people who attend the NCAA Final Four and many other major sporting events. This enables fans to listen to the same broadcasters who've covered their favorite teams all year long and to whom they've come to trust for accurate descriptions along with timely analysis.

SmartBugs can be purchased for $15 (three-channel model) or 12 each (two-channel model, features only school's radio calls). SmartBug provides a radio feed to fans via pocket-sized listening devices in the Orleans Arena seating bowl, luxury suite, and concourse areas. Each radio comes with batteries and a headset included.