March 11, 2001

LARAMIE, Wyo. -

University of Wyoming athletics director Lee Moon announced on Sunday night that the National Invitation Tournament has named Wyoming to its field of 32 teams for the 2001 NIT. Wyoming will host Pepperdine at 7:00 p.m., Mountain time on Wednesday, March 14.

Wyoming (20-9, 10-4 in the Mountain West Conference) finished in a tie for the Mountain West Conference title this season along with Brigham Young and Utah. Pepperdine (21-8, 12-2 in West Coast Conference) finished second in the West Coast to Gonzaga.

"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to still play," Head Coach Steve McClain said. "We had the team over to watch the NCAA selection show this afternoon, and we talked that if we had a chance to go to the NIT, we wanted to continue to play. Three more practice days and at least one more game is a great thing for a young team like ours.

"We know Pepperdine is a very good basketball team," McClain continued. "They are extremely athletic, and like to play the game at a pace similar to how we like to play. They won a lot of games with an exciting brand of basketball. They were in the NCAA tournament last year, and defeated Indiana, so they know how to win in the postseason."

For the Cowboys, it is their third NIT appearance in the last four seasons. UW's most recent appearance was in the 1998-99 season when they hosted USC in the first round, defeating the Trojans 81-77, before traveling to Eugene, Ore., where they lost to Oregon by a score of 72-93.

Wyoming holds an overall record of 6-6 in National Invitation Tournament. The Cowboys' best finish being in 1986 when UW placed second to Ohio State. The Cowboys have appeared in the NIT in 1968, 69, 86, 91, 98 and 99.

Tickets for Wednesday's game in Laramie will go on sale at 8:00 a.m., Monday, March 12. Ticket office hours will be from 8:00 a.m to 6:00 p.m. on both Monday and Tuesday, March 12-13. The ticket office will also be open from 8:00 a.m. up until gametime at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 14. Tickets are $17.00 for per seat, except for University of Wyoming students who can purchase tickets for $5.00 with a valid student ID. Ticket policy is set by the NIT Committee. All seating will be reserved seating. There will be no Knot Hole section. People wishing to purchase their tickets with a credit card will be charged a $1.00 processing fee.

The UW Athletics Ticket Office will allow season-ticket holders to purchase their same seats for the Pepperdine game up until 1:00 p.m., on Tuesday, March 13. After 1:00 p.m., all tickets will be available to be purchased on a first-come, first-serve basis. Regular-season parking passes will be honored. Gameday parking will be $5.