ROCK HILL, SC--Jay Bilas, the well-known basketball television analyst for ESPN, will be the keynote speaker for the 2010 Winthrop Tip-Off Dinner which will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 9, at 6:30 in the new DiGiorgio Campus Center Banquet Hall. The men's and women's basketball teams will be introduced that evening and the 2010 Big South championship rings will be presented to the men's team.
Tickets for the event are now on sale for $20 for adults and $10 for children age 10 and under. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets as soon as possible because seating for the event is limited. The deadline for purchasing tickets is Friday, Nov. 5. To purchase or reserve tickets, contact Sharen DuBard, director of Eagle Club and Varsity Club, at 803-323-2129, ext. 6218, or visit the ticket office on the lower level of the Winthrop Coliseum.
Bilas, the former Duke standout and attorney, joined ESPN as a college basketball game analyst beginning with the 1995-96 season. Currently, Bilas serves as a game analyst, working more than 40 games a year, and studio analyst for ESPN's weekly Saturday College GameDay road show, ESPN and ESPN2's College Gamenight (formerly, College Hoops Tonight), halftimes, post-games and more. In addition, Bilas is a regular contributor to ESPNEWS, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com and Mobile ESPN. He also provides analysis for ESPN's coverage of the NBA Draft, the NCAA Final Four and select SportsCenter stories, utilizing both his basketball and legal backgrounds. He has served as game analyst during the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship for CBS Sports since 2003.
In addition to his extensive game and studio responsibilities, Bilas worked as an ESPN and ESPN2 sideline reporter at major college basketball games from 1996-98. Prior to the launch of the weekly College GameDay series, he provided game analysis for ABC Sports college basketball telecasts. In 2000, Bilas was an ESPN NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament studio analyst and in 1999, he served as the network's lead WNBA game analyst. From 1993-96, Bilas worked as an analyst for Raycom/Jefferson Pilot and the Duke Radio Network.
In 2007, Bilas was nominated for an Emmy Award as Outstanding Studio Analyst, received the “Best Column of the Year” award from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and received the “Distinguished Young Alumni Award” from Duke Law School.
The 6-foot-8 Bilas was a four-year starter for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke from 1983-86. As a forward/center, he finished his career with 1,062 points, 692 rebounds and was third among Dukes all-time career field goal percentage leaders (56 percent). As a senior, Bilas was a member of the 37-win Duke squad that played in the NCAA National Championship Game in 1986.
Bilas was one of two student-athletes in the nation appointed to the NCAA's Long-Range Planning Committee (1984-86). He appeared on CBS's Face the Nation on April 7, 1985 to discuss academics and athletics. During summers, he worked as a production assistant for ABC Sports, which included stints at the 1983 PGA Championship, the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and in 1984 and 85 with Monday Night Baseball.
Bilas graduated from Duke in 1986 with a degree in political science. He later went on to graduate from the Duke University Law School in 1992.
A 1986 NBA draft pick of the Dallas Mavericks, Bilas played professionally in Italy (1987-88) and Spain (1989) before returning to Duke as an assistant coach from 1990-92-the Blue Devils made three NCAA Championship Game appearances during his tenure as a coach, winning the championship in 91 and 92.
Bilas has participated as a coach in both Operation Hardwood Hoops With The Troops basketball tournaments in which NCAA coaches and sports personalities coach military basketball teams at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. He was one of eight coaches in 2005 and one of 12 in 2006. He has been an attorney with the Charlotte, N.C., firm of Moore & Van Allen, PLLC since 1992.
