SHANGHAI – For the fifth consecutive year, the Conference continues its Pac-12 Global initiative with the Pac-12 China Game, presented by Alibaba Group, tipping off on Friday, Nov. 8 from the Baoshan Sports Center in Shanghai (Saturday, Nov. 9 local time). As part of the week-long experience, student-athletes, coaches and staff from both universities took part in educational activities related to Chinese culture, made a trip to Shanghai Disneyland as part of a community service event with the Yao Ming Foundation, traveled to the nearby historic city of Suzhou for exhibition games against local universities, were hosted by Alibaba for a day of learning at the company’s offices in Shanghai and are set to participate in the fifth annual China-U.S. University Sports & Education Summit.

 

During their trip to Alibaba on Thursday, Nov. 7, several representatives from both Arizona State and Colorado, along with the Pac-12 and Alibaba were available to the media to promote the signature event.

 

The 2019 edition will mark the fifth-straight year the Conference hosts a men’s basketball opening-week contest in China. The Pac-12 remains the only United States sports league, collegiate or professional, to host a regular season contest in China. While the matchup between Arizona State and Colorado this year will count towards regular season overall standings, the game will not count as a conference contest. The teams are slated to meet only once during the 2019-20 Pac-12 Conference regular season as part of the league’s 18-game rotation model.

 

Live coverage will be available in the U.S. via ESPN2 on Friday, Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m. PT / 8:30 p.m. MT, to Chinese audiences via Youku Tudou and to other international audiences via ESPN International.

 

Tipoff for the game is set for 11:30 a.m. local time in Shanghai on Saturday, Nov. 9. Fans can purchase tickets at en.Damai.cn (English) and Damai.cn (Chinese) or by visiting Pac-12.com/tickets.

 

Throughout the week, student-athletes, coaches and staff from both universities took part in numerous educational opportunities, with Arizona State student-athletes receiving academic credit for a course surrounding the international tour. On Tuesday, Nov. 5, both universities took part in a day at Shanghai Disneyland and later participated in exhibition games against local Chinese universities on Wednesday, Nov. 6 in Suzhou. As part of the exhibition contests, Colorado played against Peking University from Beijing while Arizona State matched up against Tsinghua University, also from Beijing. The games took place at the Suzhou New District Cultural & Sports Center.

 

On Thursday, Nov. 8, both Arizona State and Colorado, along with members from the Pac-12 and Alibaba Sports, participated in a trip to Alibaba offices in Shanghai. The day consisted of both teams participating in educational activities with key Alibaba personnel, providing for the opportunity to learn more about Chinese culture and customs. Concluding the day, both head coaches, team captains, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott and representatives from Alibaba were available to the media during a press conference.

 

For the fifth-straight year, the annual China-U.S. University Sports & Education Summit will take place on Friday, Nov. 9. Groups from both Arizona State and Colorado, as well as the Pac-12, are set to gather at Shanghai University of Finance & Economics. Panels throughout the three-hour-long event, beginning at 9 a.m. local time, will include:

 

The 2019 Pac-12 China Game will provide Arizona State the opportunity to engage students, alumni and partners in China as the university has over the last decade pursued a deepening relationship with China and Chinese students and universities through multiple collaborations. According to the 2018 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, Arizona State was ranked as the top public university of choice for international students, hosting more than 13,000 international scholars. More than 3,500 Chinese students at Arizona State represent the largest contingent of international students at the university.

Following back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and 20+ win seasons, head coach Bobby Hurley and the Sun Devils enter the 2019-20 campaign with key returners in senior Rob Edwards and juniors Remy Martin, Kimani Lawrence and Romello White to go along with newcomers Jaelen House – son of former Conference Player of the Year, NBA champion and current Pac-12 Network analyst Eddie House – and Jalen Graham.

 

For the Buffs, the 2019 Pac-12 China Game will mark the first intercollegiate regular season event for Colorado in China, from which more than 1,000 CU Boulder students hail, the largest enrollment from any foreign country at the state’s flagship campus.

Colorado enters the 2019-20 campaign with lofty expectations after being picked to finish second in the Pac-12 preseason media poll – the highest in program history. The Buffaloes are coming off of a 23-win season and return their entire starting core in seniors Lucas Siewert and Shane Gatling, juniors McKinley Wright IV and Tyler Bey, and sophomore Evan Battey. The Buffs are the first Pac-12 team to return two First Team All-Conference performers since 2009-10 in Bey and Wright IV.

 

Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA), the world’s largest online and mobile commerce company, will once again serve as the game’s presenting sponsor after extending its sponsorship through the 2020 Pac-12 China Game. In addition to event sponsorship, Alibaba will distribute the game live via their mobile and digital distribution platforms and Alibaba Sports Group will support the game in the areas of sponsorship, ticketing, advertising and marketing. The company’s leadership, including Alibaba co-founder and executive vice chairman Joe Tsai, will also host student-athletes and delegations from each university at the Alibaba headquarters in Shanghai for meetings with company leadership and an academic symposium on Chinese culture and customs.

 

Longtime Pac-12 partner Federation of University Sports of China (FUSC), which operates under China’s Ministry of Education and also extended its strategic collaboration with the Conference through 2020, will co-host the game while AEG and Alibaba Sports will operate the event.

 

For the third straight year, the Pac-12 has committed to donate $10,000 to the Yao Foundation. The Pac-12 and Yao Foundation have a strong mutual interest in supporting youth development, education, health and welfare. The Pac-12 China Game through this partnership has served as a platform to foster goodwill between the United States and China and to inspire the youth of China to pursue their dreams in both academics and athletics.

 

The event will again be played at Baoshan Sports Center, currently home to Shanghai Baoshan Dahua of the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association. More information on the Pac- 12 China Game, Pac-12 Global and the Pac-12 Conference can be found at Pac-12.com.

 

Founded in 2011, Pac-12 Global is an unprecedented effort to harness the passion and spirit of collegiate athletics to showcase the Pac-12 Conference and its member institutions around the world, while giving student-athletes access to transformative life experiences and impactful cultural exchanges. The initiative uses athletics to support the ambitious international strategies that many Pac-12 universities have embarked upon to extend their reach around the world. For more information on the initiative and its history, go to Pac-12.com/global.

 

The Conference has a tradition as the “Conference of Champions,” leading the nation in NCAA Championships in 53 of the last 59 years, with 526 NCAA team titles overall. The Conference comprises 12 leading U.S. universities - the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Colorado, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the University of Utah, the University of Washington and Washington State University. For more information on the Conference’s programs, member institutions, and Commissioner Larry Scott, go to Pac-12.com/conference.​