The ESPNU Road to the Championship will be played Nov. 17 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, ESPN announced today. National powers Connecticut, Tennessee, Texas and Texas Tech will take part in the doubleheader televised by ESPN2 and ESPNU.

Five-time national champion Connecticut will take on Texas in a game televised by ESPN2. Tennessee, which has won eight NCAA titles including the past two, faces Texas Tech in the other game on ESPNU. The doubleheader will be played at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, the same city that will host the NCAA Women’s Final Four at the end of the 2009-10 season at the Alamodome.

Tickets for the ESPNU Road to the Championship will go on sale today. Ticket prices are $8, $13, $23 and $38, and tickets can be purchased at www.SASilverStars.com, www.ATTcenter.com, www.Ticketmaster.com or by calling the AT&T Center at (210) 224-9600.

“We are excited to host some of the most storied programs in women's basketball in San Antonio,” said Clint Overby, senior director of events, ESPN Regional Television. “The combination of the AT&T Center along with the city of San Antonio creates a wonderful backdrop to what will be a great showcase event.”

San Antonio will be hosting its second NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2009-10. The city also hosted the 2002 event at the Alamodome, with Connecticut winning the championship.

“We are excited to be hosting these amazing women’s college basketball teams at the AT&T Center,” said John Sparks, VP and General Manager of the AT&T Center. “It allows us to showcase their talents and expose a new set of fans to the arena.”

Travel packages are available exclusively through Anthony Travel, the official travel provider for the ESPNU Road to the Championship. Fans can make their reservations by visiting www.AnthonyTravel.com and searching “ESPNU” or by calling 1-888-632-6951.

“We are very excited and honored to be opening our season against national power Tennessee in the 2010 Final Four host city, San Antonio,” said Texas Tech head coach Kristy Curry. “San Antonio does a great job of hosting and supporting NCAA events. We are excited for our team and Lady Raider Nation to have this type of game early in the season.”

“We enjoyed playing in the 2007 ESPNU Tip-Off in Tampa vs. Big 12 foe Oklahoma, and we were fortunate to revisit the Tampa-St. Pete area for the 2008 Final Four,” said Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt. “Likewise, I look forward to playing in the 2009 ESPNU Invitational vs. Texas Tech in San Antonio, home of the 2010 Final Four. It will be an exciting field and will showcase four of the nation’s top teams in two great contests."

“It's important to test yourself early against elite teams to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses,” said Texas head coach Gail Goestenkors. “Testing ourselves at the beginning of the season against Connecticut will not only help us prepare for the Big 12 Conference season, it will help us better ourselves as a team. Not only are we beginning the season at San Antonio, but we also hope to end our season in San Antonio."

“I think it is terrific to have an opportunity to participate in an event that features quality competition and positively promotes the game in the way the ESPNU Road to the Championship has the potential to do,” said Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma. “It should be exciting for players, coaches and fans to have the chance to compete at the site of that season’s Final Four.”

The ESPNU Road to the Championship, formerly known as the ESPNU Invitational, was first played Nov. 15, 2007 in St. Petersburg, Fla. In that doubleheader, Duke defeated South Florida, 89-52, and Tennessee edged Oklahoma, 70-67. The Lady Vols returned to St. Petersburg at the end of that season to win the NCAA championship.

ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership
The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 1,000 telecasts of sporting events. Programming includes football, basketball, NCAA events, golf and NHRA events accounting for more than 2,200 live and/or original hours of programming. In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network; syndication rights-holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (e.g. – BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, Sun Belt, WAC).

ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events, including collegiate football events: the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas); New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Papajohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); Las Vegas Bowl; Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); St. Petersburg Bowl; the MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.) ; and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards; collegiate basketball events: the 76 Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); Charleston Classic (S.C.); Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); O’Reilly Auto Parts All-College Classic (Oklahoma City); SEC/BIG EAST Invitational; and the ESPNU BracketBusters; as well as the ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway. For more information, visit www.espnplus.com.

ABOUT AT&T CENTER
The AT&T Center opened in 2002 and is operated by Spurs Sports and Entertainment. The AT&T Center is home to the NBA 4-time world championship San Antonio Spurs, the American Hockey League San Antonio Rampage, the WNBA San Antonio Silverstars and the annual San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. The AT&T Center is one of the nation’s leading entertainment venues hosting acts such as George Straight, The Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Josh Groban, Shakira, Trans-Siberian Orchestra and many more. Other events held at the Center include WWE, the Harlem Globetrotters and The Wiggles.