Hokie ClubBLACKBURG, Va. – ESPN personality Doug Gottlieb will be the featured speaker at the annual National Bank of Blacksburg/Virginia Tech Basketball Tip-off Banquet, on Oct. 24, 2010 at the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center. A cocktail hour begins at 6 p.m. and the dinner begins at 7 p.m.
Gottlieb, a native of Orange County, Calif., is a college basketball analyst on ESPN television networks and is host of ESPN Radio’s The Doug Gottlieb Show. Gottlieb was the analyst last season on the Hokies’ victories at Penn State and against Seton Hall in Cancun, Mexico.
Before embarking on a career in sports media, Gottlieb played point guard for Eddie Sutton and the Oklahoma State Cowboys, leading the nation in assists in 1999, and finishing second in 2000. He graduated in 2000 with a degree in marketing, holding every assist record at OSU and in the Big 12 Conference.
After graduation, Gottlieb played professionally in France, Russia and Israel, and in the USBL, CBA, ABA. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers’ summer team in 2001. Gottlieb won an NEBL championship as well as a Russian Basketball Federation Championship.
“What is great about Coach Greenberg is in spite of all his success, he is still the same focused and driven coach that built up Long Beach State and South Florida,” Gottlieb said. “His affable demeanor, his understanding of the 21st century athlete and his integration of his entire life into the culture of Virginia Tech are unique virtues that make Virginia Tech a rising power in the ACC”.
The banquet, sponsored annually by the National Bank of Blacksburg, will again this year feature both a silent and a live auction. Along with various sports memorabilia, fans will have the opportunity to bid on seats on the bench for selected ACC games.
“We are excited to have Doug Gottlieb as our keynote speaker at this year’s Tip-Off Banquet,” head coach Seth Greenberg said. “Doug has become one of the most prominent analyst for ESPN College Basketball. Has a great perspective on the game and is not afraid to share his opinions and insights with the basketball community.”
The program will also feature commments from Greenberg and a video highlighting the Virginia Tech 2009-10 season and previewing Tech’s 2010-11 season.
Corporate tables of eight are available for $1,300 apiece and, in addition to the eight guests, will include current Virginia Tech players, coaches or former Tech players or coaches. Individual seatings are available for $200 each. Seating is limited. For more information or to reserve a table, please contact Sharon Spradlin in the Virginia Tech Men’s Basketball Office at (540) 231-6725.