RML Russell CP Delaware

Spalding NEVER FLAT(TM) Duke Carolina Student Basketball Marathon's 58 hour, 3 day event to benefit Hoop Dreams Basketball Academy for Children with Life Threatening Illnesses ATLANTA, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Students from the biggest rivalry in college basketball are putting their differences aside and coming together for a good cause. Students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University will play a three day, 58-hour long continuous basketball game, in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record, all in the name of charity, beginning January 14. The Spalding NEVER FLAT Duke Carolina Student Basketball Marathon is the culmination of a year-long fundraising competition between the two schools that will raise funds for Hoop Dreams Basketball Academy, a nonprofit organization that works to help children with life-threatening illnesses regain a sense of normality in their lives through athletics. The event tips off at Fetzer Gymnasium at UNC-Chapel Hill beginning Saturday Jan. 14, 2006 at 8 a.m. and runs through Monday, Jan. 16 at 6 p.m. "Our fanatical basketball fans and students have truly rallied around this event to bring the rivalry to a whole new level in attempting to set a world record and raising funds for Hoop Dreams Basketball Academy. We're grateful to Spalding, whose brand is synonymous with this great game, for their contributions, and thrilled to help kids with life-threatening illnesses," stated Greg Richmond, a junior at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the organizer of the event. "This event has provided students and the student organizations from both universities with an incredible opportunity to collaborate and serve the community." As the event's title sponsor, Spalding, the largest basketball equipment supplier in the world and a division of Russell Corporation (NYSE:RML), will provide its new Spalding NEVER FLAT basketball, guaranteed to hold air up to 10 times longer than traditional basketballs, for the event. The Spalding NEVER FLAT official game ball is expected to be bounced more than 100,000 times throughout the world's longest basketball game. "The Spalding NEVER FLAT basketball sets a new standard for sustained performance, the same ideal shared by these college students attempting to set a world record for the world's longest basketball game," stated Christy Hedgpeth, Spalding senior manager of marketing. "When you think about it, Spalding, Duke, and North Carolina each share a storied history within the context of this great game of basketball. Teaming up in this manner to benefit a worthy cause makes perfect sense." For more information on the Spalding NEVER FLAT Duke-Carolina Basketball Marathon, please visit http://www.basketballmarathon.com/ or http://www.hoop-dreams.net/. To donate to either university's team, please visit http://www.basketballmarathon.com/involved/donate.htm. DATASOURCE: Spalding CONTACT: Lynn Luczkowski of Spalding, +1-413-478-1569, or ; or Greg Richmond, +1-919-357-7770, or Web site: http://www.russellcorp.com/ http://www.basketballmarathon.com/ http://www.hoop-dreams.net/ http://www.basketballmarathon.com/involved/donate.htm

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