The NJ/DEJunior College Tip-Off Classic was recently established as a four-year agreement between Roadrunner Athletics and Delaware Technical Community College -- and the two schools are just one day from holding the Inaugural event.
The Roadrunner Men's and Women's Basketball teams will play Wednesday evening with the women's tip-off at 5:00 pm followed by the men's contest at 7:00 pm.
Both RCSJ Executive Director of Athletic Brian Rowan and Del Tech's Michael Ryan are excited to formalize this agreement.
"We are very excited to lock in Del Tech for a number of years to open our basketball seasons," said Rowan. "Lots of history between the programs and we welcome the cross-state rivalry and hope for great games across the board. We are looking for partnerships like this with programs that will be ready to play."
Commented Michael Ryan, Collegewide Director of Athletics for Del Tech:
"Del Tech is excited to connect with RCSJ-Gloucester in the Tip Off Classic," said Ryan. "We feel the agreement will promote camaraderie and sportsmanship between two great institutions and create excitement about the upcoming season."
Roadrunner Women's Basketball Coach Rich Cooper is also prepping to begin his season against a quality opponent.
"Del Tech has a great program and this is a plus for our program," said Cooper. "We want to schedule the top teams from around the region, and this will be quite a test for us over the next four years."
Through the years the two colleges have played often but now formalizing this agreement helps both colleges with planning for future seasons. Both programs have enjoyed tremendous success in basketball but especially the men's programs at Del Tech and RCSJ. Ron Burgess led Del Tech to multiple regional titles and hundreds of wins during his tenure and Steve Solomone did the same for RCSJ-Gloucester. Both programs are looking to reclaim positions at the top of Region 19 and their conferences this season and moving forward.
Both games will be featured on Region 19 Sports Network.
Watch for season previews on the Roadrunner Men's and Women's Basketball seasons to appear on RCRoadrunners.com prior to the Tip-Off Classic!