Memorial Health Joins as Title Sponsor of Downtown Classic

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Memorial Health, a part of University of Colorado Health, will be the title sponsor for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Downtown Classic Jan. 5 at the historic Colorado Springs City Auditorium.

The funds from the Downtown Classic, which features UCCS men's and women's basketball teams in a doubleheader against Colorado State-Pueblo, will be directed to the redevelopment of the venue at the corner of Kiowa and Weber in downtown Colorado Springs.

"Memorial is pleased to be the title sponsor of the inaugural Downtown Classic," said Memorial Hospital CEO Mike Scialdone. "Memorial and UCCS have a shared history through the Beth-El College of Nursing and a strong tradition of serving this community. We look forward, as a proud part of University of Colorado Health, to continuing that tradition,"

The women's game begins off at 5:30 p.m., and will feature the two teams tied for second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings. Both teams will enter the game with an 8-2 overall record and the best starts in program history for both schools.

The men's game will follow at 7:30 p.m., and both teams will look to build winning streaks after finishing the 2012 calendar year with victories. The Mountain Lions are leading the RMAC in rebounding margin for the conference season under first year Head Coach Jeff Culver.

The "Inaugural Downtown Classic, presented by Memorial Health, part of University of Colorado Health," will be a part of the Steel & Silver Series all-sport competition between the two schools. UCCS has won the competition for all seven years, and holds a 16-0 lead in the series through the fall season.

Tickets for the event will go on sale Friday, and can be purchased online through GoMountainLions.com. The game will be priced the same as UCCS home events ($10 for adults, $5 for non-UCCS students with ID, seniors age 55 and older, military and children ages 7-18). UCCS faculty, staff, alumni and students can also reserve their free tickets through the online system.

Memorial Hospital, now part of University of Colorado Health, has been part of the Colorado Springs community since 1904. Memorial has two hospitals, Memorial Hospital Central and Memorial Hospital North, and more than a dozen facilities throughout the Pikes Peak Region. University of Colorado Health is a Front Range health system that delivers the highest quality patient care with the highest quality patient experience.

University of Colorado Health combines Memorial Hospital, Poudre Valley Hospital, Medical Center of the Rockies, (formerly Poudre Valley Medical Group), and University of Colorado Hospital into an organization dedicated to building a healthier community and providing unmatched patient care in the Rocky Mountain West. Separately, these institutions can continue providing superior care to patients and service to the communities they serve. Together, they push the boundaries of medicine, attracting more research funding, hosting more clinical trials and improving health through innovation.

UCCS is one of the fastest growing universities in the national and offers 36 bachelor's degrees, 19 master's and five doctoral degrees. UCCS enrolls about 9,800 students on campus annually and another 2,000 in online programs.