NCAA® AND ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS LAUNCH MIDDLE SCHOOL MADNESS
Local Students Can Win 2007 Final Four Tickets and Other Great Prizes

ATLANTA -- December 21, 2006 -- Atlanta Public Schools' students in grades six through eight can join the excitement of the 2007 NCAA Men's Final Four® and learn valuable lessons about good sportsmanship by participating in the 2007 NCAA Middle School Madness Program. The program, which includes classroom curriculum and an essay and poster contest, will provide four lucky grand prize winners with tickets to attend the Final Four games and other special events.

The classroom curriculum features lesson plans in the subjects of language arts, math, social studies, physical education and health, art and science -- as well as basketball trivia and good sportsmanship exercises. The curriculum will be available on the NCAA Web site, www.ncaa.org, allowing teachers nationwide to benefit from the program's valuable lessons.

The Atlanta Local Organizing Committee will judge the essay and poster contest, which is open only to middle school students in the Atlanta Public Schools system. Four grand prize winners -- two essay contest winners and two poster contest winners -- each will receive two tickets to the 2007 Final Four games, taking place at the Georgia Dome on March 31 and April 2. Grand prize winners also will receive basketball equipment from the NCAA, and will be honored at the Salute Presentation, Thursday, March 29, and the NCAA Dome Dribble to Hoop City® on April 1. The winning entries will be displayed all weekend at Hoop City, the NCAA's fan festival, at the Georgia World Congress Center.

The program kicks off in January 2007, at which time the contest information will be made available to the participating schools. Judging will take place in mid March, and winners will be announced on March 13.

"We are thrilled that the NCAA has selected the Atlanta Public School system to participate in the 2007 NCAA Final Four Middle School Madness program," said Anna Slive, executive director, Atlanta Local Organizing Committee. "This program provides a unique opportunity for middle school students to creatively express their definition of sportsmanship."

For more information about Middle School Madness, contact the Atlanta Local Organizing Committee at 404-223-8123 or visit www.atlanta.net/finalfour.

About the NCAA

The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 380,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 49,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. For more information, visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaasports.com.

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