New college basketball event lands big sponsor

The Charlotte Sports Foundation and ESPN Events went shopping for a college basketball lead sponsor and landed on locally based department store chain Belk Inc., the companies confirmed to CBJ this week.

Belk will be the presenting sponsor of the inaugural Dick Vitale Invitational at Spectrum Center on Nov. 4. The neutral-site men’s college basketball game will honor Vitale, who, at age 86, remains active as one of the network’s game analysts — a role he has held since ESPN debuted in 1979. He’s also a longtime philanthropist, raising money and awareness to fight cancer and pediatric cancer.

ESPN Events is part of ESPN, the sports media giant owned by Walt Disney Co.

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