NEWARK, NJ – (June 28, 2018) – Prudential Center has announced that it will host the fourth annual Never Forget Tribute Classic presented by United Rentals on Saturday, December 14. This year's tournament features a doubleheader between four high-profile universities: the Delaware Blue Hens will take on the Villanova Wildcats and the Mississippi State Bulldogs will face the Kansas State Wildcats. Both of the highly-anticipated match-ups will air exclusively on ESPN, and will also be available through the ESPN app. Official broadcast and game times will be announced at a future date.

Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, July 26 at 10 a.m. EST and Ticketmaster.com. Tickets will be available in person at Prudential Center Box Office on Monday, July 29 at 11 a.m. EST should inventory remain. To sign up for Prudential Center pre-sale, fans may click HERE.

The Never Forget Tribute Classic will partner with SoliderStrong, which was created to support the men and women of the armed forces that sprung into action, protecting our freedom in the wake of 9/11. As the charitable partner of the Never Forget Tribute Classic, SoldierStrong will continue to service American veterans by providing resources that aid both mental and physical rehabilitation, as well as by assisting with scholarship grants for domestic and foreign affair grants. For more information, visit www.soldierstrong.org

"We are honored to participate in the Never Forget Tribute Classic at the Prudential Center," said University of Delaware Head Coach Martin Ingelsby. "This will be a tremendous opportunity for us to compete against an outstanding program in Villanova while also supporting a worthy cause."

The Blue Hens are coming off a 17-16 season, finishing fifth overall in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The Blue Hens have reached the NCAA Tournament five times since 1992. Delaware will be taking on the Villanova Wildcats, ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­which finished its 2018-19 season with 26-10 record. The Wildcats are led by Head Coach Jay Wright who has been with the school since the 2001-02 season. Villanova has made 39 NCAA Tournament appearances overall, and has won three NCAA National Championships since 1985.

"The Never Forget Tribute Classic is one of the great events we get to participate in," said Villanova University Head Coach Jay Wright. "The cause - to never forget September 11, 2001 - is important to all of us, especially at Villanova, which lost great people in that tragedy. To be able to play a great Villanova rival in Delaware makes this special too. Delaware and Villanova have staged some battles in both football and basketball over the years and our programs have great respect for each other."

"It's good to be playing Kansas State in the Never Forget Tribute Classic which is for a tremendous cause that I feel really strongly about," said Mississippi State Head Coach Ben Howland. "Kansas State won the Big 12 last year, and Bruce Weber is one of the best coaches in the country. It will be a big challenge for our team to play a very good and a well-coached team in Kansas State."   

The second matchup of the event is a clash of two highly-touted teams entering the 2018-2019 season. Mississippi State, fresh off of a 23-11 campaign that was topped off with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, will look to continue the winning culture it established last season. This is Mississippi State's second appearance at the event after winning against Clemson last year. The Bulldogs have reached the NCAA Tournament 11 times in school history. Finishing with a record of 25-9 last season under current Head Coach Bruce Weber, Kansas State is coming off of an appearance in the NCAA Tournament The Wildcats have reached the NCAA Tournament 31 times in school history.

"We are excited to play in the Never Forget Tribute Classic and help raise awareness for such a noble cause," said Kansas State Head Coach Bruce Weber. "This will be a great opportunity for our team to face a very good Mississippi State squad, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament and returns a significant portion of their team."

Past teams that have participated in the Never Forget Tribute Classic tournament include: Notre Dame, Villanova, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, Virginia Commonwealth, Florida, UConn and Cincinnati. The Wildcats downed Notre Dame in this event in December 2016, 74-66.

For more information and updates about the 2019 Never Forget Tribute Classic, visit prucenter.com and follow @PruCenter.

About Prudential Center

Prudential Center is the world-class sports and entertainment venue located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Opened in October 2007, the state-of-the-art arena is the home of the National Hockey League's (NHL) three-time Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils, Seton Hall University's NCAA Division I Men's Basketball program, and more than 175 concerts, family shows and special events each year. The arena is also home to the GRAMMY Museum Experience Prudential Center, which opened its doors to the public on October 2017. The 8,200-square-foot experience marks the first GRAMMY Museum outpost on the East Coast, and features a dynamic combination of educational programming and interactive permanent and traveling exhibits, including a spotlight on legendary GRAMMY winners from New Jersey. Ranked in the Top 8 nationally by Pollstar, Billboard and Venues Today, Prudential Center is recognized as one of the premier venues in the United States, and hosts over 2 million guests annually. Upcoming shows at Prudential Center include New Kids On The Block (7/2), Top Rank Boxing (7/13) The MTV VMAS (8/26) and many more.  For more information about Prudential Center, visit PruCenter.com and follow the arena on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @PruCenter. Prudential Center is a Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment property.

About United Rentals

United Rentals, Inc. is the largest equipment rental company in the world. The company has an integrated network of 1,198 rental locations in North America and 11 in Europe. In North America, the company operates in 49 states and every Canadian province. The company's approximately 18,800 employees serve construction and industrial customers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners and others. The company offers approximately 3,800 classes of equipment for rent with a total original cost of $14.5 billion. United Rentals is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, the Barron's 400 Index and the Russell 3000 Index® and is headquartered in Stamford, Conn. Additional information about United Rentals is available at unitedrentals.com.

About Scout Sports and Entertainment, a division of Horizon Media, Inc.

Scout is the sports, entertainment, and event marketing division of Horizon Media Inc., the largest privately owned media services company in the world. Horizon was chosen as 2010 U.S. Media Agency of the Year by Adweek/Brandweek/Mediaweek as well as by AdAge and as one of the world's ten most innovative marketing and advertising companies by Fast Company in 2011.

Scout, one of the top marketing promotional agencies in the U.S., offers a full range of marketing capabilities including sponsorship consulting, research, negotiation, strategy, partnership acquisition, activation and endorsements. Other disciplines include production, execution, as well as measurement, metrics and analytics across all verticals of our service offerings.

The division is led by Michael A. Neuman, a recognized leader in sports marketing, sponsorship, event marketing and marketing partnerships. For more information, please visit www.scoutse.com.

About Horizon Media

Horizon Media, Inc. is the largest and fastest growing privately held media services agency in the world. The company was founded in 1989, and is headquartered in New York with a second full-service office in Los Angeles. Horizon Media was chosen as 2011 Independent Media Agency of the Year by Mediapost, 2010 U.S. Media Agency of the Year by Adweek, Brandweek, and Mediaweek as well as by Ad Age and as one of the world's ten most innovative marketing and advertising companies by Fast Company in 2011. In 2012, Bill Koenigsberg, President, CEO and Founder, was honored by Advertising Age as Industry Executive of the Year. Most recently, in 2014, Bill Koenigsberg was named 4As Chair of the Board and is the first person from a media agency to hold this prestigious position in the 100-year history of the 4As, the marketing industry's leading trade association.

The company's mission is "To create the most meaningful brand connections within the lives of people everywhere." By delivering on this mission through a holistic approach to brand marketing, Horizon Media has become one of the largest and fastest-growing media agencies in the industry, with estimated billings of over $6.5 billion and over 1,400 employees.

For more information, please visit horizonmedia.com.