PAC-12 ANNOUNCES HARVARD-STANFORD MATCHUP FOR 2016 PAC-12 CHINA GAME

Nov. 12, 2016 Game in China Presented by Alibaba Group; Co-Hosted by Federation University Sports China

SHANGHAI – Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott announced today that Stanford University and Harvard University will face off in the 2016 Pac-12 China Game presented by Alibaba Group. The game will be on Saturday, November 12 in Shanghai and televised live back in the United States on November 11. Longtime Pac-12 partner Federation of University Sports of China (FUSC), which operates under China’s Ministry of Education, will serve as the co-host for the game.

The announcement came during a pre-game press conference for the 2015 Pac-12 China Game, which will be played Saturday at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai and televised live in the United States on ESPN at 7 p.m. PT. The game is the first collegiate or professional regular season contest to be played in China.

The 2016 Pac-12 China Game between Stanford and Harvard will tip off the 2016-17 basketball season with the specific venue and U.S. and China broadcast information to be finalized at a later date. The game is the latest event of Pac-12 Global, an unprecedented effort to promote goodwill for the Conference and its member institutions through sport, and to provide student-athletes with a transformative cultural exchange experience.

“We are thrilled to announce Stanford and Harvard for next year’s game,” said Scott. “Both universities represent the very best of academic and athletic excellence, and we anticipate a great reception from the Chinese and global audience.”

Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA), the world’s largest online and mobile commerce company, returns as the presenting sponsor and will distribute the game live via their mobile and digital distribution platforms.

“We are proud to partner with the Pac-12 to continue to bring college sports to China,” said Jim Wilkinson, Alibaba Group’s Senior Vice President. “This game and Alibaba Group’s involvement is consistent with our commitment to bringing the best of the world to China, and showcasing the best of China to the world.”

The FUSC is China’s national solely authorized organization for university sports and operates under the Ministry of Education. Since 2011, the Pac-12 and FUSC have worked together to put on exhibition games featuring Pac-12 men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as coaching clinics and educational symposiums on collegiate sports.

“Based upon productive collaboration for long with Pac-12, we feel honored to jointly take the initiative for this innovative program,” said Mr. YANG Liguo, FUSC Secretary General. “The game will be both a splendid occasion for Chinese audience and a grand carnival for youth from both countries.”

In addition to the game, the 2016 Pac-12 China Game will feature educational and cultural experiences for student-athletes and university delegations to ensure they make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Both Stanford and Harvard see this experience as much more than just a basketball game.

“We are honored to be one of the first teams to play a regular-season game in China and are really looking forward to this tremendous opportunity to represent Stanford and the Pac-12 Conference in Shanghai, said Johnny Dawkins, Stanford’s Anne and Tony Joseph Director of Men's Basketball. “I was fortunate to be a part of the coaching staff for the United States Olympic Team that captured the Gold medal in 2008 and have very fond memories of China. This event will provide a rewarding cultural experience for our student-athletes, allowing our program to explore the city and play on a global stage against an exceptional school in Harvard.”

“We are incredibly proud to represent Harvard in this global event,” said Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg ’71 Family Endowed Head Coach for Harvard Men’s Basketball. “This will be a unique and transformational learning experience for our student-athletes. We look forward to competing against a great basketball program in Stanford, while offering our young men an opportunity to learn first-hand about the magnificent Chinese culture.”

“This is a great opportunity for these students to participate in true cultural exchange through college sports,” said Scott. “Their experiences both on and off the court will not only be valuable to their future success, but also help foster goodwill and mutual understanding between our two countries.”

Fast Facts about Pac-12 Global:

• Since starting the initiative in 2011, the Pac-12 has sent two men’s basketball teams (UCLA, Arizona State) and one women’s basketball team (Cal), two all-star women’s volleyball teams, and one all-star men’s basketball team to compete in China.

• In the U.S., the Pac-12 has hosted three U.S.-China Symposiums on Collegiate Sports Development at the 2013, 2014, and 2015 Pac-12 Basketball Tournaments.

• The Pac-12 has a key partnership with the Federation of University Sports of China (FUSC) for the Initiative. The FUSC is China’s national organization for university sports and operates under the Ministry of Education.

• Across Pac-12 institutions (undergrad and graduate), international students make up roughly 14 percent of the student body.

• More than 21,000 students (undergrad and grad) at Pac-12 institutions are from China.

• Basketball is the most popular sport in China with an estimated 300 million playing the sport.

About the Pac-12 Conference:

The Conference has a tradition as the “Conference of Champions,” leading the nation in NCAA Championships in 50 of the last 55 years, with 478 NCAA team titles overall. The Conference comprises 12 leading U.S. universities: The University of Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of California-Berkeley, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Colorado, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the University of Utah, the University of Washington and Washington State University. For more information on the Conference’s programs, member institutions, and Commissioner Larry Scott, go to www.pac-12.com/conference.

About Alibaba Group:

Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company is the largest online and mobile commerce company in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume. Founded in 1999, the company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help businesses leverage the power of the Inter-net to establish an online presence and conduct commerce with hundreds of millions of consumers and other businesses.



Alibaba Group’s major businesses include:

• Taobao Marketplace (www.taobao.com), China’s largest online shopping destination

• Tmall.com (www.tmall.com), China’s largest third-party platform for brands and retailers

• Juhuasuan (www.juhuasuan.com), China’s most popular online group buying marketplace

• Alitrip (www.alitrip.com), a leading online travel booking platform

• AliExpress (www.aliexpress.com), a global online marketplace for consumers to buy directly from China

• Alibaba.com (www.alibaba.com), China’s largest global online wholesale platform for small businesses

• 1688.com (www.1688.com), a leading online wholesale marketplace in China

• Alibaba Cloud Computing (www.aliyun.com), a provider of cloud computing services to businesses and entrepreneurs

About the FUSC:

Headquartered in Beijing under China’s Ministry of Education and established in 1975, the Federation of University Sports of China (FUSC) is the solely authorized national organization for university sports. The main roles of the FUSC are as follows:

• To popularize national education and sports policy among college students and seek support to the university sports;

• To organize all kinds of national collegiate sports event and promote exchanges with university sports associations all over the world;

• To assist participating in international collegiate sports event and sports exchanges.