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NCAA Coaches Participate in Basketball Tournament for Troops on USO/AFE Tour to Persian Gulf Region

ARLINGTON, Va., May 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Operation Hardwood IV will tip off at a military base in Kuwait on May 22. Teams of service members will be led by top NCAA basketball coaches and sports personalities during the tournament, taking place during the six-day visit for the coaches. The tour is sponsored by the USO and Armed Forces Entertainment (AFE). Equipment and uniforms for this tour are being provided by NIKE.

  (Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031119/USO )
  The tour participants are:

  -- Mike Brey, University of Notre Dame
  -- Ed Conroy, The Citadel
  -- Jim Crews, United States Military Academy (West Point)
  -- Dennis Felton, University of Georgia
  -- Fran Fraschilla, ESPN analyst and former St. John's head coach
  -- Mike Lonergan, University of Vermont
  -- Reggie Minton of the National Association of Basketball Coaches
  -- Skip Prosser, Wake Forest University

Operation Hardwood tours have visited bases in Kuwait and Japan over the past two years, bringing great coaches and service members together in a fun, competitive environment. It continues the USO and AFE tradition of bringing professional athletes and sports-related events to troops serving far from home. Last year, the USO -- as part of its Operation Links tour -- brought professional golfers to bases in Kuwait and Iraq to visit troops during Thanksgiving.

AT&T, Inc. is the official telecommunications sponsor of USO entertainment tours.

About the USO: For more than 66 years, the USO (United Service Organizations) has been providing morale, welfare and recreational services to U.S. military personnel and their families. The USO is a nonprofit, charitable organization, relying on the generosity of the American people to support its programs and services. The USO is supported by Worldwide Strategic Partners AT&T Inc., BAE Systems North America, Clear Channel Communications, The Coca-Cola Company, DRS Technologies, Inc., Military Channel, S & K Sales Co., TriWest Healthcare Alliance and The Walt Disney Company. Other corporate donors, including the United Way and Combined Federal Campaign (CFC-11381), have joined thousands of individual donors to support the USO. For more information on the USO, please visit our Web site at http://www.uso.org/.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031119/USO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

SOURCE: USO World Headquarters

CONTACT: Reggie Borges of USO World Headquarters, +1-703-908-6458,
rborges@uso.org

Web site: http://www.uso.org/