Sun Devils to visit China for Pac-12 Globalization Initiative

Commissioner Larry Scott and the Pac-12 Conference announced today three summer tours to China for Pac-12 student-athletes and coaches as part of its long-term globalization initiative. Started in 2011, the Pac-12 Globalization Initiative was designed to proactively promote the member universities through student-athlete exchanges and sport.

This August, the Arizona State men’s basketball team and the California women’s basketball team will visit China to compete against university and professional teams, and participate in cultural exchange and goodwill activities with their peer student-athletes.

“We are honored and excited to travel to China in what will be a great educational experience for our program, on and off the court,” said Sun Devil head coach Herb Sendek. “We appreciate the opportunity to play against international competition, to learn and travel to a wonderful country, and to grow the Arizona State University brand in all areas.”

The Pac-12 partnered with Hupu Sports Media, a top-tier Chinese sports marketing company, to help arrange and publicize the games in Zhaoqing and Nanning for the ASU tour. For the Cal tour of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, the conference partnered with the Liaoning and Bayi Chinese professional women's basketball clubs to arrange the games.

Also in August, the Pac-12 will send a delegation of current and former Pac-12 men’s basketball coaches – Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson, former University of Oregon coach Ernie Kent and Cal's associate head coach Travis DeCuire – to lead coaching clinics for more than 150 coaches from all over China.

Coaching clinics are the next step in the Pac-12’s partnership with the Federation of University Sports of China (FUSC), which hosted the Pac-12’s inaugural summer tour with UCLA men’s basketball, arranged this year’s games against Chinese university teams and participated in the U.S.-China Symposium on Collegiate Sports Development in March in Las Vegas at the 2013 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Earlier this summer in June, a Pac-12 women’s volleyball all-star team led by USC head coach Mick Haley played six matches in Shanghai and Huaian City against professional teams, and participated in cultural and sightseeing activities throughout China.

“These tours can be transformative moments for our student-athletes,” said Larry Scott, Pac-12 commissioner. “For many of the students, this is their first international trip and they will return to their universities with meaningful life experiences of visiting another country and learning more about another culture.”

In addition to the three basketball games, both the ASU and Cal teams will have the opportunity to experience Chinese culture, visit historic landmarks and engage with their Chinese counterparts in official ceremonies and off-the-court activities.

The tours offer Pac-12 universities a new way to support their important globalization strategies currently in place in countries like China.

“In the long run, the Pac-12 Globalization Initiative can become a great vehicle to augment our member institutions’ existing efforts to build their brands and expand opportunities in China,” Scott said.

Details of upcoming tours:

Aug. 1-9 – Coaches' clinics in Shanghai at Shanghai Jiaotong University

Aug. 9-19 – ASU men’s basketball
Aug 12: ASU vs. Tsinghua University in Beijing
Aug 16: ASU vs. Fujian SBS (Chinese CBA pro team) in Zhaoqing
Aug 18: ASU vs. Fujian SBS (Chinese CBA pro team) in Nanning

Aug 17-26 – Cal women’s basketball
Aug 19: Cal vs. Liaoning (Chinese WCBA pro team) in Beijing
Aug 20: Cal vs. Bayi (Chinese WCBA pro team) in Beijing
Aug 23: Cal vs. Shanghai Jiaotong University in Shanghai (to be confirmed)