HOUSTON, TX — The 20th annual Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic, which will be held at Minute Maid Park this weekend, will feature three ranked teams in a Big 12 vs. SEC weekend, consisting of Arkansas (#6 per D1Baseball.com), LSU (#11), Oklahoma (#22), Texas, Baylor and Missouri.

The 2020 field is one of the best in the 20-year history of the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic and it’s the second time for the tournament to boast a Big 12 vs. SEC theme. The tournament last did so in 2017, which garnered the highest attendance in tournament history, as over 53,000 fans entered the turnstiles of Minute Maid Park that year.

The 2020 tournament marks the fifth year for it to carry the name Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic, which has been set forth by a multi-year naming rights agreement between the Astros Foundation and Shriners Hospitals for Children®. The Astros Foundation operates the tournament and will donate a portion of each ticket sale directly to Shriners Hospitals for Children as well as provide other fundraising and awareness opportunities.

FAN ENTRANCES

The Home Plate and South Home Plate entrances will be open all weekend. Additionally, in anticipation of larger crowds on Friday, the Astros will also open up the Atrium entrance for the Friday night contest.

HOW TO WATCH AND STREAM

For fans viewing from home, all nine games will be televised by AT&T SportsNet, the television home of the Houston Astros, and streamed on the AT&T SportsNet app. Fans are asked to check local listings for more information.

There are also many ways to stream all nine games live and for free. The games will be streamed on MLB.com, Astros.com and the MLB At Bat app. Additionally, the games will be available live on the Astros YouTube channel and the official social media accounts of the Astros, including Facebook Live and Twitter.

TICKETS

Adult and youth daily tickets and three-day tournament passes are available online at Astros.com/CollegeClassic. Fans can purchase premium tickets or group tickets, for groups of 20 or more, by calling 713-259-8030. Daily tickets purchased in advance are available for $20 for adults and $10 for youth (ages 14 and under). Three-day tournament passes can be purchased for $42 for adults and $24 for youth. Select parking in the Astros controlled lots will be sold for $15 and $10 (Lot A, Lots B and C). Diamond parking will be available for purchase during the tournament.

For interest in hosting a special event at the ballpark over the weekend, please call 713-259-8800. Student tickets will also be available for the tournament, but will only be sold at the Astros box office.

MEDIA INFORMATION

If you have not done so already, please submit your credential requests before games begin on Friday. Those can be sent via email to Meshach Sullivan at [email protected].

For the entire weekend, media parking is available in the Astros controlled Lot B (Friday and Sunday) and Lot A (Saturday). The lots are off of Texas Ave. on the south side of the stadium and available to all who have been approved for credentials. There will be a parking list with an attendant each day.

Credentials can be picked up beginning Thursday from the First Base Entrance. To get to the press box, take the First Base elevator up to the club level and walk towards home plate.

THE FIRST PITCH LUNCHEON

The Astros Foundation will celebrate the start of the 2020 Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic at the First Pitch Luncheon held tomorrow, Feb. 27, from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. The luncheon is a ticketed event for fans, but will also be open to working media on a limited basis. One-on-one interviews with coaches will begin at approx. 1 p.m. and can be coordinated through the team SIDs.

The program, which will be held in the Union Station lobby, will be emceed by Astros broadcaster Bill Brown and by Shriners Hospitals for Children patient Alec. Five of the six coaches from the participating schools will be in attendance, including Missouri Head Coach Steve Bieser, Oklahoma Head Coach Skip Johnson, Baylor Head Coach Steve Rodriguez, LSU Head Coach Paul Mainieri and Texas Head Coach David Pierce. The Executive Director of the Astros Foundation Twila Carter and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Shriners Hospitals for Children Jeff Sowder will also be in attendance.

Individual tickets for the luncheon are available for $40 or tables of 10 can be purchased for $400. Visit Astros.com/CollegeClassic for details.

If you plan on covering the luncheon, please contact Steve Grande in the Astros Communications department at [email protected].

BATTING PRACTICE SCHEDULE

All six clubs will take batting practice tomorrow at Minute Maid Park, which is open to the media, but closed to the public. Tournament credentials will allow media access to batting practice. The schedule for tomorrow’s batting practice is as follows:

Baylor: 3-3:55 p.m.
Oklahoma: 4-4:55 p.m.
Missouri: 5-5:55 p.m.
Arkansas: 6-6:55 p.m.
Texas: 7-7:55 p.m.
LSU: 8-8:55 p.m.

SPECIAL VISITS TO SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN-HOUSTON

Tomorrow, Feb. 27, the LSU and Missouri baseball teams will kickoff the 2020 Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic by making a special visit to Shriners Hospitals for Children-Houston at 6977 Main Street, Houston, TX 77030 from 2-3 p.m. The teams will visit patients and participate in a baseball related activity designed to help children with physical therapy needs. Texas will make their visit on Friday from 10-11 a.m. Coaches and players will be available for interviews following the visit.

For more information, please contact Armand Viscarri at (281) 744-1153 or [email protected]. Free parking is available inside the Shriners Hospitals for Children parking garage.

About the Houston Astros Foundation

The Astros Foundation, the official 501(c)(3) team charity of the Houston Astros, seeks to harness the passion of baseball fans to support youth baseball and softball programs, the recognition and honor of our nation’s military, childhood cancer awareness and efforts to reduce homelessness. Our cornerstone initiatives include the Community Leaders program, the Astros Youth Academy and the Astros RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) Program. For more information on the Astros Foundation, please visit www.astros.com/foundation.

About Shriners Hospitals for Children

Shriners Hospitals for Children is a health care system with locations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Our staff is dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing pediatric specialty care, conducting innovative research, and offering outstanding educational programs for medical professionals. Children up to age 18 with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care, regardless of the families’ ability to pay. Within these broad service lines, many types of care are provided. For example, some locations offer reconstructive plastic surgery, treatment for craniofacial abnormalities or care for sports injuries. Generally, care is provided until age 18, although, in some cases, it may be extended to age 21. All services are provided in a compassionate, family-centered environment. For more information, please visit shrinershospitalsforchildren.org.