11/09/15 – St. Elizabeth Healthcare Announced As Girls’ Sweet 16® Title Sponsor

November 9, 2015 2015-2016 News Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 9, 2015

The Kentucky High School Athletic Association announced a new corporate partner in a press conference at the BB&T Arena on the campus of Northern Kentucky University on Monday, revealing St. Elizabeth Healthcare as the new title sponsor of the KHSAA Girls’ Sweet Sixteen®. Secured through a partnership with Northern Kentucky University and BB&T Arena, the new two-year agreement will begin this season with the 2016 St. Elizabeth Healthcare/KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16®, the first at BB&T Arena (http://www.thebbtarena.com/) in Highlands Heights, and continue through the 2017 tournament.

“We are extremely blessed throughout the Commonwealth with so many supportive corporate partners, all of which value community engagement and the overall growth and development that is provided through school-based sports. St. Elizabeth Healthcare will be a tremendous corporate sponsor for this tournament and will allow for the event to be a true showcase of the arena, the campus of NKU, the entirety of Northern Kentucky and our outstanding girls’ basketball teams,” said KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett. “This tournament continues to grow and evolve. This sponsorship, coupled with the work of the outstanding staff at the arena and the university, and the engagement of our great group of schools in Northern Kentucky, will help the Association make this event the best possible experience for its participants.”

“This is an exciting opportunity to bring the Girls’ Sweet 16® basketball tournament to Northern Kentucky and St. Elizabeth is proud to be the presenting sponsor,” said Sarah Giolando, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. “Sponsoring the girls’ basketball tournament is an excellent way to give back to our community. High school sports is also another example of how living an active life can contribute to overall health.”

“We are honored to host the St. Elizabeth Healthcare/KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16® at BB&T Arena,” said Molly Pascucci, General Manager of BB&T Arena. “St. Elizabeth has been a tremendous partner and supporter of our arena from day one, and we are thrilled to have them as the title sponsor for this first class event. We are also really excited to bring this tournament up to Northern Kentucky University, and showcase our outstanding University and region to the entire Commonwealth.

“Northern Kentucky is a thriving community, and people are really going to enjoy coming up to Northern Kentucky for the St. Elizabeth Healthcare/KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16®. We cannot wait to be able to have the top players, coaches, and teams in the great state of Kentucky compete at BB&T Arena. Playing in an arena like BB&T Arena is an opportunity for these girls to make memories that will last a lifetime, and we are happy to be a part of that.”

St. Elizabeth Healthcare is one of the oldest, largest and most respected medical providers in the Greater Cincinnati region. For more than 150 years, St. Elizabeth has been the heart and soul of healthcare in Northern Kentucky. Founded with one small hospital in 1861, St. Elizabeth Healthcare now operates six facilities throughout Northern Kentucky – St. Elizabeth Covington, St. Elizabeth Edgewood, St. Elizabeth Falmouth, St. Elizabeth Florence, St. Elizabeth Ft. Thomas and St. Elizabeth Grant. St. Elizabeth Healthcare also has vast resources to serve the Greater Cincinnati area, including almost 1,200 licensed beds, a physician organization which includes over 331 physicians and 79 mid-level providers (110 primary care and specialty office locations), more than 1,200 physicians with admitting privileges, more than 7,300 associates, three freestanding imaging centers and two ambulatory surgery centers. St. Elizabeth Healthcare is sponsored by the Diocese of Covington and provided more than $110 million in uncompensated care and benefit to the community in 2013.

For more information on St. Elizabeth Healthcare visit http://www.stelizabeth.com/ The 2016 St. Elizabeth Healthcare/KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16® will be held March 9-13. Information on purchasing tickets as well as other promotions involving the Girls’ Sweet 16® will be announced in the coming weeks.

-KHSAA-

About the Kentucky High School Athletic Association
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association was organized in 1917 and is the agency designated by the Kentucky Department of Education to manage high school athletics in the Commonwealth. The Association is a voluntary nonprofit 501(c)3 organization made up of 277 member schools both public and private. The KHSAA sanctions 43 state championships in 13 sports and 4 sport-activities, licenses and trains over 4,000 officials, provides catastrophic insurance for its more than 70,000 member school student-athletes, as well as overseeing coaching education and sports safety programs.