SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has slated Sunday, November 11th as Amherst College Day in recognition of the men’s basketball team winning the 2007 NCAA Division III Championship. The Hall of Fame will welcome the Championship team members along with head coach David Hixon ’75 and his staff during a formal ceremony for the team on Center Court at 1:00 PM, where the team will be honored and items from Amherst College will be formally donated to the Hall of Fame for permanent preservation in their archival collection.

The team will also conduct a clinic for all children in attendance and sign autographs immediately following the ceremony. Amherst College students, Amherst alumni, staff, fans and residents of the City of Amherst can receive a special $5 admission that day when they present a copy of a downloadable coupon available on the Hall of Fame website at www.hoophall.com.

The Amherst College men’s basketball team faced defending national champion Virginia-Wesleyan College in the 2007 NCAA Division III National Championship game at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia. Amherst made clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the program’s first ever national title with an 80-67 win.

In 30 seasons, the 2006-07 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) National Coach of the Year Dave Hixon (Amherst '75) is the winningest coach in school history, the 8th winningest active Division III coach in the nation and the 15th winningest coach in NCAA Division III history (by total wins, as listed in the 2006 NCAA Record Book). Hixon has guided the Jeffs to a 550-221 overall record, ten NCAA Tournaments, 13 ECAC Tournaments, 15 Little Three titles and NESCAC Championships in 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006 while posting a 18-3 record in NESCAC Tournament play.