2020 Men’s Basketball Tournament: SEC to raise funds for tornado relief

2020 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament.

NASHVILLE — The 2020 Southeastern Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament will take place March 11-15 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

Tennessee will open tournament play on Thursday as the No. 8 seed against No. 9 Alabama. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. ET and the contest will be televised by SEC Network.

The SEC announced that it will raise funds for tornado relief during tournament play. A tornado touched down in Nashville in the early morning hours on March 3, leaving behind deaths, injuries and destruction throughout the midstate.

News: Nashville Tornado
Mar 3, 2020; Nashville, TN, USA; Tornado damage in East Nashville photographed Tuesday, March 3, 2020. Mandatory Credit: Alan Poizner/The Tennessean via USA TODAY NETWORK

SEC press release:

Fans attending the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament this week in Nashville are encouraged to contribute to a relief fund to provide support to Middle Tennessee communities impacted by the devastating tornadoes of March 3.  The tournament is scheduled for Wednesday through Sunday at Bridgestone Arena.

Representatives of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT) will be located at two locations on the concourse of the arena to accept donations on all days of the tournament.  The representatives will have iPads to accept credit card and debit card transactions.

The CFMT provides support for 40 counties across Middle Tennessee.  Funds generated during the men’s basketball tournament will be directed to non-profit organizations in Middle Tennessee, among them Davidson, Putnam and Wilson counties.