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GREENSBORO -- Alternating the tone between tent revival and pep rally, administrators from UNCG and the Greensboro Coliseum said they'll be partners in college basketball, and they asked the city and the campus to join them Friday.

The university will move all of its men's basketball games from its campus home to the coliseum starting next season and for at least the next three to follow. Trading the intimacy and familiarity of Fleming Gym for the prestige and amenities of the municipal facility is a gamble that school officials hope will boost the profile of athletics on its campus and the institution's stature in the region.

To start Friday's event, UNCG trotted out its new chancellor, Linda Brady, and new basketball consultant, former ACC associate commissioner Fred Barakat, to stir up a lunch crowd in the coliseum plaza in what was officially termed a news conference. More than anything, however, it was a plea to embrace a bold plan. Spartans basketball is going from 1,833 seats at Fleming to a configuration of 7,613 for most games at the coliseum.

"It is an important factor in building our brand and helping UNCG garner national exposure," said Brady, a former administrator at Oregon, N.C. State and Georgia Tech and a true believer in sports as a college marketing tool. "The program merits our support and strategic investment. We are now prepared to take big steps designed to elevate the program on our campus as well as in the Greensboro community and the Piedmont Triad."

The deal will start as a four-year arrangement with three option years thereafter. It coincides with the coliseum's tenure as a frequent host of the ACC men's tournament, the hook Barakat will use to try to lure two or three ACC coaches to bring their teams to play the Spartans during the regular season each year. Such games will give the visitors a dry run through the place a few weeks or months before they play for higher stakes.

Included in the deal is a renewal of the dormant series between the Spartans and N.C. A&T, who haven't met in men's basketball since Jan. 16, 2002. The schools will alternate as hosts of the game.

UNCG will play on a newly renovated, $25,000 Spartan-specific court and will have its own locker room, the cost of which remains undetermined. The coliseum will front those costs, but will recoup them all through ticket sales, said Matt Brown, the facility's managing director.

The two sides will split ticket revenue, and the coliseum will keep all cash from parking and concessions, which will include the sale of beer.

The UNC System forbids its members to sell alcohol to the general public on their campuses, but the policy doesn't extend to events at municipal venues.

More thorough contractual details may be available next week, Brady said.

To make this plan work, UNCG will need to amp up its promotional efforts, and it will do so with ISP, the Winston-Salem firm that serves 48 colleges and universities from coast to coast. ISP's largest clients include UCLA, Washington and Wake Forest, and its subsidiary organization, ISP Collegiate Services, handles mid-majors such as UNCG, which lack the revenue of big-time football.

They'll have some seats to sell. The coliseum's typical UNCG capacity will be 7,613. At the high end, in excess of 21,000 can be accommodated for basketball at the coliseum. There will also be a mid-range configuration available.

As for Friday, Barakat took to the microphone and implored the masses.

"We should be able to put this building on fire," he said, presumably speaking figuratively. "And that's our goal. You can cheer for Wake. You can cheer for State. You can cheer for Carolina. But there's no reason why you won't cheer for your local university team."

Specifically, he urged everybody to fall for Spartans basketball as it has for the PGA Tour, minor-league baseball and other college sports in the recent years.

"You've done your job with the Hoppers, the Wyndham Championship and the ACC women's tournament," he said. "Accept this as another one of your jobs. You either pull together or you pull apart. There's no in between. And we need to start pulling together right now."

The idea is one that UNCG has considered for some time, but didn't get full traction until Brady took over from the retired Pat Sullivan, whose interest in athletics was considered lukewarm at best.

The location of the student section at the coliseum hasn't been determined. Students will be offered free shuttle bus service to the games by UNCG.

"The first thing I've heard students say is that they're so excited we're going to be in a first-class facility," said Andrea Schronce, vice president of student government. "There is an intimate feeling at Fleming Gym, but the overwhelming feeling of excitement will more than compensate for the larger (space)."

Barakat and Brown said UNCG coach Mike Dement supports the idea and believes it will enhance recruiting. Dement was not available for comment Friday.

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels@news-record.com