Biloxi’s C-USA tournament lands title sponsor

The 2017 Conference USA baseball tournament has a title sponsor.

C-USA announced Thursday that The First, a National Banking Association that is based in Hattiesburg, has entered into an agreement to become the title sponsor for this year's event.

The C-USA Tournament is set for May 24-28 at MGM Park in Biloxi. This is the first event as part of a three-year deal to keep the tournament at the home of the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers.

The First branches across four states – Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.

“We are excited to welcome The First as a conference championship title sponsor,” C-USA commissioner Judy MacLeod said in a press release. “As a major supporter of one of our member schools, we are fortunate that they have embraced the entirety of the conference and the stellar level of competition among our baseball programs.”

The C-USA Tournament is in its 22^nd year and will feature eight-teams in a double-elimination format. The May 28 title game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Networks. All other games will be available on ESPN3.com.

“We are excited about the C-USA Championship returning to Mississippi and are proud to be the title sponsor,” The First CEO M. Ray “Hoppy” Cole said in a press release. “This tournament will have a significant economic impact on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and we look forward to our partnership with C-USA.”

Southern Miss (37-12, 19-5) holds a three-game lead on second-place Old Dominion (16-8) in the Conference USA standings.

USM is in good position to be the No. 1 seed in the C-USA Tournament with two weeks remaining in the regular season. USM hosts UAB (23-26, 8-16) at 6 p.m. on Friday to begin a three-game series in Hattiesburg.

Tickets for the C-USA Tournament are available at the MGM Park box office, at MGMParkBiloxi.com or by calling (877-344-2174).

This story was originally published May 11, 2017 at 2:38 PM with the headline "Biloxi’s C-USA tournament lands title sponsor."