BOSTON, Mass. - Dozens of local, regional and national media members were on hand for the first State of Massachusetts Media Day for the six Division I men's basketball programs in the Commonwealth. UMass head coach Derek Kellogg and senior forward Sean Carter represented the Minutemen at the event, held at Boston University's Case Gym, to discuss the excitement surrounding the upcoming season and the buzz surrounding college basketball across the state.

Head Coaches Kellogg, Tommy Amaker (Harvard), Milan Brown (Holy Cross), Bill Coen (Northeastern), Steve Donahue (Boston College) and Joe Jones (Boston University), as well as select players were on hand to talk with the media, which included CBS's Jeff Goodman and ESPN's Andy Katz.

A live webcast of the event was hosted by Comcast Sports Net New England's Eric Frede and featured interviews with all six head coaches.

The impressive media turnout served as evidence of the excitement and anticipation of this college basketball season in New England, and particularly in regards to UMass and the five other Division I teams in the state as official practices kick off on Friday, Oct. 14.

UMass will face two, and possibly a third, of the Commonwealth's teams in the 2011-12 season. On Nov. 14, the Minutemen will host Northeastern at the Mullins Center before playing at Boston College on Nov. 21. UMass and Harvard could potentially meet the in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas on Nov. 24-26.

Derek Kellogg will be in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Thursday as Atlantic 10 Media Day will be held at Marriott New York at the Brooklyn Bridge.