AUGUSTA, Ga. -- For the fifth consecutive year, the Administaff Augusta State Invitational will boast a field of teams which rivals that of any intercollegiate golf tournament in the nation.

The 29th annual Administaff ASU Invitational gets underway Friday morning, March 30 at 8:00 a.m. at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Ga. The 18-team field will include 10 of the nation’s top 31 teams, according to the most recent rankings from Golfweek magazine and Golfstat.com. Every team in the field is ranked in top 73 in the nation and among the 90 individual players, 19 are ranked in the top 100.

“Our tournament committee has really gone the extra mile to put together this kind of qualify field,” Administaff ASU Invitational Tournament Chairman Grady Smith said. “The relationships we’ve developed with Administaff and Champions Retreat puts our tournament on a pedestal few in the country can match. We enjoyed a tremendous first year at Champions in 2006 and this year promises to only get better. We’ve got a terrific cross section of teams from around the country and they are really excited about being in the Augusta area this weekend.”

The field includes Auburn, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, East Tennessee State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Houston, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Carolina State, North Florida, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Tennessee, USC Aiken, Virginia and Virginia Tech along with host Augusta State.

Clemson is the highest-ranked team in the field, according to Golfstat, at No. 8, while East Tennessee State senior Rhys Davis enters as the nation’s top-ranked collegian. Coastal Carolina returns as the defending champion. The Chanticleers, led by first-team All-American Dustin Johnson, are ranked 11th. USC Aiken senior Scott Brown claimed medalist honors last season with a nine-under 207, one shot ahead of Johnson.

Houston, Minnesota and Georgia State will lead the teams out on the course Friday morning at 8:00 a.m. Auburn, Tennessee and South Carolina are slated for an 8:45 tee time, while Augusta State, Clemson and Coastal Carolina will get underway at 9:30 a.m.

Notre Dame, North Florida and USC Aiken begin play at 10;15 a.m., followed by East Tennessee State, North Carolina and Virginia at 11:00 a.m. Georgia Southern, Virginia Tech and North Carolina State are slated to begin their rounds at 11:45 a.m.

Saturday and Sunday morning’s tee times are slated to begin at 8:00 a.m. as well. Players will begin on the Bluffs (Nicklaus) nine on Friday morning and on the Island (Palmer) nine on Saturday morning. Split tees will be utilized Sunday morning, with the top half of the field beginning on the Bluffs nine and teams in 10th through 18th place beginning their final rounds on the Island nine.

The tournament is open to the public and there is no admission charge.

Live scoring is available at www.golfstat.com.