ONONDAGA — SRC Arena and Events Center on the Onondaga Community College (OCC) will be among eight regional sites to host games in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) coming up this summer. Boeheim’s Army, a team of former Syracuse University men’s basketball players, will play its first three games in the local venue between July 26 […]
ONONDAGA — SRC Arena and Events Center on the Onondaga Community College (OCC) will be among eight regional sites to host games in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) coming up this summer.
Boeheim’s Army, a team of former Syracuse University men’s basketball players, will play its first three games in the local venue between July 26 and July 28, OCC said in a news release.
Game tickets will be available through the TBT website.
The Basketball Tournament is a $2 million summer event that ESPN televises. The TBT features 64 teams competing in a single-elimination, 5-on-5 tournament. The eight regional winners advance to championship weekend in Chicago beginning Aug. 1.
“Syracuse is a basketball city and we are honored to be chosen as a host site for the TBT Tournament,” OCC President Casey Crabill said. “The SRC Arena has established itself as one of the region’s premier facilities for intercollegiate and scholastic athletic competitions, graduation ceremonies, trade shows and countless community-focused events. We look forward to welcoming teams and fans into our air-conditioned arena to watch hotly contested basketball which has become a hallmark of the TBT Tournament.”
The SRC Arena and Events Center is a 60,000-square-foot recreational and athletic complex that includes a 6,500-seat performance arena (4,000 for basketball games). The venue opened in 2011.
For the first time in its six-year history, TBT is admitting eight “host” teams before opening its application period, “creating memorable, college-like atmospheres for home and visiting teams alike for rounds one through three,” TBT said.
Named after Syracuse basketball’s longtime head coach Jim Boeheim, the Orange alumni team will return to the court for the fifth straight summer, per the TBT website.
In the 2018 edition of the tournament, Boeheim’s Army advanced to the Round of 16 from an initial field of 72 teams. In 2017, the tournament had 64 teams and Boeheim’s Army made it all the way to the national semifinals.
A number of the teams competing in the TBT are composed mostly or exclusively of alumni of a particular school.
“One of the things we’ve tapped into is the passion college basketball fans have for their former players,” Jon Mugar, founder and CEO of TBT, said. “We’ve also found that visiting teams have had a blast playing in front of raucous crowds cheering against them. This year’s Regional hosts include some of college basketball’s most passionate fan bases.”
Joining OCC and the SRC Arena as regional sites are the cities of Columbus, Ohio; Greensboro, North Carolina; Lexington, Kentucky; Memphis, Tennessee; Richmond, Virginia; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Wichita, Kansas.
