Texas, Duke, Missouri headline deep women’s field for Gulf Coast Showcase

ESTERO, Fla.– Three Top-25 teams highlight the women’s field for the sixth annual Gulf Coast Showcase, the annual men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments played each Thanksgiving at Germain Arena. Texas, Duke and Missouri all finished among the Top-25 at the end of last season and expected to be ranked once again in the pre-season polls.

“This year’s field may be deepest in the six years of the Gulf Coast Showcase,” said Debbie Antonelli, ESPN analyst and Women’s Tournament Director. “Five teams – Quinnipiac, Duke, Texas, Michigan and Missouri – played in the NCAA Tournament with two of those advancing to the Sweet 16. Seven of the eight teams won 22+ games last season and the eighth team, Washington, is two years removed from playing in a Final Four.

“Any of these teams are capable of winning three straight on Thanksgiving weekend so the title is certainly up for grabs this year.”

Texas adds the nation’s No. 2 recruit Charli Collier to a deep front court but will be replacing former Big 12 Player of the Year Brooke McCarty. The Longhorns will open at 5 p.m. on Friday against a Quinnipiac squad that has won three games as a lower seed in the past two NCAA Tournaments and made a run to the Sweet 16 in 2017, losing to eventual champion South Carolina. The second game of the evening session will feature Missouri, led by All-American candidate Sophie Cunningham, versus Michigan at 7:30 p.m. in a match-up of two NCAA Tournament teams from last season.

The schedule for the opening round of the women’s tournament is as follows:

  • 11 a.m. ET – Fordham vs. Ball State
  • 1:30 p.m. ET – Duke vs. Washington
  • 5 p.m. ET – Texas vs. Quinnipiac
  • 7:30 p.m. ET – Missouri vs. Michigan

Game times for Saturday and Sunday will be the same with semifinal games on Nov. 24 at 5:00/7:30. Sunday’s championship game will tip at 7:30.

For the fourth consecutive year, the tournament will support the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida. The hospital is the only children’s hospital between Tampa and Miami and provides vital health care for the region’s sick and injured children and their families. The hospital’s new $242 million facility provides 300,000 square feet of space, 128 pediatric and NICU beds with space to expand to 160 beds, a 17-bay emergency department, a freestanding pediatric pharmacy and in-hospital school classroom.

Ticket and Fan Travel Information

Tickets for the 2018 Gulf Coast Showcase go on-sale now at GermainArena.com or through Ticketmaster. All-Tournament passes for either the men’s tournament or women’s tournament are available for $74, $99 or $149 per tournament with single session tickets ranging from $10 General Admission to $45 Courtside for each two-game session. Each day of the tournament will feature an afternoon session (starting at 11 a.m.) and evening session (5 p.m.) and tickets will be good for both games of a given session.

Fan travel information, including preferred hotel rates at Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, is available on GulfCoastShowcase.com.

Jim Hayford named head coach at Seattle U.

SEATTLE – Jim Hayford has been named Seattle University’s men’s basketball head coach, Director of Athletics Shaney Fink announced Wednesday. Hayford comes to Seattle U from Eastern Washington University where he spent the last six years at the helm of the Eagles’ program.

Hayford, will be formally introduced at a press conference to be held tomorrow, Thursday, March 30, at 11:00 a.m. (PT) in the Student Center Hearth. Hayford will be the 17th head coach in Seattle University history.

Gulf Coast Showcase announces 2014 men’s pairings

ESTERO, Fla. – Green Bay and local “Dunk City” favorite FGCU headline the pairings for the 2014 Gulf Coast Showcase. All 12 games of the tournament will be played Nov. 24-26, 2014 at Germain Arena in Southwest Florida. First-round play will start on Monday, Nov. 24 with the following match-ups:

  • 12:00 p.m. ET – Green Bay vs. East Carolina
  • 2:30 p.m. ET – Fresno State vs. Evansville
  • 6:00 p.m. ET – FGCU vs. Marist
  • 8:30 p.m. ET – San Francisco vs. Hawaii

Game times for Tuesday and Wednesday will be the same with semifinal games on Nov. 25 at 6:00/8:30. Wednesday’s championship game will tip at 8:30.

“We’re excited to participate in the Gulf Coast Showcase alongside some great teams while challenging ourselves against quality competition,” said FGCU coach Joe Dooley. “A field of several 20-win teams has been assembled, and we’re looking forward to having the opportunity to compete in three games over three days at a venue just down the road from our campus.”

The Gulf Coast Showcase launched in Nov. 2013 with Louisiana Tech defeating St. Bonaventure to claim the inaugural men’s title. Middle Tennessee took home the 2013 women’s title over a field that featured four eventual NCAA Tournament teams.

“We created the Gulf Coast Showcase to be a premium tournament strictly for college basketball’s top mid-major schools,” said bd Global President Brooks Downing. “With some of the nation’s top programs and the hometown FGCU Eagles, this year’s event will certainly have a “March Madness” feel at Germain Arena.”

Individual session men’s tournament tickets now available

Individual session tickets for the 2014 Gulf Coast Showcase men’s tournament are now on-sale at GermainArena.com or through Ticketmaster. Tickets range from $10 General Admission to $45 Courtside for each two-game session. Each day of the tournament will feature an afternoon session (12 p.m./2:30 p.m.) and evening session (6 p.m./8:30 p.m.) and tickets will be good for both games of a given session. All-session passes have been on-sale since April and will continue to be available to fans.

“Opening Games” schedule

As part of the event, five “opening games” will be played at home sites:

  • North Carolina Wesleyan @ East Carolina – Nov. 14
  • Illinois-Springfield @ Green Bay – Nov. 14
  • Bristol @ Fresno State – Nov. 17
  • Notre Dame de Namur @ San Francisco – Nov. 19
  • Hawaii-Hilo @ Hawaii – Nov. 19

Women’s tournament pairings

Pairings for the Gulf Coast Showcase women’s tournament were announced in early August. The tournament commences on Friday, Nov. 28at noon and is headlined by two-time defending National Champion Connecticut. The rest of the field includes Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Minnesota, College of Charleston, Green Bay, Villanova and Vanderbilt.

For complete information, visit www.gulfcoastshowcase.com or follow on Twitter at @GCShowcase.

Ed O’Bannon Press Conference Quotes

Quotes from Ed O’Bannon press conference on Aug. 9, 2014 in Las Vegas regarding the NCAA trial ruling:

Opening Remarks:

“Thank you all for coming out today. First, I would like to thank Michael Hausfeld and his legal staff. I would thank (Findlay Toyota manager) Rich Abajian and his staff for their patience and support. I would also like to thank Pam & Sonny Vaccaro for their continued support. I must mention Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson and Harry Flournoy as they were each instrumental in me being here today. Without their support, I wouldn’t have been able to get through the past five years. I would like to thank Judge Claudia Wilken and the court for being fair in its judgment. And last but not least, my wife, Rosa and our three kids. You guys have been great throughout this process. I love you and thank you for all you have done.

“This has been a long five-year process but I am very happy with the judgment and result. Looking back on the lawsuit, there have been a lot of twists and turns, peaks and valleys, but through it all, I just wanted to be the guy to help the college athletes.

“I want to be clear on a few things, I didn’t set out to be the bad guy and we didn’t bankrupt college athletics with this suit. We didn’t set out to do that. Football Saturdays in the fall are still going to be special and the tournament in March will still have the madness.

“As for me personally, I woke up this morning and my bank account is the same. I did not make a dime off this lawsuit. We did this strictly and solely for the betterment of the college athlete.”

Q – How tough was this and did you ever think about giving up?

“I never even thought about giving up or stopping. Michael Hausfeld and his legal team, as well as Rosa and I, set out to help the current and future college athletes. Of course there were bad days but at the very least, we thought it was important to see this through to the end.”

Q – Is this a major victory now or for the future college athletes?

“It is a major victory now and is a major step forward for the future. It is a big victory now because the process has been so long and there have been countless lawsuits prior to this one that didn’t get this far. There were walls that were broken down to get here today and that itself is a victory. However, make no mistake, the ruling from Judge Wilken is for the future. There is change coming and with that comes a lot of possibilities.”

Q – Are you pushing for a “pay for play” model or are the limits in the ruling enough?

“My biggest thing to this point has been that college athletes have the right to control their likeness while in school and after leaving. It’s a basic human right to control your image and fortunately Judge Wilken sees it that way. We are only 24 hours removed from the ruling so the exact dollar amounts will be determined at the right time. I can say that as of right now, $5,000 for a college athlete is $5,000 more than they were receiving a week ago.”

Q – What are the next steps?

“I am expecting appeals of course. Once that happens you just roll with it and take it as it comes. At this very moment, it’s starting to hit home for me and I’m just happy for the past, present and future college athletes. We have taken a huge step forward for the kids yet to come.”

Q – How instrumental was Sonny Vaccaro?

“Mr. Vaccaro was very instrumental, especially at the beginning. Once I saw my likeness being used in a video game, I felt like I had to say something and try to right a wrong. Mr. Vaccaro and I spoke shortly thereafter and he provided that voice in me to stand up and be heard. He has been a great resource throughout all of this and I value the great relationship that we have developed over the past few decades.”

Q – What toll did this take on you and your family?

“It was tough and I’m glad it is over. When you do something like this and there is no monetary gain at the end, there are certain pressures that you feel and endure. You just have to persevere and see it though to the end. I have three kids, two in college and one on the way there, and it is a struggle with teenagers and young adults in making them appreciate what people do for them. All I hope for is the college athletes that will benefit from this recognize the hard work of so many people that were involved.”