Announced with great fanfare this spring, the organizers of the Atlantic Slam, On Ice Entertainment in partnership with the City of Moncton and Événements Moncton, presented the participating teams on Thursday morning for this first tournament of its kind in Atlantic Canada.
The tournament is sanctioned by the Big South Conference of NCAA Division I Basketball, which will be represented by the Garner-Webb University Runnin’ Bulldogs of Boiling Springs, North Carolina. Joining them are other Bulldogs, those of the prestigious Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut) of the Ivy Leage Conference, the Wildcats of Weber State in Utah of the Big Sky Conference and the Raiders of Colgate University, of the Patriot League.
Division 1 basketball is the highest level of college and university basketball in the United States. Division 1 is made up of 32 conferences that generally have 8 to 16 teams. There are therefore 363 teams in 49 states competing to qualify for the famous “March Madness”, the national championship which brings together the 68 best teams in the country.
It may therefore seem strange that we want to extend the NCAA phenomenon to our country, however popular it may be among our neighbors.
“It gives us the opportunity to expand our brand, not just regionally or nationally, but globally. It’s the same for the four universities joining the tournament. It gives them the opportunity to showcase the talent of college athletes,” said Sarkia Montgomery, the first woman to serve as commissioner of the Big South conference, at the end of the press briefing at the Royal Oaks golf club in northern Texas. the city.
The Director of Communications for the City of Moncton, Isabelle LeBlanc, explains why this event is so special for the region.
“Fans know that it is extremely rare for the NCAA to sanction a tournament outside of the United States. Well, Moncton is now in this unique position (as host) and we couldn’t be more excited about the potential of seeing future NBA stars play at the Avenir Center.”
“When we gather in a little over a month, you’re going to see the impact that basketball has had on the lives of these young men and will continue to have for decades to come,” said Ms. Montgomery, herself a former student-athlete in the Garner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs program.
“You don’t have to be a basketball fan,” explains Atlantic Slam co-president Norval McConnell. We demonstrated this with the World Junior Hockey Championship. Everyone joined in the fun and that’s what we hope to replicate here.”
On the sidelines of the tournament, “legendary” UCLA Bruins coach James Harrick will offer a workshop for area coaches.
“Basketball success is about hard work, teamwork and passion. I am happy to transmit these values to the athletes and coaches developing in Moncton,” explained “Coach” Harrick earlier.
Yale coach James Jones, wearing his establishment’s colors, was also in Moncton for Thursday’s announcement.
The organizers also took the opportunity to announce that an agreement had been reached with the American broadcaster ESPN+ for the broadcast of all the matches of the Atlantic Slam, which will be held from November 16 to 19, at the Center Avenir. The event must be held annually.
2023-09-28 17:47:40
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