The Basketball Tournament (TBT) Returns to Drexel for Semifinals and $1M Championship Game
5/6/2024 9:00:00 AM | Drexel Athletics
TBT Returns to the Daskalakis Athletic Center for second summer of championship basketball
PHILADELPHIA – The Basketball Tournament (TBT), the 64-team, $1 million winner-take-all event, today announced that Philadelphia and Drexel University will be the host for TBT's 2024 semifinals and $1M championship game. TBT's semifinals games will be played on August 2, and the winner-take-all championship game on August 4. All three games will be shown live on FOX Sports.
"We are excited to return to where TBT all started eleven years ago in Philadelphia," said TBT founder and CEO Jon Mugar. "Between Puma, Zelle, and Drexel, we have three outstanding partners who will help us put on a great show. And with our $1,000,000, winner-take-all championship game broadcast August 4 on Fox, we anticipate our largest audience ever."
"Drexel is excited to bring this prestigious event back to the Drexel campus," Drexel Director of Athletics Maisha Kelly said. "We have set goals to utilize the DAC as a hub of entertainment and basketball in Philadelphia. Partnerships like this allow us to achieve them and to illuminate Drexel's brand on a national stage."
The Basketball Tournament returned to Philadelphia, the original home of the event, last year after a six-year hiatus. TBT 2024 will mark the second consecutive summer games will be held at Drexel.
Local basketball fans, athletes like Philadelphia 76ers center Mo Bamba, and celebrities like rapper Jadakiss packed the Daskalakis Athletic Center for two nights of entertaining basketball that saw HEARTFIRE crowned TBT 2023 champion.
Last year's TBT field featured more than 70 players with NBA experience, a tournament record. Notable NBA players slated to compete in this year's event include Montrezl Harrell, Russ Smith, Eric Bledsoe, Willie Cauley-Stein, Jordan Bell, and many more.
Multiple teams from the Philadelphia area will be competing in this year's event.
The John A. Daskalakis Athletic Center, the host site for TBT's Championship Week, was renovated in April of 2022 with a new state of the art video board along with eight other screens and displays throughout the venue. The "DAC" also boasts a professional production room and an upgraded audio system that can play music on the adjacent Lancaster Walk, a space just outside of the DAC's front doors. Sam Cozen Court, the host of Drexel's Division I basketball and wrestling programs, can seat up to 2,500 spectators.
Now entering its 11th year, The Basketball Tournament has grown tremendously in popularity amongst both fans and players. A record 77,000 fans attended TBT games across the country last year, including 7,202 for TBT's quarterfinals, a new TBT single-game record. More than 75 players with NBA experience competed in TBT 2023 as well, the most in tournament history.
TBT is the home of the Elam Ending®, the alternate ending to basketball games where teams play to a Target Score™, which has previously been used in the NBA All-Star game and is currently in use in the G League, the CEBL, and other events across the globe.
To purchase tickets for TBT's semifinals and championship, visit thetournament.com/tickets
About The Basketball Tournament
The home of the Elam Ending®, The Basketball Tournament has grown from a unique idea among friends to one of the most exciting and engaging events on the summer sports calendar, with national exposure on ESPN, social media buzz and regional championships across the country - culminating in a winner-take-all $1 million game. Every year it attracts some of the best players in the world. For more information on TBT's tenth season, visit www.thetournament.com
"We are excited to return to where TBT all started eleven years ago in Philadelphia," said TBT founder and CEO Jon Mugar. "Between Puma, Zelle, and Drexel, we have three outstanding partners who will help us put on a great show. And with our $1,000,000, winner-take-all championship game broadcast August 4 on Fox, we anticipate our largest audience ever."
"Drexel is excited to bring this prestigious event back to the Drexel campus," Drexel Director of Athletics Maisha Kelly said. "We have set goals to utilize the DAC as a hub of entertainment and basketball in Philadelphia. Partnerships like this allow us to achieve them and to illuminate Drexel's brand on a national stage."
The Basketball Tournament returned to Philadelphia, the original home of the event, last year after a six-year hiatus. TBT 2024 will mark the second consecutive summer games will be held at Drexel.
Local basketball fans, athletes like Philadelphia 76ers center Mo Bamba, and celebrities like rapper Jadakiss packed the Daskalakis Athletic Center for two nights of entertaining basketball that saw HEARTFIRE crowned TBT 2023 champion.
Last year's TBT field featured more than 70 players with NBA experience, a tournament record. Notable NBA players slated to compete in this year's event include Montrezl Harrell, Russ Smith, Eric Bledsoe, Willie Cauley-Stein, Jordan Bell, and many more.
Multiple teams from the Philadelphia area will be competing in this year's event.
The John A. Daskalakis Athletic Center, the host site for TBT's Championship Week, was renovated in April of 2022 with a new state of the art video board along with eight other screens and displays throughout the venue. The "DAC" also boasts a professional production room and an upgraded audio system that can play music on the adjacent Lancaster Walk, a space just outside of the DAC's front doors. Sam Cozen Court, the host of Drexel's Division I basketball and wrestling programs, can seat up to 2,500 spectators.
Now entering its 11th year, The Basketball Tournament has grown tremendously in popularity amongst both fans and players. A record 77,000 fans attended TBT games across the country last year, including 7,202 for TBT's quarterfinals, a new TBT single-game record. More than 75 players with NBA experience competed in TBT 2023 as well, the most in tournament history.
TBT is the home of the Elam Ending®, the alternate ending to basketball games where teams play to a Target Score™, which has previously been used in the NBA All-Star game and is currently in use in the G League, the CEBL, and other events across the globe.
To purchase tickets for TBT's semifinals and championship, visit thetournament.com/tickets
About The Basketball Tournament
The home of the Elam Ending®, The Basketball Tournament has grown from a unique idea among friends to one of the most exciting and engaging events on the summer sports calendar, with national exposure on ESPN, social media buzz and regional championships across the country - culminating in a winner-take-all $1 million game. Every year it attracts some of the best players in the world. For more information on TBT's tenth season, visit www.thetournament.com
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