NCAA Basketball: Great Alaska Shootout to end after 2017 edition
The 2017 Great Alaska Shootout will be the last edition in what has been an incredible 40-year tradition in NCAA Basketball.
Early season college basketball has been known for its non-conference tournaments. The contenders and the big names show every year in one tournament or another. The Maui Invitational can be a popular spot because of its Hawaiian location. The Preseason NIT can bring early favorites to Madison Square Garden.
Those are not the only tournaments that are out there, though. There are smaller, lesser-known two-day affairs, such as the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, but my personal favorite has been the Great Alaska Shootout. The tournament has been hosted by the University of Alaska-Anchorage and played in the far north of the continental United State.
Sadly, the tournament is coming to an end. The University of Alaska-Anchorage will pull the plug on its 40-year tradition after the final tournament this November. According to reports by the Associated Press, the small Alaska school just cannot afford to keep holding the event.
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That did not stop the Great Alaska Shootout from fielding some very good teams during its lifetime. Its ability to attract North Carolina, Duke, Michigan, and others is what kept the tourney significant. Perhaps it was a victim of its own success. Other tournaments have popped up and now teams simply don’t have to go to Anchorage.
The Great Alaska Shootout also had its behind the scenes stories. It was the place where Michigan forward Glen Rice had a one-night stand with future Alaska governor Sarah Palin according to the book The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin.
Mostly we will remember the Shootout for its great games. Brad Daugherty led a North Carolina comeback in 1985 to defeat the Running Rebels of UNLV 65-60. New Mexico State took Iowa down 95-94 in 1992. The 1998 Cincinnati Bearcats beat Duke 77-75 despite Tournament MVP William Avery playing for the Blue Devils. Finally, South Carolina was sunk by Marquette’s Steve Novak in overtime of the 92-89 classic of 2005.
The other thing that the tournament provided was an opportunity for the Division II Alaska-Anchorage Sea Wolves to play some really good competition. This is the college landscape where scheduling can be difficult for smaller schools looking to play the big boys. The Sea Wolves were guaranteed big time competition and they accumulated a 38-79 record over the entire history of the tournament. They defeated the Drexel Dragons in last year’s meeting.
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The final shootout field will be Idaho, College of Charleston, Cal Poly, Central Michigan, CSU Bakersfield, Sam Houston State, Santa Clara, and of course, the Sea Wolves. It will begin November 22.