By: TBT Staff
NEW YORK CITY, May 19, 2022 – The Basketball Tournament (TBT), the million dollar, winner-take-all event televised live on ESPN, today announced that New York City’s famed Rucker Park will serve as the event’s eighth regional location for the 2022 tournament. Games will be played at Rucker Park’s Greg Marius Court from July 16-20 and will be open to the public. The Rucker Park Regional will serve as TBT’s first outdoor basketball event in the tournament’s nine-year history.
Chick-fil-A Tri-State will serve as the presenting partner of the Rucker Park Regional. The event will also be supported by the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and their grassroots community partner, NBA 2K.
“We’re excited to bring TBT’s brand of high stakes, open-to-all basketball to the most storied court in the world,” said TBT founder and CEO Jon Mugar. “We’d like to thank Entertainers 155 Rucker Park, the National Association of Each One Teach One, Inc., and The Doe Fund. Without their support, it would never happen. It’s a great day for basketball.”
“We are very excited for this partnership and to support The Basketball Tournament coming to the newly renovated Greg Marius Court at Holcombe Rucker Park,” said NBPA president and New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum. “This tournament promotes and celebrates the game of basketball in a truly unique fashion and this is a natural collaboration for the NBPA and our players.”
“We are so grateful to be the presenting partner of The Basketball Tournament’s Rucker Park Regional,” said Chick-fil-A Tri-State Operator Roosevelt Board. “We are excited about the selection of New York’s Iconic Rucker Park given its rich history and importance to the game of basketball. So many of the game’s greats have played at Rucker, making the venue a perfect fit for The Basketball Tournament. We look forward to the event and are honored to continue supporting the New York City community.”
TBT’s Rucker Park Regional will feature activations from both Chick-fil-A Tri-State and the NBPA. The event will also be supported by TBT partners Puma, Zelle, and E&J Brandy.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Legends are made at Rucker Park.<br><br>Now it's time to write our chapter.<br><br>TBT's Rucker Park Regional: July 16-20 <a href="https://t.co/K0ogakKz3n">pic.twitter.com/K0ogakKz3n</a></p>— TBT (@thetournament) <a href="https://twitter.com/thetournament/status/1527300906668068865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>As part of the NBPA’s continued commitment to Rucker Park and the greater NYC basketball community, which began with a historic refurbishment of Greg Marius Court in 2021, the NBPA will support grassroots basketball around TBT by hosting a series of youth basketball training clinics with their partners NBA 2K and Legends. The clinics for local boys and girls will take place during the Rucker Park Regional, and feature NBA players as guest instructors. The NBPA and NBA 2K will also run a video gaming lounge experience that will be open to the community during the Rucker Park Regional.
“One of our goals with the refurbishment was to promote a space that continues to foster community development,” said Chris Jean, Senior Director, Grassroots Basketball and Business Development for THINK450, the innovation and business arm of the NBPA. “By implementing on-going grassroots programming in collaboration with TBT, our partners, and most importantly, the local Harlem community, we feel like we are fulfilling our mission by creating something that will have a positive impact for everyone involved.”
Eight teams will compete in the Rucker Park Regional over the course of July 16-20. Rucker Park joins the City of Charleston, University of Dayton, University of New Mexico, City of Omaha, City of Syracuse, Wichita State University, and Xavier University as host locations for TBT 2022, which will feature sixty four teams facing off in the single-elimination bracket.
The winner of the Rucker Park Regional will play into the quarterfinal round at the University of Dayton on July 29-30. Wichita State will also host a quarterfinals game between the winner of the Wichita Regional and the Omaha Regional. TBT’s semifinals and championship game will be hosted at the University of Dayton on July 31 and August 2, respectively.