ESTERO, Fla. – Seven teams that competed in the 2019 NCAA Tournament will be among the 16 men’s and women’s teams competing in the seventh annual Gulf Coast Showcase on Thanksgiving week at Hertz Arena. Murray State, which won the Ohio Valley Conference and beat Marquette in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, and Northeastern, champs of the CAA, headline the men’s field while Arizona State, Auburn, Drake, Gonzaga and Maine are teams in the women’s field that went dancing last March.
“It has been so rewarding to watch this event mature since we first launched in 2013 and that maturity is never more evident than seeing eight programs returning to the Gulf Coast Showcase for the second time, “ said Brooks Downing, whose company bdG Sports manages the annual event. “It is a testament to our partners at Hertz Arena, our first-class headquarter’s hotel at Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, the beautiful beaches of Fort Myers and the southern hospitality that Southwest Florida offers.”
The Gulf Coast Showcase men’s tournament, created specifically for mid-major programs only, tips on Monday, Nov. 25 with the following pairings:
- 11 a.m. ET – Northeastern vs. South Alabama
- 1:30 p.m. ET – Drake vs. Miami (OH)
- 5 p.m. ET – Wright State vs. Weber State
- 7:30 p.m. ET – Murray State vs. La Salle
Game times for Tuesday and Wednesday will be the same with semifinal games on Nov. 26 at 5:00/7:30. Wednesday’s championship game will tip at 7:30.
After a day-off on Thanksgiving, the women’s tournament tips on Friday, Nov. 29 with the following match-ups:
- 11 a.m. ET – Auburn vs. Middle Tennessee
- 1:30 p.m. ET – Gonzaga vs. Dayton
- 5 p.m. ET – Arizona State vs. Maine
- 7:30 p.m. ET – Drake vs. Purdue
Game times for Saturday and Sunday will be the same as the men’s tournament.
For the fifth 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 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 2019 Gulf Coast Showcase go on public sale on Monday, July 22 at HertzArena.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 the official tournament resort hotel – the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point – is available on www.GulfCoastShowcase.com.
Campus Games Schedule
In addition to the tournament games in Southwest Florida, participating teams will play an additional game at home sites. The schedule for games at home sites is as follows:
- 19 – West Coast Baptist @ Weber State
- 19 – Springhill @ South Alabama
- 20 – Urbana @ Wright State
- 20 – Central State @ Miami (OH)
