The UConn men will participate in one of the largest regular-season tournaments in college basketball history in November 2017, it was announced Wednesday.The PK80 has been created to honor Nike-co founder Phil Knight in advance of 80th birthday.
The other teams participating are Arkansas, Butler, Connecticut, Duke, Florida, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Portland, Portland State, Stanford and Texas. The tournament will be played No. 23, Nov. 24 and Nov. 26 at the Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
“The strength of the field coupled with the two venues in Portland set the stage for what should be an exciting weekend,” said Clint Overby, vice president of ESPN Events.
Two eight-team events – consisting of three games per team – will run simultaneously in the two buildings with the crowning of two bracket champions. All games from Portland will be televised on ESPN networks.
Here are the highlights of the tournament:
- The schools have combined for 23 National Championships, more than 85 Final Fours, more than 380 NCAA Championship appearances and more than 680 NCAA Championship wins
- Ten of the 16 schools have won a NCAA title
- Nine of the past 13 National Champions are in the field
- Thirteen of the 16 schools have made at least one Final Four appearance
“It’s an honor to be included in this prestigious group of college basketball programs and to get the chance to participate in an event as exciting as the PK80,” said UConn coach Kevin Ollie. “The level of competition, as well as the college basketball atmosphere, will make it a tremendous experience for everyone involved, especially the student-athletes. After all he’s done for college basketball, there is no more appropriate way to help Phil Knight celebrate such a special birthday.”
Ticket information and tournament bracket will be announced at a later date.
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