When Jackson’s Oman Arena was selected as a regional site for The Basketball Tournament, no one was more elated than Dexter Williams, the head coach of the Jackson UnderDawgs.
The announcement about this summer’s seventh annual, open-application, single-elimination tournament was made during a press conference at Jackson’s City Hall, Tuesday.
First round games at Oman Arena will be played July 24.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to play at home in West Tennessee, right here in Jackson,” Williams said, “We have a great group of young men from right here in Jackson, and they’ve done an outstanding job … representing not only Jackson, but West Tennessee.”
Founded in 2014 by Jonathan Mugar, The Basketball Tournament features 64 teams with $2 million at stake in the winner-take-all format telecast by ESPN.
The Jackson UnderDawgs fell 79-62 to the Golden Eagles – Marquette University alumni – in the quarterfinal round of 2019 The Basketball Tournament in Chicago.
The Golden Eagles were the eventually tournament runner-up.
“We are thrilled that The Basketball Tournament made a decision to choose Jackson, Tennessee, as one of their 2020 regional host sites,” said Scott Conger, mayor of Jackson, “We are proud of how the Jackson UnderDawgs represented our city in last year’s tournament.”
The 64-team field and The Basketball Tournament’s bracket will be released June 22.
Lori Nunnery, executive director Jackson Convention and Visitor Bureau, said the economic impact for Jackson is expected to exceed $1 million.
“We are thrilled … The Basketball Tournament has chosen Jackson,” Nunnery said, “What you’re looking at is, eight teams traveling from all across the U.S., to Jackson Tennessee … their teams, plus their fans coming to our town. We want to show them a good time (and) this is a significant economic impact.”
(PHOTO: Front, Jackson UnderDawg member Anthony Sampson and team general manager Darius DeBerry. Back row, from left, team members Antuan Long and Chris Cole, Jackson Mayor Scott Conger and Dexter Williams, Jackson UnderDawgs head coach at press conference, Tuesday)
David Thomas, Twitter – @DavidThomasWNWS
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