Horizon League Announces Bid Process for #HLMBB and #HLWBB Tournament
INDIANAPOLIS – The Horizon League Council Ad-Hoc Committee has formally launched the bidding process to identify the tournament host city for future Horizon League Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments beginning in 2020.
The ad-hoc committee made bid specifications available this week to prospective tournament hosts, which will have the opportunity to bid on the event from 2020-2022. The Horizon League Men’s Basketball Tournament has been hosted at a neutral site in Detroit since 2016, with women’s basketball joining the following year.
In 2018, the tournament saw over 30,000 fans in attendance and over 1.2 million viewers on the ESPN family of networks. Event attendance has increased all three years in Detroit, making the Horizon League one of four conferences competing at a neutral site to experience year-over-year growth.
“Detroit has been a tremendous home for us and we look forward to continuing our partnership in 2019 to put on a great championship at Little Caesars Arena,” said Horizon League commissioner Jon LeCrone. “We are also excited about the future of our championships as we write the next chapter in our League’s history with the goal of creating an outstanding student-athlete experience driven by attendance and community support.”
Prospective bid communities are asked to submit a declaration of intent to bid and confirmation of adherence to the Horizon League's bid specifications by November 1, 2018. Completed bids are due November 30, 2018. When evaluating prospective hosts, the ad-hoc committee will review each community's competition venue, which may not be a primary home venue for a Horizon League member institution, ability to provide an outstanding student-athlete experience driven by attendance and community involvement and commitment to support the Horizon League strategic initiatives for basketball.
“We see this as a great opportunity to explore and forge community relationships within the geographical footprint of the Horizon League” said Horizon League Council Ad-Hoc Committee Chair and UIC Director of Athletics Garrett Klassy. “With nine of our 10 schools located in the top-70 media markets in the country, we are excited to begin what we expect to be a competitive bid process as we review all potential locations to identify what's best for our student-athletes and fans.”