GLENDALE, Ariz. (June 15, 2023) – Intersport today announced the debut of the Arizona Tip-Off, an early season college basketball tournament scheduled for Nov. 17-19 at Desert Diamond Arena, which is located just across the street from State Farm Stadium, which will serve as the host venue for the 2024 Final Four.
The Arizona Tip-Off will include two divisions of four teams, with NAU playing in the Desert Division alongside South Dakota, Purdue Fort Wayne, and VMI. The Cactus Division includes DePaul, South Carolina, Grand Canyon, and San Francisco.
All eight teams participating in the Arizona Tip-Off will be in action on Nov. 17 for their respective opening-round games, which are as follows:
Cactus Division: DePaul vs. South Carolina; Grand Canyon vs. San Francisco
Desert Division: South Dakota vs. VMI; Northern Arizona vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
The championship and third-place game in the Desert Division will be played Nov. 18, while the championship and third-place game in the Cactus Division will be held Nov. 19. All Cactus Division games will be broadcast by CBS Sports Network. Tip times for all games, in addition to distribution plans for Desert Division games, will be announced at a later date.
The Jacks matchup against Purdue Fort Wayne will mark the first time the two teams meet in program history, as well as a possible matchup against VMI. A possible matchup against South Dakota would mark the teams sixth time meeting on the court, with the most recent being in December of 2021 as NAU fell to the Coyotes in a 76-71 overtime game.
As part of the overall event format, each team from the Cactus Division will host one team from the Desert Division as part of their non-conference schedules. On Nov. 12, Grand Canyon will host Northern Arizona, while on Nov. 13, DePaul will host South Dakota, South Carolina will welcome VMI and on Nov. 22 San Francisco will face Purdue Fort Wayne.
The launch of the Arizona Tip-Off will continue to bolster Intersport's roster of early season events that has seen considerable growth in the last five years. After launching the Fort Myers Tip-Off in 2018, its first early season college basketball tournament, the Chicago-based agency has announced plans to host at least seven events throughout the course of the 2023-24 non-conference college basketball season, including the Cactus and Desert divisions of the Arizona Tip-Off (Nov. 17-19), the Beach and Palms divisions of the Fort Myers Tip-Off (Nov. 20-22), the Elevance Health Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off (Nov. 23-25), the CBS Sports Classic (Dec. 16) and the Ohio State-West Virginia neutral site contest in Cleveland (Dec. 30), with additional event announcements to come throughout the summer.
For more information on the Arizona Tip-Off, please visit the event website at www.arizonatipoff.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @Arizona_TipOff.
