Great Alaska Shootout

[Cusefan95]

What the heck happened to this event? I remember Syracuse playing in it years ago, along with other top teams. It looks like the fields have been getting weaker and weaker for the last several years, and this years field is horrible. There's gotta be some reason this tournament has effectively become irrelevant...

 

[OrlandoCuse]

There used to only be 3 or 4 preseason tourneys at this time of the year. NIT was always the best, followed by Maui and the Great Alaska.

Now you have too many tournies. Not too many teams want to travel up to Alaska toward the end of autumn when they can go to Puerto Rico, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Charleston, Orlando, New York, Atlantic City, etc.

 

[Frozen]

ESPN ended its affiliation with the Alaska tourney. Nobody wants to play there because the games are not televised (as far as I know).

 

[OttoMets]

ESPN pulled its coverage; with ESPN/EA Sports backing most of the early-season tournaments (and the NCAA backing the NIT), Alaska is left without broadcast coverage and significant sponsorship money.

Sad; used to be a great tournament.

 

[Cusefan95]

ESPN ended its affiliation with the Alaska tourney. Nobody wants to play there because the games are not televised (as far as I know).

I was flipping around and one of the games was on YES, which is why I asked. The quality of the broadcast is horrible; high school tournament basketball broadcasts look better. So while the game is televised, I doubt many people would have any idea its on, or be impressed with the feed. ESPN ending its affiliation sounds like the main reason why teams would stop going there.

 

[Madbiker]

Hard to blame ESPN for dumping it. Because of the time difference most of the games were on in the early morning hours... like after midnight eastern time. There's no TV audience.

 

[Czar]

There used to only be 3 or 4 preseason tourneys at this time of the year. NIT was always the best, followed by Maui and the Great Alaska.

Now you have too many tournies. Not too many teams want to travel up to Alaska toward the end of autumn when they can go to Puerto Rico, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Charleston, Orlando, New York, Atlantic City, etc.

Eh, I think Maui is more prestigious than the Preseason NIT.

 

[OrangeHeel]

Hard to blame ESPN for dumping it. Because of the time difference most of the games were on in the early morning hours... like after midnight eastern time. There's no TV audience.

Good point, but wouldn't the same problem exist for Maui?


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[OttoMets]

Good point, but wouldn't the same problem exist for Maui?

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As long as I can remember, Maui's played afternoon games. So they're late for us, but not middle-of-the-night late.

Many of those Alaska games (our 1996 thrashing by Kentucky a notable exception) tipped after midnight on the East Coast, I think.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Yep. I remember having to stay up past 2 am in 2000 to watch SU play Depaul and Mizzou.