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How to enter the basketball tournament
The Basketball Tournament: A $2M Contest That Anyone Can Enter
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Five years ago, long before “The Basketball Tournament” became a nationally-televised event, Los Angeles-based television producer and comedy writer Jonathan Mugar contacted one of his close friends, Dan Friel, for a brainstorm session.
Mugar, an avid basketball fan and former two-sport athlete at Tufts University in Massachusetts, wondered what would happen if someone put together a “March Madness”-style tournament for the general public, with teams from around the world competing for a winner-take-all prize worth millions of dollars. Soon after that initial conversation, Mugar started to develop a business plan. The idea for a free-to-enter, five-on-five basketball competition open to anyone above the age of 18 began to take shape.
“We would go back and forth on email quite a bit and start to actually put the idea down into writing and see if we could make something out of it logistically that would work, and something that we could ultimately sell,” Mugar, now chief executive of The Basketball Tournament, told FOXBusiness. com “It was maybe a four or five month process from original concept to getting it into a Word document that we could share with some people that I had connections with in the sports industry.”
The inaugural edition of The Basketball Tournament launched in 2014 without a corporate sponsor or broadcast partner, but featured 32 teams, multiple ex-NBA players and a $500,000 prize. Two years later, the competition’s field has doubled to 64 teams divided among four regions, chosen from hundreds of applicants. The winner-take-all prize has increased to $2 million in 2016, and ESPN will broadcast both the semifinals and the championship game for the second straight year. Jack Link’s Protein Snacks has signed on as the event’s official title sponsor.
“TBT” relies on crowdsourced marketing to boost its profile. While anyone can enter the tournament, entry is limited to the 64 teams that drive the most supporters to register on the tournament’s website. Fans have a financial incentive to actively recruit for their team of choice – 10% of this year’s $2 million prize will be divided among the winning team’s top 100 supporters, ranked by number of referrals.
“The Basketball Tournament is appealing because there are players who are familiar to a lot of fans and there’s also an opportunity for anyone to assemble a team to compete for the title and the $2 million prize," said Dan Ochs, ESPN Programming's Director of Content Strategy & Acquisitions. "When we were pitched on this a few years ago, the concept really stood out, and we are excited to continue our coverage of the event again this summer.”
Registration for the 2016 edition of The Basketball Tournament began on Friday, April 1. The competition opens at four regional venues in July and culminate on August 2 in the nationally-televised championship game at Fordham University in New York. Mugar is betting that the allure of a monetary reward for fandom will translate into higher television ratings.
“We are asking something of fans. Every team is asking something of fans: come to the website and vote for us. We want to convert all of those voters into viewers,” Mugar said. “The best way for us to do that is to give them as much skin in the game as possible, give them a reason to follow that team, to watch on TV.”
Humble Origins
In the months leading up to The Basketball Tournament’s first tipoff, Mugar and his associates hit a wall. The concept for an open-entry basketball tournament generated plenty of enthusiasm in business meetings, but companies and broadcasters were slow to commit any resources to aid in its development. Mugar’s ideas were fresh, but he was an unknown commodity in the sports media landscape.
Without a broadcast partner or any firm commitment from sponsors, Mugar decided to fund the tournament’s $500,000 prize by himself, with some help from close friends and family members. Even now, Mugar acknowledges it was a “huge risk.”
“There was tremendous interest in the concept. Everyone loved the idea of a tournament like this,” Mugar said. “But the challenge became, who is this kid? Who is this team, and how do we know they can pull it off? I felt that we got to a point where I had to put it on myself. ”
As the tournament approached, Mugar reached out to Zach Lowe of the now-defunct sports site Grantland, who wrote the first story about the concept. TBT officials also made contact with Barstool Sports, a popular Boston-based sports and comedy blog with a massive following on social media. Site founder David Portnoy and longtime employee Daniel “Big Cat” Katz regularly promoted the event and started a team that included ex-NBA player Dahntay Jones and former University of Florida star Matthew Walsh.
“Having Barstool involved in that first year was unbelievably important, to prove the model and to demonstrate to people what types of teams will basically populate this model,” Mugar said. “We don’t charge a fee, we just place an enormous emphasis on someone’s ability to tap into an existing network of people. Barstool has that network, college alumni teams have that network, nonprofits have that network, and those are the types of teams that wind up participating.”
The tournament started smoothly and generated strong buzz on social media. Shortly after the initial tipoff, ESPN made contact. A group of former University of Notre Dame basketball players defeated Team Barstool in the inaugural championship game, which streamed live on ESPN3. The following year, ESPN streamed five TBT games on its digital platform and aired the tournament’s semifinals and finals on its flagship channel.
Long-Term Goals
TBT has grown rapidly since in 2014, but attempts to expand carry new financial risks. The brand generates revenue through TV partnerships, sponsorship deals, advertising and the sale of tickets and merchandise. At present, Jack Link’s Protein Snacks is the tournament’s sole corporate sponsor. If this year’s revenue stream falls short of $2 million, Mugar and his private group of investors will have to cover any deficit in order to guarantee the tournament’s prize.
But Mugar is fixated on expansion. He wants The Basketball Tournament to become a worldwide event, with a grand prize worth tens of millions of dollars. He and his partners have talked about starting similar events for hockey and soccer, but only after they’ve “mastered” basketball.
“We want to be the biggest, most open sporting event in the world,” Mugar said.
The Basketball Tournament format, explained: How the rules & bracket work for 2022
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[Getty Images]
The Basketball Tournament has returned.
On July 16th, the ninth-annual high-stakes tournament is set to take place across the country.
The Basketball Tournament is a 64-team, single-elimination tournament where teams compete for a grand prize of $1 million.
Teams are packed with former NBA players and college stars, all competing to take home the million-dollar prize. But how do teams qualify for The Basketball Tournament and how does it work?
Find out below.
How does The Basketball Tournament work?
The Basketball Tournament is a March Madness-style bracket with 64 teams competing in a single-elimination tournament.
🚨 THE TBT 2022 BRACKET 🚨
Games tip-off July 16 live on @espn! pic.twitter.com/GBL0M1F5Bg
— TBT (@thetournament) June 22, 2022
Teams are divided into eight different regions, with the winner of each region meeting in Dayton, Ohio for what would be considered the "Elite Eight" portion of March Madness. This year's regions are Omaha, Rucker Park, Xavier, New Mexico, Wichita, Syracuse, West Virginia and Dayton.
It's a winner-take-all tournament, so only the championship team receives the $1 million prize money, which is divided up among the players on the roster or can be donated to charity.
How do teams qualify for The Basketball Tournament?
Believe it or not, The Basketball Tournament is an "open" tournament, so anyone can apply to put a team in. But it comes at a price.
If your team's application is accepted, each player must pay a $1,000 registration fee to officially make a roster. Each team consists of a minimum of seven players or a maximum of 12 players and must have a general manager. Coaches are optional, and teams can have as many as they'd like.
Teams usually consist of former NBA players, overseas professionals and college hoops stars.
How to watch The Basketball Tournament
When: July 16th through August 2nd
Where: Multiple different regions
TV Channel: ESPN Networks
Streaming: ESPN app | Sling TV
The Basketball Tournament will be televised on ESPN's family of networks: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU and the ESPN app. You can also stream The Basketball Tournament on Sling TV, the official streaming partner of TBT.
Viewers who sign up for Sling TV get half off the first month with no long-term contracts. Watch The Basketball Tournament live on ESPN and enjoy access to sports programming on the ESPN family of networks.
What is the Elam Ending?
Rather than a traditional game clock, The Basketball Tournament employs what's known as 'The Elam Ending' in which teams play to a target score. In addition to assuring that every contest ends on a game-winning shot, it also helps reduce end-of-game fouling that often extends games and makes for an uneven — and unnatural — viewing experience.
TBT's success with The Elam Ending even caught the attention of the NBA which now incorporates it into the annual NBA All-Star Game. You can read more about The Elam Ending here.
What is 'The Sling Shot'?
The Basketball Tournament is introducing a new twist to this year's Elam Ending. Every final shot will now be called 'The Sling Shot', named after Sling TV which is the official streaming partner of The Basketball Tournament. So if you're watching and wondering why announcers are referring to clutch shots at the end of games, there's your answer!
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What is Lokostart?
Locostart is a project of the professional basketball club Lokomotiv-Kuban, initiated by the president of the club Andrey Vedischev. The priority task of Lokostart is to work with children of primary school age, instilling in them a love for a healthy lifestyle and getting to know the basics of the best ball game.
Training takes place three times a week. In addition to general physical training, the guys master the technique of moving around the court, dribbling, throws, passes and other elements of basketball.
Currently, more than 450 boys and girls from 1st to 4th grade are involved in the project.
Who teaches them?
Trainings are conducted by the best students and graduates of universities of physical culture and sports. Each of them goes through a serious selection for the position of a coach.
Lokostart is a project where not only children grow up. Young specialists get a place to realize their potential, undergo mandatory training during the season, attend master classes by coaches of the main and youth teams of Lokomotiv-Kuban.
Do they also compete?
Of course! At the end of each academic year, the big final of the Lokostart project is held - the players pass the standards necessary to move to the next level of professional excellence, and also compete among themselves for the title of the best team of the season.
At the final matches, the teams are supported by the leaders of Loko, the players of the main team and, of course, Zubastik, where can we go without him.
Where are the training sessions?
At the moment, 17 schools in various districts of the city have already become participants in the project. Several more educational institutions intend to join Lokostart starting next season.
The project does not stand still. If you did not find your school on the list, then it may already be preparing to become part of the project. Contact a member of the club for more information: 8 (928) 296-18-13.
How to get into the project?
To get into Lokostart, just contact the project curator from the club and leave him an application.
Contact phone – 8 (928) 296-18-13
Lokostart is one of our key special projects, we have been actively developing it for three years. The main goal of Lokostart is to create a system of children's basketball competitions in the city. To date, we have created a training system that includes 17 educational schools. Young coaches, graduates of KGUFST, who are eager to improve and develop professional skills, work with children of early school age. The Lokostart project is a social lift not only for talented children, but also for coaches.
The 2019 Superfinal will be held at Basket Hall for the first time. I am sure that matches on the court of the professional sports arena will become a significant event in the life of the guys, their first big tournament and will give an incentive for further basketball lessons.
We are grateful to the Department of Education of the city of Krasnodar, the Ministry of Sports of the Krasnodar Territory and the city department for physical culture and sports for their help in organizing the project. In the future, we intend to increase both the scale and quality of the competition. It is necessary that the Loko academy gets guys who are properly prepared technically and tactically, and who are ready to prove themselves at the level of the best teams in the country. Now we are able to beat at a distance Moscow and St. Petersburg schools of at least 15-16 years of age, but further development of the Lokostart project will increase the competitiveness of Loko teams of the youngest age.
Andrey Vedishchev, President of PBC Lokomotiv-Kuban
PBC Lokomotiv-Kuban, together with the Department of Education of the city of Krasnodar, created a unique project aimed at popularizing basketball and a healthy lifestyle. Lokostart is a children's basketball tournament that introduces kids to the basic elements and basic principles of the game, and allows young coaches to prove themselves by teaching children the best ball game within schools.
“The best way for us to do that is to give them as much skin in the game as possible, give them a reason to follow that team, to watch on TV.”
”
Shortly after the initial tipoff, ESPN made contact. A group of former University of Notre Dame basketball players defeated Team Barstool in the inaugural championship game, which streamed live on ESPN3. The following year, ESPN streamed five TBT games on its digital platform and aired the tournament’s semifinals and finals on its flagship channel.
He and his partners have talked about starting similar events for hockey and soccer, but only after they’ve “mastered” basketball.:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6154001/Screen_Shot_2016-03-07_at_8.57.39_AM.0.png)
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Coaches are optional, and teams can have as many as they'd like.
In addition to assuring that every contest ends on a game-winning shot, it also helps reduce end-of-game fouling that often extends games and makes for an uneven — and unnatural — viewing experience.
11.2022 
11.2022 
10.2022 
09.2021 
The priority task of Lokostart is to work with children of primary school age, instilling in them a love for a healthy lifestyle and getting to know the basics of the best ball game. 
If you did not find your school on the list, then it may already be preparing to become part of the project. Contact a member of the club for more information: 8 (928) 296-18-13. 
