Monday, May 09, 2011

Fort Collins, CO - The 2011 Cancun Challenge, in its fourth year, features eight men's NCAA Division I teams in two divisions, the Riviera and Mayan.

The games in Cancun feature two separate four team brackets with games tipping off on Tuesday, Nov. 22 and completing on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011.

The Riviera Division includes Illinois, Illinois State, Richmond and Rutgers.  The Mayan Division features Hampton, Lipscomb, Sacred Heart and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. All teams will play two games in the U.S. prior to traveling to Cancun.

Lipscomb will play Illinois and Illinois State at their respective home arena the week before Thanksgiving before heading to Cancun.  Lipscomb opens in Cancun on Nov. 22 against SIU Edwardsville and then will face another Mayan Division opponent on Nov. 23.

“We are thrilled with the teams who will be participating in the event,” said Cancun Challenge Tournament Director Brent Amick.  “We feel it will be a very competitive tournament as it has been in the past.”

Fan admission and lodging package information is available by visiting the tournament website at www.cancunchallenge.net.  At this time these fan packages are the only way to ensure admission into the basketball games in Cancun.  

This unique tournament is held at the convention center at the beautiful all-inclusive beach front resort of the Moon Palace. Previous Rivera Division champions include Vanderbilt (2008), Kentucky (2009) and Missouri (2010).  Previous Mayan Division champions include Sam Houston State (2009) and North Florida (2010).

The Cancun Challenge is owned and operated by Fort Collins, Colorado based Triple Crown Sports, Inc., which also owns and operates other women’s college basketball tournaments in Cancun as well as the Preseason and Postseason Women’s National Invitation tournaments.