TBT Ticket Sales Will Help Boost Club Blue Revenue for UK Athletes

Mark Pope is all-in with his support of the TBT, especially with ticket sales helping Club Blue. (UK Athletics Photo)

Club Blue, the official NIL partner of Kentucky Athletics, and The Basketball Tournament (TBT), the $1 million, winner-take-all summer basketball event broadcast live on FOX Sports, has announced a partnership to benefit Kentucky student-athletes.

A portion of all ticket sales for TBT’s Lexington Regional will go directly to Club Blue to support Kentucky’s ongoing NIL efforts. Lexington Regional games will be held at Rupp Arena July 19-23, and will be hosted by La Familia, a Kentucky alumni team.

“I’m really excited about this partnership between Club Blue and The Basketball Tournament,” said Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope. “With Rupp Arena hosting the Lexington Regional, this is a tremendous opportunity to bring together all eras of Kentucky basketball while supporting our alumni team and members of this program for years to come. We look forward to seeing BBN at Rupp next month!”

“We are excited to bring TBT to one of the most rabid fan bases in the world,” said The Tournament founder and CEO Jon Mugar. “Through this novel partnership, fans can be assured that they are not only showing up in support of former student-athletes, but also current ones.”

Organized by former Wildcat and national champion Twany Beckham, La Familia’s inaugural roster includes Wilie Cauley-Stein, Eric Bledsoe, James Young, Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, Marquis Teague, Kellan Grady, Reid Travis, Daniel Orton, and Doron Lamb. La Familia will be coached by 2016 SEC Player of the Year and former first-round pick Tyler Ulis.

La Familia will make its TBT debut on July 19 at 8 p.m.  If La Familia wins its first-round game, it will play again on  July 21 at 2 p.m.. The Lexington Regional championship game is scheduled for July 23 at 9 p.m.

For the first time in TBT history, any host team that wins its regional will be able to play its quarterfinal matchup in its home gym. The winner of the Lexington Regional will play the winner of the Louisville Regional, hosted by Louisville alumni team The Ville, on July 29 or 30. In the event that both La Familia and The Ville win their regionals, the tiebreaker to determine who will host the quarterfinal game will be based on which team drew a higher attendance in round one.

The semifinals and $1 million winner-take-all championship game will be Aug. 2 and Aug. 4 in Philadelphia, Pa. at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

For more information on La Familia and tickets for the Lexington Regional, visit TheTournament.com.