PK80 Home Page I Promo Video | PK80 Announcement

PORTLAND, Ore. – The University of Portland men's basketball team will participate in PK80 – Phil Knight Invitational, a 16-team, early-season men's college basketball tournament honoring Nike co-founder and 2012 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Phil Knight in advance of his 80th birthday.

The event will take place over Thanksgiving week in 2017 and is the largest regular-season tournament in college basketball history while sporting a field featuring some of the top schools in the nation. Games will be played Thursday, Nov. 24, Friday, Nov. 25 and Sunday, Nov. 27, from the Rose Quarter's Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
 
Portland will be joined in the field by Arkansas, Butler, Connecticut, Duke, Florida, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Portland State, Stanford and Texas.
 
"We are very excited to welcome the elite of college basketball to the city of Portland for this landmark event," Portland first-year head coach Terry Porter said. "To be asked to participate in the greatest regular season college basketball tournament of all time is a special honor for the University of Portland. Phil Knight and Nike have contributed so much to the growth of college basketball and impacted so many individual student-athletes in a positive manner. We are privileged to be able to say thank you to Phil by helping to host and showcase this event, as well as our great city, to a national audience via ESPN next year." 
 
Two eight-team events – consisting of three games per team – will run simultaneously in the two buildings with the crowning of two bracket champions. All games from Portland will be televised on ESPN networks.
 
The PK80 competing schools have combined for 23 National Championships, more than 85 Final Fours, more than 380 NCAA Championship appearances and more than 680 NCAA Championship wins. Ten of the 16 schools have won a NCAA title and nine of the past 13 National Champions are in the field. Thirteen programs have made at least one Final Four appearance.

In addition to participating in the tournament, the University of Portland will also help in hosting the event by providing practice availability on campus and assisting with tournament logistics.

"On behalf of the 16 schools participating in PK80, we are honored to be highlighting Mr. Knight's contributions to college basketball," said Clint Overby, vice president, ESPN Events. "The strength of the field coupled with the two venues in Portland set the stage for what should be an exciting weekend."
 
"We're grateful for the opportunity to host 16 of the country's best college basketball teams while honoring a man whose influence on the game and our region is immeasurable," said Chris Oxley, senior vice president of venue operations, Rose Quarter. "PK80 will be an incredible showcase of basketball for fans in our arenas and watching on ESPN."

Ticket information and tournament bracket will be announced at a later date. PK80 was created on behalf of the schools and is owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, in conjunction with the Rose Quarter.
 
 

PK80: 16-Team College Hoops Event in 2017 from ESPNFrontRow on Vimeo.