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Horizon League Moves Men's Basketball Tourney To Detroit In Hopes Of Raising Profile

Olympia Entertainment on Thursday formally announced that it has "signed a five-year contract with the Horizon League" to bring its men's basketball tournament to Detroit starting in '16, according to Tony Paul of the DETROIT NEWS. The tourney will be held at Joe Louis Arena "the first two years, and then will move" to the Red Wings' new, $450M arena in '18. The conference held its tourney "at a single site" from '80-'02, then in '03, a system "was put in place that had the opening-round games played on campus sites, then the later rounds at the site of the highest seed remaining." The Detroit plan "puts the whole tournament, including opening-round games, in the city," and at a "single site" again. This "could give the tournament a bigger spotlight, in a bigger media market." That is "welcomed news for ESPN, which retains the rights to broadcast the championship game -- and figures to be much more likely to put the final on ESPN rather than ESPN2" if there are not a bunch of empty seats. The Horizon League has "worked tirelessly to brand itself -- a tall order, given its status as a 'mid-major.'" This plan "should help." The tournament will "kick off with a celebratory event for participating teams and fan-participant events, and Detroit now becomes a preferred destination in which to host future Horizon League meetings and media days" (DETROIT NEWS, 5/8).

TAKING THE FUN OUT OF IT? In Dayton, Joe Cogliano writes one of the "coolest league playoff formats in NCAA basketball" has "gone by the wayside." The Horizon League's previous format "made things exciting for fans, because winning the regular season came with a big payoff." Plus, those teams not in first place "still had a shot at hosting the finals, which came with a national television audience." College basketball is "big business and that national exposure can boost enrollment as well as alumni donations" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 5/7).

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