2017 Paradise Jam Relocated To Lynchburg, Virginia
9/29/2017 4:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HAMDEN, Conn. - The men's 2017 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam will be hosted by Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., tournament directors announced Friday, after the event was forced to relocate from the U.S. Virgin Islands due to damage from Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria. Quinnipiac opens play at the tournament against Colorado, which takes place on Friday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. at Liberty's Vines Center.
"We received several strong proposals from participating universities and ultimately made the decision based off of feasibility for traveling teams, hotel availability, flight availability, associated costs, and practice and competition venues," said Jenn Ashby, the Paradise Jam tournament director. "We're incredibly thankful to all of the participating teams for their willingness to make adjustments during a difficult time, and we're appreciative of the Liberty program for their desire to contribute to the hurricane relief efforts as part of their proposal to host the Paradise Jam. We're looking forward to hosting an event that matches the standard we have come to expect in the U.S. Virgin Islands and look forward to returning to the territory next year."
The men's 2017 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam field includes Colorado, Drake, Drexel, Houston, Liberty, Mercer, Quinnipiac, and Wake Forest. All 12 games of the men's tournament will be hosted at the Vines Center on the Liberty University campus. Matchups and tournament structure for the tournament will remain the same with Liberty facing Mercer University at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to tip off the tournament. Drexel and Houston will begin 30 minutes following the conclusion of the opening game. In the evening session, Colorado and Quinnipiac will tip off at 6 p.m. ET, followed by Wake Forest versus Drake to conclude the opening day of competition. For a complete bracket, visit paradisejam.com.
"We are honored and thrilled to host the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam at Liberty University. This event is one of college basketball's most prestigious tournaments and we look forward to Wake Forest, Colorado, Drexel, Houston, Mercer, Quinnipiac and Drake competing on our campus," said Liberty Director of Athletics Ian McCaw. "All of the tournament gate receipts will be donated by Liberty to humanitarian relief efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands to assist in their recovery from the hurricane destruction. Moreover, LUSend (humanitarian organization) will be collecting donation items from fans that will be delivered to those in need in the U.S. Virgin Islands."
Tournament directors have partnered with The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands to accept donations to aid in hurricane relief efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands. To contribute to the relief fund, please visit paradisejam.com. All money donated will be used directly for hurricane relief efforts in the territory and donations are tax deductible.
Liberty University is also coordinating on-site donation efforts through LU Send Now, the university's quick response team for urgent disaster relief and humanitarian needs. Since the beginning of the academic year, LU Send Now has dispatched students to help with hurricane relief efforts in Texas and the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, plus currently has students working in Mexico following a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Central Mexico.
Fans can stream all the games of the men's 2017 Paradise Jam live at www.FloHoops.com. With a FloPRO subscription, fans can watch all 12 games of the men's 2017 Paradise Jam, in addition to having unlimited access to FloHoops' extensive scouting and live streaming coverage of college and high school basketball and recruiting.
"We're thankful to everyone involved and cannot wait for another great year of Paradise Jam," Ashby said. "While teams are eager to compete in the tournaments, they've also shown a strong desire to band together and provide support to the U.S. Virgin Islands. We're so proud and excited to have universities participating that are willing to open their hearts to a territory that has given so much happiness and fun to student-athletes and teams for the past 17 years."
The event, which has been held in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands for 17 straight years, was forced to relocate due to damage caused by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria in September. Despite efforts to keep the 2017 Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands and continued efforts by tournament staff to work through solutions, the infrastructure damage cause by both Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria did not allow for the tournament to be hosted in the territory.
Fans who purchased travel packages and tickets directly through the Paradise Jam website have been fully refunded.
"We received several strong proposals from participating universities and ultimately made the decision based off of feasibility for traveling teams, hotel availability, flight availability, associated costs, and practice and competition venues," said Jenn Ashby, the Paradise Jam tournament director. "We're incredibly thankful to all of the participating teams for their willingness to make adjustments during a difficult time, and we're appreciative of the Liberty program for their desire to contribute to the hurricane relief efforts as part of their proposal to host the Paradise Jam. We're looking forward to hosting an event that matches the standard we have come to expect in the U.S. Virgin Islands and look forward to returning to the territory next year."
The men's 2017 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam field includes Colorado, Drake, Drexel, Houston, Liberty, Mercer, Quinnipiac, and Wake Forest. All 12 games of the men's tournament will be hosted at the Vines Center on the Liberty University campus. Matchups and tournament structure for the tournament will remain the same with Liberty facing Mercer University at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to tip off the tournament. Drexel and Houston will begin 30 minutes following the conclusion of the opening game. In the evening session, Colorado and Quinnipiac will tip off at 6 p.m. ET, followed by Wake Forest versus Drake to conclude the opening day of competition. For a complete bracket, visit paradisejam.com.
"We are honored and thrilled to host the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam at Liberty University. This event is one of college basketball's most prestigious tournaments and we look forward to Wake Forest, Colorado, Drexel, Houston, Mercer, Quinnipiac and Drake competing on our campus," said Liberty Director of Athletics Ian McCaw. "All of the tournament gate receipts will be donated by Liberty to humanitarian relief efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands to assist in their recovery from the hurricane destruction. Moreover, LUSend (humanitarian organization) will be collecting donation items from fans that will be delivered to those in need in the U.S. Virgin Islands."
Tournament directors have partnered with The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands to accept donations to aid in hurricane relief efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands. To contribute to the relief fund, please visit paradisejam.com. All money donated will be used directly for hurricane relief efforts in the territory and donations are tax deductible.
Liberty University is also coordinating on-site donation efforts through LU Send Now, the university's quick response team for urgent disaster relief and humanitarian needs. Since the beginning of the academic year, LU Send Now has dispatched students to help with hurricane relief efforts in Texas and the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, plus currently has students working in Mexico following a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Central Mexico.
Fans can stream all the games of the men's 2017 Paradise Jam live at www.FloHoops.com. With a FloPRO subscription, fans can watch all 12 games of the men's 2017 Paradise Jam, in addition to having unlimited access to FloHoops' extensive scouting and live streaming coverage of college and high school basketball and recruiting.
"We're thankful to everyone involved and cannot wait for another great year of Paradise Jam," Ashby said. "While teams are eager to compete in the tournaments, they've also shown a strong desire to band together and provide support to the U.S. Virgin Islands. We're so proud and excited to have universities participating that are willing to open their hearts to a territory that has given so much happiness and fun to student-athletes and teams for the past 17 years."
The event, which has been held in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands for 17 straight years, was forced to relocate due to damage caused by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria in September. Despite efforts to keep the 2017 Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands and continued efforts by tournament staff to work through solutions, the infrastructure damage cause by both Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria did not allow for the tournament to be hosted in the territory.
Fans who purchased travel packages and tickets directly through the Paradise Jam website have been fully refunded.
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