Always A Brave Eligibile for TBT 2017

Bradley alumni team will defend its TBT Midwest Region title at Renaissance Coliseum July 15-16

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications General 4/25/2017 10:59:00 AM

PEORIA, IL - Always A Brave, the Bradley University alumni team that will compete in the 2017 version of The Basketball Tournament, officially became eligible for this summer's tourney field with the addition of its seventh player to the roster.

Built around a core group of players who were prominent members of Bradley's 2006 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 squad, Always A Brave flirted with winning TBT's $2 million winner-take-all prize during last summer's tournament. After winning its first four games in Chicago and Philadelphia to capture the Midwest Region title in the 64-team tournament, Always A Brave played in the 2016 TBT semifinal round in New York, where the squad suffered a 78-70 loss to Team Colorado after star point guard Daniel Ruffin went down with an injury early in the game.

Ruffin is one of seven players already on the 2017 Always A Brave roster, which will begin its TBT Midwest Region title defense in Peoria when Bradley University hosts the first two rounds in the 16-team regional July 15-16 at Renaissance Coliseum. Additional players are expected to be added to the roster in the coming days as their verification videos are submitted to TBT organizers.

Tickets for all of this summer's TBT sites are currently available for purchase online at www.thetournament.com with single-day pricing ranging from $5 per day for children 13 and under under to $20 for general admission adult seating for the Midwest Regional at Renaissance Coliseum.

Always A Brave Roster | #TBT2017 | as of April 25, 2017
Tony Bennett, G, 6-0, 2004-06
David Collins, C, 7-0, 2007-09
Will Franklin, G, 6-0, 2005-07
Patrick O'Bryant, C, 7-0, 2004-06
Daniel Ruffin, G, 5-10, 2003-08
Matt Salley, F/C, 6-7, 2006-08
Lawrence Wright, F, 6-4, 2004-06

2017 TBT Important Dates
June 1: Team application period and voting closes
June 6: 60 teams in the tournament field announced
June 17-18: Inaugural TBT Jamboree contested in Philadelphia to determine the 16th participant in each region
July 8-9: Northeast (Philadelphia) and South (Charlotte) Regionals
July 15-16: MIDWEST (PEORIA) and West (Las Vegas) Regionals
July 20-23: Super 16 (New York)
Aug. 1: Semifinals (Baltimore)
Aug. 3: Championship (Baltimore)

TBT Midwest Regional Ticket Options*
Online Purchases Only Until July 15 (Click HERE to Buy Now) | Onsite Purchasing Available July 15-16
General Admission Adult: $20
General Admission Bradley students, faculty and staff: $10
General Admision Child (13 and under): $5
Family Four Pack: 4 for $40
Braves Club Room VIP Access: $25
Weekend Pass (Saturday and Sunday): $30
*All tickets are for general admission seating and allow access to all games played each day of purchase (8 games July 15 or 4 games July 16)

Preparing for its fourth presentation this summer, TBT is an annual, 5-on-5, single-elimination basketball tournament, which will award a $2 million cash prize to the champion of its 64-team field. Modeled after the NCAA Tournament, 16 teams will compete in four regions with four teams from each region advancing to the Super 16 in New York and the four region champions advancing to the tournament semifinals in Baltimore. Of the 16 teams to compete in each region, nine will be selected based upon online voting totals via thetournament.com, six will be "at-large" selections and one will play its way into the field through the inaugural TBT Jamboree, which will take place June 17-18 in Philadelphia.

As the defending Midwest Region champion and having met the minimum TBT qualification standards, Always A Brave has secured one of the Midwest Region's six "at-large" spots. To date, 31 teams have registered for the Midwest Region, including alumni teams from Iowa State, Marquette, Kansas State, Milwaukee and Saint Louis, as well as a squad comprised of players from the NBA D-League's Fort Wayne Mad Ants and two teams with Peoria ties - Peoria Allstars and Peoria Clutch.

Although Always A Brave has secured the minimum number of fan votes for #TBT2017 eligibility, fans still are encouraged to participate in the voting process to become eligible to share in the winning team's $200,000. The top 100 fans to secure the most votes for the winning team will split $200,000 of the championship team's $2 million prize. While fans may vote only once for up to four teams, they may accumulate points by encouraging additional fans to vote for their teams.

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