Thunderbird Basketball Team Travels to Australia
Published: April 09, 2010 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Southern Utah University's men's basketball team is taking advantage of a great opportunity this summer to gain exposure and experience for their team.
The Thunderbirds will be taking their game down under in May to play several games against teams in Australia. This trip is made possible through the funding from Basketball Travelers,Inc.(BTI). They pay to have teams from the United States travel abroad to play teams around the world. In exchange, the U.S. teams agree to play in some tournaments in the states at later dates.
"This is a great opportunity for our team," said head coach Roger Reid. "This extra practice time, game experience and traveling together will add some much needed maturity to our team. It really helps us to have the extra time together as a team. We have a chance to get started on improvement for next season right now."
The team will leave May 5th for Australia and will play at least four or five games down under during their trip. Three members of the SUU basketball team are from Australia and it is a great chance for them to return home to play in front of local fans. It's also a great chance for the Thunderbirds to showcase their talents and gain more exposure for future recruiting opportunities.
Director of Athletics Ken Beazer is also grateful that the basketball team has this chance. He said, "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our student-athletes and I’m appreciative of BTI making this possible."
BTI Tournament Director Jennifer Ashby said, “We’re pleased to be working with the Southern Utah Men’s Basketball Team over the next three years. It is wonderful to be in a position to offer your players and staff the opportunity to visit Australia and play an exhibition tour, as well as the chance to compete in two of our Multiple Team Events at no cost to Southern Utah University.”
International trips like this are allowed by the NCAA only once every four years. These trips also allow additional practice days and times that is only available for the teams leaving the U.S.
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