Student-run Gus Macker basketball tournament registration open until April 25
The Gus Macker Tournament may be a place for students to show off their hoops prowess, but this year it is also a venue for event planners to cut their teeth.
The tournament will be held from April 30 through May 1 around Finch Fieldhouse and Warriner Hall. All funds generated will be put toward Events Center construction expenses. Registration is open until Monday at midnight, and costs $100 for college-aged teams and $128 for the general public. Groups can register at www.macker.com.
“The biggest part of the process that makes it unique to (Central Michigan University) is that this is the first time the event will be run by students,” said Tim Otteman, assistant professor of recreation, parks and leisure services.
Otteman teaches RPL 400G: The Organization and Administration of Basketball Festivals, which was created specifically to run the Gus Macker tournament.
This is the third year Gus Macker has come to CMU, but it is the first time in the organization's history that college students have had this big of a role in the event. Every aspect of the tournament has been handed over students, including those involved in event management, physical training, ROTC and marketing, Otteman said.
“It’s part of a transition where it gets more and more run by students,” said Scott McNeal, CMU alumnus and founder of Gus Macker.
CMU is being used as the testing grounds for a new model of tournaments designed specifically for college students on college campuses, McNeal said.
“We have seen over the last ten years less and less college students at events,” he said.
McNeal hopes the new model created at CMU can be used to bring Gus Macker back to college students.
Students have come up with ideas for activities beyond the three-on-three tournament, such as a three point and a dunk contest, said Meredith McIlhargey, a Macomb junior, one of the students organizing the event.
McIlhargey has worked with Gus Macker in the past and said the experience has been very inspiring as well as a great way to give back to the community.
“It’s not just a basketball tournament (I have learned about)," McIlhargey said. "It’s a lot more than that.”
