FORT MYERS, Fla. – Elite men's and women's college basketball action takes center stage in the City of Palms during Thanksgiving Week when the inaugural Coconut Hoops tips off beginning Monday, Nov. 24 at FGCU's Alico Arena. Veteran promoter bdG Sports announced event details, including both fields Tuesday.
 
The event formerly known as the Gulf Coast Showcase was played at Hertz Arena the past 12 seasons.
 
"We have had terrific success in Fort Myers since 2013, highlighted by the very best women's teams, including UConn, South Carolina and Iowa, men's champions like FGCU and Houston, and superstars like A'ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark, but now we have an opportunity to elevate the event even further with our move to Alico Arena," said Brooks Downing, founder and president of bdG Sports, the event organizer. "FGCU owns a terrific venue for basketball, and I want to thank Director of Athletics Colin Hargis for sharing the vision of playing host to what will become one of the best events in the sport."
 
For the November 2020 event, Alico Arena served as one of the host sites for the women's tournament, given the requirements to create a "bubble environment" to keep both fans and participants safe during the COVID 19 outbreak.
 
"We are excited to partner with bdG Sports and welcome numerous high-caliber programs and their fan bases to Alico Arena," said Hargis. "This tournament presents an exciting opportunity for FGCU and the Southwest Florida community to create memorable experiences for student-athletes and fans from across the country while elevating college basketball."
 
The agreement is for three years with an option for both parties to extend. Plans call for the FGCU men and women to compete every other year that they are eligible. For this November, the FGCU men, champions of the 2022 event, will participate in a highly competitive Tarpon Bay Division, a "round-robin" four-team event that includes Kennesaw State (19-14, 10-8 Conference USA), Rice (12-19, 4-14 American Conference) and Oral Roberts (7-23, 3-13 Summit League).
 
In addition, a four-team men's "tournament-style" event will be played on the same dates. The Royal Palm Division includes Troy (23-11, 13-5 Sun Belt Conference), who advanced to the first round NCAA Tournament, NCAA-regulars Belmont (22-11, 13-7 Missouri Valley Conference) and Toledo (18-15, 10-8 Mid-American Conference) along with Saint Francis (16-18, 8-8 Northeast Conference).
 
Action in the Royal Palm Division begins Monday, Nov. 24 with Toledo taking on Troy at 11 a.m. ET followed by Belmont facing Saint Francis at 1:30 p.m. The division's consolation game tips at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 26 followed by the championship game at 1:30 p.m.
 
Play in the Tarpon Bay Division spans three days, beginning Monday, Nov. 24 when Rice battles Kennesaw State at 4:30 p.m., after which Oral Roberts tangles with FGCU at 7 p.m. On Tuesday, Nov. 25, Oral Roberts plays Kennesaw State at 4:30 p.m., and Rice plays FGCU at 7 p.m. On Wednesday, Nov. 26, Oral Roberts takes on Rice at 4:30 p.m., followed by Kennesaw State vs. FGCU at 7 p.m.  
 
The women's event includes two, four-team divisions set to crown two separate champions. Games will be played Friday, Nov. 28 and Sunday, Nov. 30.
 
Oklahoma, Florida State, Indiana and Iowa State headline a challenging list of women's teams participating in the event. All eight teams advanced to postseason play last season.
 
The complete women's field features Oklahoma (27-8, 11-5 Southeastern Conference), Florida State (24-9, 13-6 Atlantic Coast Conference), Indiana (20-13, 10-8 Big Ten Conference), Iowa State (23-12, 12-6 Big 12 Conference), Gonzaga (24-11, 17-3 West Coast Conference), Missouri State (26-9, 16-4 Missouri Valley Conference), Marquette (21-11, 12-6 Big East Conference) and Coppin State (19-15, 8-6 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference).
 
Oklahoma (Sweet 16), Florida State (second round), Indiana (second round) and Iowa State (second round) all advanced to the 2025 NCAA Tournament while Gonzaga (quarterfinals), Marquette (second round) and Missouri State (second round) each appeared in the WBIT. Coppin State advanced to the second round of the WNIT. Seven of the eight teams in the field won 20 or more games last season.
 
"We are excited and proud to showcase a top-tier brand of hoops in Florida once again as we continue to grow and expand women's basketball and our events," college basketball analyst and event contributor Debbie Antonelli said. "I'm proud of the quality programs, coaches and student-athletes competing in this event. I'm sure their experience will be first class and help aid in their team development as conference play nears."
 
Action gets underway Friday, Nov. 28, in the Blue Heron Division when Marquette battles Iowa State starting at 11 a.m. ET followed by Gonzaga taking on Indiana at 1:30 p.m. The consolation game will start at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 30 prior to the championship game scheduled to tip at 1:30 p.m.
 
The Great Egret Division takes place during the evening on those dates with Missouri State facing Florida State at 4 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 28, before Coppin State takes on Oklahoma at 6:30 p.m. The consolation game will begin at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 30 prior to the championship game tipping off at 6:30 p.m.
 
All games will be streamed live on FloHoops.
 
TICKET AND FAN TRAVEL INFORMATION
Fan travel information, including preferred hotel rates at the official tournament resort, can be found at the official event website – www.coconuthoops.com.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 12 p.m. ET.
 
ABOUT bdG SPORTS
bdG Sports is a sports and entertainment leader with a dynamic event management portfolio anchored with a focus in basketball and professional golf. The firm boasts an event schedule that has delivered significant economic impact to multiple communities throughout North America and the Caribbean while featuring broadcasts to viewers across the globe.
 
In basketball, bdG has a lengthy history of producing college basketball content. From summer exhibition tours to multiple high-profile in-season tournaments, bdG will contract nearly 150 regular-season men's and women's Division I basketball games annually. It boasts the record for the largest hoops crowd in Nevada state history (Duke-Gonzaga 2021 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas) and the second-most watched game since 2008 (Arkansas-Illinois on Thanksgiving Day 2024 with 5.1 million viewers). bdG is proud to be the only third-party operator which manages a conference tournament, assisting The Big West Conference Tournament each March in Henderson, Nevada. In professional basketball, bdG managed home games for the NBA G-League's Ignite for its two years at the Dollar Loan Center. 
 
In professional golf, bdG owns and operates two season-opening Korn Ferry Tour tournaments, The Bahamas Golf Classic at Paradise Island and The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, both featuring $1 million purses. And among its newest events, the ESPN Fantasy Football Weekend at Baha Mar each August.
 
-bdG Sports-