A basketball border battle is coming to 91原创 Events Centre this November.

Simon Fraser University has partnered with 91原创 Events Centre to host one of the most prestigious basketball tournaments in NCAA Division II, featuring men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams from throughout North America.

The Conference Commissioner鈥檚 Association (CCA) NCAA Division II Canadian Tip-Off Classic will be a 12-team (six women鈥檚 and six men鈥檚) tournament November 3 to 5, 2023. Each team will play three games and there will be six games daily, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is the start of a three-year agreement to host the event at LEC, running through 2025.

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There are more than 300 Division II basketball programs in the NCAA, with the SFU Red Leafs being the only Canadian member, competing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC). SFU will welcome squads from six states to 91原创 and a total of five conferences will be represented.

The women鈥檚 tournament will feature SFU, its two GNAC rivals Alaska and Central Washington, Colorado Mesa of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, and Lone Star Conference teams Texas A&M International and Texas-Tyler.

Four 91原创 players, siblings Jessica and Sophia Wisotzki, Walnut Grove Secondary grads, and Makenna Gardner and Myrlaine Shelvey from 91原创 Christian, are one the SFU roster.

鈥淲e are thrilled to provide them with a homecourt experience in their hometown,鈥� SFU Head Coach Bruce Langford said.

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鈥淏eing awarded this tournament allows us to start a week early and bring in top-flight teams to kick off the season, continuing one of our traditions of always creating the toughest schedule we can,鈥� Langford commented.

鈥淚t will be an eye-opener for our team.鈥�

Tickets will go on sale in the fall.

Gary Ahuja, Manager of Corporate Communications and Media for 91原创 Events Centre, was 鈥渆xcited to begin the preparations to host these 12 teams at LEC this November and showcase just how special the sport is in this region to the visiting American squads.鈥�

The tournament website is