Great Alaska Shootout: state to start funding the tradition.

• Author: Pounds, Nancy
• Position: Alaska This Month

The State of Alaska is banking on upholding the tradition of the University of Alaska Anchorage's Great Alaska Shootout. UAA organizers of the Iongtime Thanksgiving week basketball tournament have plans to use State-approved funds to inject new energy for future Shootouts.

This year's Great Alaska Shootout will be held Nov. 22 to 26 at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. The UAA women's team will play the University of Miami, and South Florida University will take on Central Michigan. Men's teams include UAA, University of California Irvine, Central Michigan, Dartmouth, New Mexico State, Murray State, San Francisco and Southern Mississippi.

In June, Gov. Sean Parnell approved a capital budget, including more than $2 million to help UAA buoy the struggling tournament. The funds won't be applied to the 2011 Shootout, but will boost tournaments over three years, from 2012 to 2014, said Steve Cobb, UAA's athletic director.

Funds would be used to increase the amount UAA pays teams to participate in the tournament, Cobb said. Also, UAA officials are developing a plan to use part of the funds to provide travel incentives for Alaskans to visit Anchorage for the Shootout, he said.

The Shootout serves as a revenue jolt for Anchorage in winter. The tournament has an economic impact of more than $5 million, Cobb said.

"The Shootout has become a significant Thanksgiving week tradition to many Anchorage residents and has a tremendous economic impact for our city and state," Cobb said.

The tournament also provides national media attention for the state and UAA.

"It greatly helps recruiting and is a significant source of revenue for UAA," Cobb said. "It is also a great competitive experience for our men's and women's basketball teams."

The Shootout was recognized as one of the nation's premier college basketball tournaments, according to a 1996 study by UAA's Institute of Social and Economic Research. Alaskans got the opportunity to see top-ranked college teams play the hometown squads, and UAA players gained experience against players from a different division.

The tournament's turn in fortune is a result of NCAA changes to scheduling requirements for early season games. Also, other tournaments now compete to...