By Stretch Jenkinson

DAYTON  —  The Basketball Tournament (TBT), the 64-team, $1 million winner-take-all event, announced today that the University of Dayton and UD Arena will host a TBT regional in 2024. The regional will be headlined by Dayton alumni team Red Scare, whose roster will feature former Flyers stars Scoochie Smith and Josh Cunningham.

Dayton Regional games will be played at UD Arena from July 19-24.

“Every year we go back to Dayton, the crowd grows,” said TBT founder and CEO Jon Mugar. “We have a great partnership with the University of Dayton. I look forward to seeing a motivated Red Scare team attempt to avenge last summer’s early exit. It just goes to show how difficult it is for any team to win six straight games in this format.”

“We are excited to have the TBT and the Red Scare back at the Arena this summer,” Senior Associate AD and Executive Director of UD Arena Scott DeBolt said.  “Having the Flyer Faithful come out and support the team means a lot, and I know that the players who come back enjoy playing in front of the best fans around.”

A member of TBT’s 64-team field since 2019, Red Scare is entering their third summer as a TBT host. The team is just two years removed from winning the 2022 Dayton Regional championship and advancing all the way to TBT’s semifinals, the longest run in team history.

The team will continue to be organized by former Dayton basketball players Joey Gruden and Jeremiah Bonsu, and Gruden will serve as the team’s head coach for the sixth straight summer.

Red Scare will continue making roster announcements throughout the spring via their social media page, @FlyersTBT.

Since TBT began in 2014, it has awarded more than $13M in prize money, and has been viewed in more than 180 countries around the world. Alumni teams have won TBT’s championship in four of the past five summers, with teams representing Ohio State, Marquette, Syracuse, and the University of Buffalo taking home the $1M prize between 2019-2022. TBT is also the home of the Elam Ending, the alternate ending to games where teams play to a target score. The Elam Ending was adopted and featured by the NBA for its All-Star Games from 2020-23, and is now being used in G League games as part of their overtime format.

Tickets for the 2024 Dayton Regional will go on sale at a later date. To be the first to secure tickets for the event, fans can sign up for TBT’s waitlist at thetournament.com/tbt/tickets/.

For more information on this year’s TBT or Red Scare, visit TheTournament.com.

About The Basketball Tournament
The home of the Elam Ending®, The Basketball Tournament has grown from a unique idea among friends to one of the most exciting and engaging events on the summer sports calendar, with national exposure on ESPN, social media buzz and regional championships across the country – culminating in a winner-take-all $1 million game. Every year it attracts some of the best players in the world. For more information on TBT’s tenth season, visit www.thetournament.com

COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA RELATIONS & THE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT