SWAC Commissioner Duer Sharp.Dignitaries from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Garland and Richardson officially kicked-off planning for the conference's 2011 basketball tournament Tuesday at the Garland Special Events Center. The conference, which includes 10 historically black colleges including Grambling State University, Prairie View A&M University and Texas Southern University, will hold the tournament at the center for three years.
SWAC Commissioner Duer Sharp said he didn't know how much money the tournaments would bring to the area, but said Birmingham, Ala., which has previously hosted the event, realized about $10 million a year. Attendance at last year's tournament in Shreveport, La. was about 15,000 but he expected that to be higher in Garland. Sharp said the Dallas-area was a good fit for the tournament because it has the second-largest alumni base for the 10 universities.
The conference wants to expand and improve the three-day event which includes men's and women's tournaments. It has hired Urban Sports, a marketing firm, to plan and publicize the event. Garland school board member Linda Griffin said she is pleased to see the tournament because of the educational opportunities that are being planned for the event.
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