By Kyle Beery97.1 The Ticket
MINNEAPOLIS (97.1 The Ticket) -- NCAA student-athletes are considered amateurs and are not allowed to be paid.
All that revenue from the NCAA Tournament, and not one player will see a dime of it.
But there is one tournament "dropping the bag" for some of the best seniors across the country.
The Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship, in its second year, is a 3-on-3 tournament held during Final Four weekend that's offering up $150,000 in prize pool money for teams comprised of four seniors from all 32 conferences. This year's tournament is held on a make-shift court inside the Mall of America. All the players in the tournament have exhausted their NCAA eligibility, so they are able to win the prizes.
We’re just two days away from tip-off for the @3X3UHoops National Championship + preparations are fully underway. We can’t wait for all the action to get started this Friday! #3X3U pic.twitter.com/9vf4nwSpQP
— Mall of America (@mallofamerica)
April 3, 2019 The tournament is set up with group stage pool play, where each win will be worth $1,000, split between the team's four players. The team that wins the championship will take home a duffel bag of $100,000.
The Big Ten team of Indiana's Robert Johnson, Purdue's Vince Edwards, Minnesota's Nate Mason and Ohio State's Jae'Sean Tate took home the bag in the inaugural event last year.
No Michigan or Michigan State players are on the Big Ten team, but MSU is in Minneapolis for a different reason.
Wisconsin's Ethan Happ, Minnesota's Jordan Murphy, Nebraska's Glynn Watson, Jr. and Indiana's Juwan Morgan make up the Big Ten team.
The @bigten squad is set for the @DosEquis 3X3U National Championship and it is DOMINANT! --Ethan Happ, @BadgerMBBGlynn Watson, @HuskerHoopsJuwan Morgan, @IndianaMBBJordan Murphy, @GopherMBB #3X3U pic.twitter.com/vdkCcSqwxf
— 3X3U National Championship (@3X3UHoops)
April 3, 2019 The lone representative from the state of Michgian is Central Michigan's Larry Austin on the MAC team. Detroit Mercy's Josh McFolley was named to the Horizon League team, but the tournament's website does not list a Horizon League team.
Larry Austin Jr. has accepted his invite to the @3X3UHoops National Championship and will be one of the four seniors representing the MAC!--☝️#FireUpChips pic.twitter.com/8EDd93SxFZ
— CMU Men's Basketball (@CMUMensBBall)
March 22, 2019 SEE THE FULL ROSTERS
Pool play will be held Friday and Saturday, with the knockout round on Sunday. The early round games will be broadcast on Twitter live, while the semifinals, consolation and championship games will be on ESPN 2 starting at 2:10 p.m. Sunday.
The hosts of "One Shining Podcast" -- Mark Titus, former Ohio State walk-on of "Club Trillion" fame, and Tate Frazier -- and Barstool Sports' Bobby Reagan will be involved with the broadcast.
We have an issue... We misplaced the 3X3U Cash Bag and had to call for some help. ----Good thing our Duffle Bag Boys, @clubtrillion and @tatefrazier, came to the rescue! #3X3U pic.twitter.com/oLL6NQkJWr
— 3X3U National Championship (@3X3UHoops)
March 18, 2019 As the sport is gaining global popularity, 3-on-3 basketball will make it's debut at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
