LEXINGTON, Ky. – bd Global, one of the nation’s largest providers of college basketball content, will launch two new Web.com Tour events in The Bahamas to start the 2017 Web.com Tour season, the company announced today. In addition to its growth in professional golf, the four-year-old firm also has unveiled a new company logo that further substantiates its brand in the universal event space.
“This is a very exciting time for our business, and a natural evolution for us into the international sports and media marketplace,” said founder and president Brooks Downing. “Coming on the heels of our announcement last December of the 2017 Vancouver men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, we are finding unique opportunities throughout North America and the Caribbean to create first-class platforms that will elevate brands and meet the goals and objectives for cities and communities to generate economic activity through sports.”
bdG’s primary focus has been largely in NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball. This year alone, its tournaments range from the first college basketball game at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (Duke vs. UNLV), to neutral-site tournaments, to round-robin events held at home sites. In the next six weeks, bdG has contracted 12 basketball events that feature 68 NCAA Division I teams playing a total of 127 games. bdG has established an impressive list of clients, including Nike, Gatorade, Bayer, Novartis, Papa John’s, and MGM Resorts International, among others. With an intense focus on charity through all of its event relationships, bdG continues to work closely with Coaches vs. Cancer, Play4Kay and the Lee Memorial Children’s Hospital in Southwest Florida.
bdG’s move into golf will permit the Web.com Tour to open its season in January for the first time in many years. The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay will be played Jan. 8-11 followed by The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club on Winding Bay on Jan. 22-25. The Sunday-through-Wednesday tournament schedule will be a first in golf, and bdG hopes the format will allow its events and its partners to be showcased in live, unopposed programming. bd Global will serve as the host organization for both events, working closely with the PGA TOUR, Bahamas Tourism and Golf Channel, which will televise all four rounds of both events.
“Our move into the golf space is a culmination of several years of planning,” said Downing, who left his role as head of the collegiate division of Lagardere Unlimited in 2012 to create bdG. “The Minister of Tourism, Obie Wilchcombe, asked us to seek out and find a professional sporting event that could showcase the “family islands of The Bahamas” to the world. Golf was a natural fit, given The Bahamas’ unbelievable resorts and courses, and our sincere thanks to the PGA TOUR for believing in our vision and giving us this opportunity to step into this space in a big way.”
bd Global had previously negotiated the LPGA Tour’s entry into The Bahamas back in 2013 with the Pure Silk Bahamas Classic, played at the Ocean Club Course in Nassau. bdG also owns and operates multiple basketball events, including the Gulf Coast Showcase in Ft. Myers, Fla., the Lone Star Showcase in Austin, the Lone Star Shootout in Houston, the MGM Grand Showcase in Las Vegas and the new postseason Vegas 16 at Mandalay Bay. The firm also represents college basketball coaches and broadcasters.
“We will continue to be opportunistic in the areas where we have an expertise,” Downing said. “Collegiate sports will continue to be a primary focus for us, but golf fits extremely well into our growth structure as a complementary platform.”
Full event information on bd Global’s events can be found at www.bdglobalsports.com. The firm can be found on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @bdGlobalSports.
BD GLOBAL’S 2016-17 COLLEGE BASKETBALL EVENTS:
MEN WHO SPEAK UP MAIN EVENT (ESPN2)
Nov. 11-19 at home sites & Nov. 21-23 in Las Vegas
Field: Alabama, BYU, Saint Louis, Valparaiso, Ball State, Coastal Carolina, Coppin State and Southern Utah
ORANGE EXPRESS SHOWCASE
Nov. 11-25 at home sites
Field: Oregon State, Fresno State, Lamar, Prairie View A&M and UTSA
SCARLET KNIGHTS SHOWCASE
Nov. 13-27 at home sites
Field: Rutgers, North Texas, Drexel, Hartford and Niagara
BLUEGRASS SHOWCASE
Nov. 13-27 at home sites
Field: Kentucky, Duquesne, Canisius, Cleveland State and UT Martin
HARDWOOD SHOWCASE
Nov. 13-27 at home sites
Field: James Madison, Montana State, Rice, Delaware State, Texas Southern and Louisiana-Lafayette
GOLDEN GOPHER SHOWCASE
Nov. 14-26 at home sites
Field: Minnesota, Arkansas, Mount St. Mary’s, Southern Illinois and UT Arlington
GULF COAST SHOWCASE (MEN)
Nov. 21-23 in Southwest Florida
Field: Bradley, George Mason, Hofstra, Houston, Kent State, South Dakota, Vermont and Wofford
LONE STAR SHOWCASE
Nov. 21-23 in Austin/Cedar Park
Field: Central Michigan, Little Rock, Pepperdine and St. Bonaventure
GULF COAST SHOWCASE (WOMEN)
Nov. 25-27 in Southwest Florida
Field: Baylor, DePaul, FGCU, George Washington, Kent State, Ohio State, Syracuse and Western Kentucky
UNLV VS. DUKE BENEFITING COACHES VS. CANCER
Dec. 10 in Las Vegas
UNLV vs. Duke (ESPN)
LONE STAR SHOOTOUT
Dec. 17 in Houston
Texas A&M vs. Arizona & Texas vs. Arkansas (ESPN2 / ESPNU)
PLAY4KAY TOURNAMENT (WOMEN)
Dec. 19-21 in Las Vegas
Field: Long Beach State, New Mexico State, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Quinnipiac, Santa Clara, South Florida and UNLV
BD GLOBAL’S 2017 GOLF EVENTS:
THE BAHAMAS GREAT EXUMA CLASSIC AT SANDALS EMERALD BAY
Jan. 5-8 at Sandals Emerald Bay in Exuma, Bahamas (Golf Channel)
THE BAHAMAS GREAT ABACO CLASSIC AT THE ABACO CLUB
Jan. 22-25 at The Abaco Club in Abaco, Bahamas (Golf Channel)