HENDERSON, NEV. – Six men’s teams and four women’s programs will descend upon Las Vegas on Thanksgiving week when the Ball Dawgs Classic tips at The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, home of the NBA G League Ignite. The event is managed by veteran Las Vegas promoter bdG Sports which has managed numerous college basketball events across the Las Vegas Valley, including the Big West Championships at The Dollar Loan Center.
The men’s event will feature three games each day on Nov. 21, 22 and 24 featuring:
- Indiana State (Missouri Valley) – 23-13 record last season
- New Mexico (Mountain West) – 22-12 record
- Pepperdine (WCC) – 9-22 record
- Rice (AAC) – 19-16 record
- Toledo (MAC) – 27-8 record
- UC Irvine (Big West) – 23-12 record
NCAA Tournament participants Stanford and Florida State headline the four-team women’s field. The women’s action tips on Nov. 22 with first-round play. Following an off-day on Thanksgiving, consolation and championship games will be played. The women’s field features:
- Belmont (Missouri Valley) – 23-12 record, Missouri Valley Conference regular season champions
- Florida State (ACC) – 23-10, NCAA Tournament berth
- Stanford (Pac-12) – 29-6 record, Pac-12 regular season champions, NCAA Tournament berth
- Northwestern (Big Ten) – 9-21 record
Pairings for both men’s and women’s games will be announced at a later date.
bdG Sports has partnered with Ball Dawgs, a fast-rising sports content provider with more than 825,000 followers on its social media platforms, to promote the games and showcase the action on the court.
“Our firm has quickly found a home at The Dollar Loan Center as we annually manage the Big West Championships at the site, provide operational support for the Ignite home games and have launched and managed our own events at the arena over the past year,” said bdG Sports President & CEO Brooks Downing. “We look forward to generating excitement and exposure for the teams and players in this event through our partnership with Ball Dawgs and hope that translates to a packed building on Thanksgiving week.”
The Dollar Loan Center opened in March 2022 as home to the Vegas Golden Knights’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. A product of a public-private partnership between the City of Henderson and a group of investors led by Bill Foley, the 5,567-seat arena is operated by the Foley Entertainment Group. The Dollar Loan Center, also home to the Indoor Football League’s Vegas Knight Hawks, NBA G League’s Ignite, Big West Basketball Championships and the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame, sits in the heart of Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas which has grown to become Nevada’s second largest city with more than 330,000 residents.
FULL SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Nov. 21
Three men’s games starting at 3:30 p.m. PT
Wednesday, Nov. 22
Two women’s games starting at 11 a.m. PT
Three men’s games starting at 4 p.m. PT
Friday, Nov. 24
Three men’s games starting at 11 a.m. PT
Two women’s games starting at 6:30 p.m. PT
Tickets for the event will go on-sale on July 21 at 10 a.m. PT at www.thedollarloancenter.com and www.axs.com. Full event information can be found at www.balldawgsclassic.com and on social media at @VegasMainEvent on all social media channels as well as @BallDawgs on Instagram and @TheBallDawgs on Twitter.