Charlotte has deep college basketball roots. Jumpman Invitational offers revitalization
Danny Morrison remembers sitting in the original Charlotte Coliseum in 1968, looking out at the court in wonder.
It was Morrison’s first ACC basketball game. He was a teenager at the time. He and a family friend had made the trip to Charlotte from Asheville to catch the ACC tournament semifinal between N.C. State and Duke — and still, decades later, the feeling hasn’t left him.
“Duke wouldn’t come out of the zone,” Morrison said last week, waxing poetic. “So State put the ball on their hip and just stood there.” He remembers the crowd cawing in frustration for action, having just found a blind spot in the pre-shot-clock-era bliss. He remembers Eddie Biedenbach being the Wolfpack’s point guard. And he remembers the next day’s headline: N.C. State upsets Duke, 12-10.
“I was fascinated by that game,” he said.
In his newest project, as executive director of the Charlotte Sports Foundation, Morrison hopes to offer that fascination again.
The Jumpman Invitational begins in Charlotte this week. The event gathers the four schools that the Jordan Brand sponsors in football and basketball — North Carolina, Michigan, Florida and Oklahoma — for two days of elite doubleheader basketball in the Spectrum Center.
Tuesday’s games feature the No. 19 Michigan women’s team against No. 7 UNC before the Florida men’s team plays Oklahoma. And Wednesday sees the Michigan men’s team against UNC before the Florida women face No. 24 Oklahoma. On both nights, the games are slated for 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. tips.
“We believe this could be the premier regular-season basketball event in the country,” Morrison said.
CSF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting Charlotte by bringing high-profile sports events to the city. It was responsible for the Georgia-Clemson season-opener in Bank of America Stadium in 2021, it hosted the North Carolina Central vs. North Carolina A&T rivalry game in BofA a few months ago, and it is involved in annual events like the ACC football championship, the Big South basketball championships, the 2022 Presidents Cup and more.
In 2021, CSF brought in about $94 million in economic impact, a number that does not include an upgrade in “the quality of life side of things,” as Morrison put it. But the Jumpman Invitational markets itself as distinct from some other events that CSF has recently taken on, too.
A court was made special for this event. Sponsors spent months in Charlotte communities with Charlotte residents, embarking on projects specifically for the Jumpman Invitational. Among those projects: In partnering with the Carolina Youth Coalition and the Jordan Brand Wings Program, 23 children were selected to help design the shooting shirts that the four schools will wear while warming up for their games on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In this way, the event promises to be uniquely Charlotte. As its tagline states: “Only the Queen City could host this much royalty.”
Clint Overby, vice president of ESPN Events (which is headquartered in Ballantyne), said that so much about the partnership between the Jumpman Invitational and Charlotte was compelling. That includes the rich sports history Charlotte holds as well as the great “tangibles” the city has — from its venues to its hotels and more.
The fact that Charlotte is in ESPN Events’ back yard is simply a plus, Overby said.
“We’ve always wanted to do an event in Charlotte knowing that it has all these great things attached to it, we just haven’t found the right fit,” Overby said. “And I think from our standpoint, doing an event in Charlotte has always just seemed like something we should be doing, given all the positives.”
Morrison said the plan is for this event to turn into a perennial one in Charlotte. An affection might linger for the inaugural iteration, though. When asked how he expects to feel watching the first game of this event later this week, he smiled.
“My mind will probably go back to 1968, my very first big-time college basketball game, sitting in that old Charlotte Coliseum, now the Bojangles Coliseum,” he said. “Again, I was so mesmerized with the excitement, with the energy.”
He added: “And having big-time college basketball showcased in a region that absolutely loves college basketball will be fun.”
Jumpman Invitational
December 20
- 7 p.m. North Carolina vs. Michigan (women) (watch on ESPN2)
- 9:30 p.m. Oklahoma vs. Florida (men) (watch on ESPN2)
December 21
- 7 p.m. North Carolina vs. Michigan (men) (watch on ESPN)
- 9:30 p.m. Oklahoma vs. Florida (women) (watch on ESPN2)
All games are in the Spectrum Center. Tickets can be accessed on the Charlotte Sports Foundation website.
