The BB&T Classic Basketball Tournament is a Washington, DC-based basketball tournament that has been held annually since 1995, when it was known as the Franklin National Bank Classic. It is staged at the Verizon Center, on or around the first weekend in December. Organized in large part by author and journalist John Feinstein, the tournament raises funds for the Children's Charities Foundation, a fund-raising organization that financially supports Washington-area charities.
Format[]
Originally, the event lasted two days and featured four teams, highlighted by local mainstays Maryland and George Washington, accompanied by two nationally-recognized programs, such as Kansas and Stanford. The first day would consist of a doubleheader pitting each of the local teams against each of the national teams. The following afternoon, a championship game would be held between the two opening round winners. A consolation game between the two teams who lost in the opening round was introduced in 1995.
In 2005, the tournament format was altered due to an inability to attract nationally-renowned programs, partially because teams would have two less home games. The event ballooned into a single-evening weeknight event with a tripleheader, as American, Howard, George Mason, and Navy all participated. The 2006 version had another tripleheader, Maryland vs. Notre Dame, George Washington vs. Virginia Tech & George Mason vs. Bucknell.
For 2007, local teams the University of Maryland, George Washington University, and George Mason University played Virginia Commonwealth University, Auburn University, and East Carolina University respectively. Many basketball fans in the DC area would like to see Georgetown University included so the big four DC area teams could play one another.
The event has been broadcast both nationally on ABC and locally on Washington D.C.'s WDCA. The 2005 and 2006 editions were shown on CSN Mid-Atlantic, while the 2007 edition was shown on MASN.
Tournament results[]
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | Consolation | 4th Place | Tournament MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Massachusetts (UMASS) | Florida (FLA) | Maryland (MD) | George Washington (GW) | Marcus Camby, Massachusetts |
| 1996 | Maryland | George Washington | California (CAL) | Mississippi State (MISS ST.) | Keith Booth, Maryland |
| 1997 | George Washington | Maryland | Kansas (KAN) | Pennsylvania (PENN) | Shawnta Rogers, George Washington |
| 1998 | Maryland | DePaul (DEP) | Stanford (STAN) | George Washington | Steve Francis, Maryland |
| 1999 | George Washington | Maryland | Illinois (ILL) | Seton Hall (SHU) | SirValiant Brown, George Washington |
| 2000 | Maryland | George Washington | St. John's (STJ) | University of Michigan (MICH) | SirValiant Brown, George Washington |
| 2001 | Maryland | Connecticut (UCONN) | George Washington | Princeton (PRIN) | Lonny Baxter, Maryland |
| 2002 | Notre Dame (ND) | Texas (TEX) | Maryland | George Washington | T. J. Ford, Texas |
| 2003 | Gonzaga (GONZ) | George Washington | West Virginia (WVU) | Maryland | Ronny Turiaf, Gonzaga |
| 2004 | George Washington | Maryland | Michigan State (MICH ST.) | George Mason (GMU) | TJ Thompson, George Washington |
| 2005* | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||
| 2006** |
- American (AMER), Howard (HOW) , Navy (NAVY), and George Mason (GMU) also participated in the 2005 BB&T Classic Tournament.
- Bucknell (BUCK), Notre Dame (ND), George Mason (GMU), and Virginia Tech (VT) participated in the 2006 tournament and GW kept the crown, since they were the last team that received it.
Games[]
| Date | Game One | Game Two | Game Three | Date | Consolation | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/2/1995 | UMASS 50, MD 47 | FLA 75, GW 66 | N/A | 12/3/1995 | MD 98, GW 81 | UMASS 80, FLA 58 |
| 12/8/1996 | MD 80, CAL 64 | GW 57, MISS ST. 36 | N/A | 12/9/1996 | CAL 78, MISS ST. 45 | MD 74, GW 68 |
| 12/7/1997 | MD 86, KAN 83 | GW 66, PENN 62 | N/A | 12/8/1997 | KAN 89, PENN 71 | GW 70, MD 66 |
| 12/6/1998 | MD 62, STAN 60 | DEP 87, GW 79 | N/A | 12/7/1998 | STAN 70, GW 56 | MD 92, DEP 75 |
| 12/4/1999 | GW 72, SHU 63 | MD 69, ILL 67 | N/A | 12/5/1999 | ILL 72, SHU 61 | GW 74, MD 69 |
| 12/2/2000 | MD 82, MICH 51 | GW 85, STJ 75 | N/A | 12/3/2000 | STJ 97, MICH 83 | MD 71, GW 63 |
| 12/2/2001 | UCONN 84, GW 76 | MD 61, PRIN 53 | N/A | 12/3/2001 | GW 60, PRIN 57 | MD 77, UCONN 65 |
| 12/7/2002 | TEX 100, GW 92 | ND 79, MD 67 | N/A | 12/8/2002 | MD 93, GW 82 | ND 98, TEX 92 |
| 12/6/2003 | GW 70, WVU 64 | GONZ 82, MD 68 | N/A | 12/7/2003 | WVU 78, MD 77 (OT) | GONZ 96, GW 91 |
| 12/4/2004 | GW 96, MICH ST. 83 | MD 78, GMU 54 | N/A | 12/5/2004 | MICH ST. 66, GMU 60 | GW 101, MD 92 |
| 12/5/2005 | NAVY 82, HOW 73 | GMU 75, AMER 35 | GW 78, MD 70 | |||
| 12/3/2006 | BUCK 60, GMU 57 | GW 63, VATECH 62 | ND 81, MD 74 | |||
| 12/2/2007 | AUB 74, GW 70 | ECU 68, GMU 65 | VCU 85, MD 76 | |||
| 12/7/2008 | VATECH 79, NAVY 70 | MD 76, GW 53 | N/A |