FORT MYERS, Fla. - - Belmont University men's basketball will face 2025 NCAA Tournament participant Saint Francis in the opening game of the Coconut Hoops event, bdG Sports announced Tuesday.
The game will take place Monday, Nov. 24 at 12:30 p.m. CT from Alico Arena on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University.
Belmont will face either defending Sun Belt Conference champion and NCAA Tournament participant Troy or Mid-American Conference contender Toledo Wednesday, Nov. 26.
Belmont is familiar with southwest Florida and Alico Arena, having played FGCU in the Atlantic Sun Conference from 2008-12.
Additionally, Belmont head coach
Casey Alexander won an Atlantic Sun Conference tournament championship and punched a ticket to the NCAA Tournament at Alico Arena in 2018.
Belmont is 13-6 in multi-team events under Coach Alexander.
Belmont season tickets – which include the entire men's and women's basketball home schedule – are on sale now at
belmontbruins.com/tickets.
To become a Bruin Club member, contact
Russell Grimm at (615) 460-5668 or
russell.grimm@belmont.edu.
Belmont University men's basketball has been a postseason fixture for the last two decades, including nine berths to the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins have won 20 conference championships since 2006 - third-most nationally over that span (behind Gonzaga and Kansas). Belmont has won 20 or more games in 15 consecutive seasons (alongside Gonzaga, Kansas, and Oregon) and 19 or more games in 20 consecutive seasons (alongside Gonzaga, Kansas, and San Diego State). Belmont is among select programs with two or more first-round selections in the NBA Draft over the last six years (Ben Sheppard, Dylan Windler). Belmont University men's basketball boasts an NCAA-leading 19 Academic All-America selections since 2001 and is the only NCAA Division I program to make the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) Honor Roll every year of its existence. Belmont is the only NCAA Division I institution in America whose men's and women's basketball programs have won 20 or more games in 10 consecutive seasons.
TICKET AND FAN TRAVEL INFORMATION
Fan travel information, including preferred hotel rates at the official tournament resort, and ticket information can be found at the official event website –
www.coconuthoops.com. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 12 p.m. ET.
ABOUT bdG SPORTS
bdG Sports is a sports and entertainment leader with a dynamic event management portfolio anchored with a focus in basketball and professional golf. The firm boasts an event schedule that has delivered significant economic impact to multiple communities throughout North America and the Caribbean while featuring broadcasts to viewers across the globe.
In basketball, bdG has a lengthy history of producing college basketball content. From summer exhibition tours to multiple high-profile in-season tournaments, bdG will contract nearly 150 regular-season men's and women's Division I basketball games annually. It boasts the record for the largest hoops crowd in Nevada state history (Duke-Gonzaga 2021 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas) and the second-most watched game since 2008 (Arkansas-Illinois on Thanksgiving Day 2024 with 5.1 million viewers). bdG is proud to be the only third-party operator which manages a conference tournament, assisting The Big West Conference Tournament each March in Henderson, Nevada. In professional basketball, bdG managed home games for the NBA G-League's Ignite for its two years at the Dollar Loan Center.
In professional golf, bdG owns and operates two season-opening Korn Ferry Tour tournaments, The Bahamas Golf Classic at Paradise Island and The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, both featuring $1 million purses. And among its newest events, the ESPN Fantasy Football Weekend at Baha Mar each August.
