OK, I know that we are still almost 4 months out until the next Cowtown Classic Basketball Tournament, but as soon as I get back into town in a month it will be in full motion.

The tournament consists of boys and girls basketball teams in grades 5th - 8th grades. The fall tournament is scheduled for October 28th and 29th. With another tournament to be held in March.

Besides being a fund raiser for the basketball programs at Miles Community College, do ya'll realize how much money they bring into the community. Particularly those businesses in the hospitality realm, such as hotels, restaurants, and retail.

Be prepared for every hotel room to be almost full, your favorite restaurants to be packed, and the local stores to be busy. For some it might be a struggle, but for the community, that's another story.

I am aiming towards 50-60 teams (from MT, SD, ND, and WY) in this year's field. Each team consisting of 8-10 players, a coach or two, and of course parents. Take away the 10-15 local teams and you are still looking at around almost 40 teams that might not be in Miles City.

So when the time comes, October 28&29, and then again in March, if you see any of these teams, thank them for their participation in the tournament and visiting Miles City.

Oh yeah, and of course, I'll do a bit of advertising on here while I'm at it. If you have a team or know of a team that would like to enter the tournament keep an eye out for the entry forms available sometime in August.

We will be looking for volunteers to help taking tickets at three different sites (MCC, CCDHS, & WMS). If anyone would like to help or get their service organization involved please let me know. The tournament is October 28 & 29...and those who really like to book ahead, the spring tournament is March 17 & 18.

Please come and support all of the Miles City teams that will be playing that weekend.

Cowtown Classic Basketball Tournament Dates Set
October 28th & 29th

(Miles City, MT) -- Miles Community College Men's and Women's Basketball Teams will host the fall Cowtown Classic October 28th and 29th. This tournament, which has been around since 1994, is open to 5th-8th boys and girls teams. The entry fee is $150 with all proceeds going being split between the two MCC basketball squads. The deadline for entries will be October 18th to allow time for scheduling.

Each team is guaranteed four games over the two days with trophies being awarded to the first place team and medals to the second place team of each division. The tournament will be held at three different locations around Miles City. The game sites are Miles Community College (2 courts), Custer County District High School (2 courts) and Washington Middle School (1 court) with games beginning at 8am on both days.

The entry forms can be found on the web at http://www.milescc.edu/athletics/pioneerclub, as well as other pertinent information, such as rules and entry lists, over the next couple of months. Only your entry fee will reserve and guarantee your spot in the tournament. Please make checks out to the MCC Pioneer Club. Divisions have been known to fill quickly in the past. Any entries received after a division is full will have the opportunity to play up (i.e. 6th grade team playing in the 7th grade division) if they choose to remain in the tournament.

For more information please contact Ted Stein at (308) 440-9485 or [email protected], Shawn Neary at (406) 874-6213 or [email protected], or Dwight Gunnare at (406) 874-6170 or [email protected]

Thanks for the support of the community for this weekend's tournament. We had 22 teams participating in the tournament and went smoothly. We look forward to seeing them back in the spring (March 17th & 18th).

It's that time again. The 2007 Spring Cowtown Classic Youth Basketball Tournament will feature 31 teams from surrounding communities with games being played Saturday and Sunday at both the Centra and the High School.

The following communities will be represented Miles City, Terry, Glendive, Sidney, Broadus, Forysth, Colstrip, Lame Deer, Hysham, Billings, Melstone, Roundup, and Laurel.

But Ted, why did you cancel the 5th grade girls games??? We've got a great team in Miles City this year!

Chad,

We only received two entries in that division as well as the 6th grade division. We hate it when we have to cancel any divisions and turn away teams. But we just haven't gotten the number of teams as we have in the past. Five to ten years ago, we were one of five tournaments total, now we are one of five tournaments just this weekend alone. We are conflicting with Rapid City, Sheridan, Casper, and Glasgow.

Why not schedule for another weekend if there is such a conflict?

Tom,

Hey, I wish it was that easy. But it's not like it was 10+ years ago where we were one of five tournaments total during the spring and now everyone is doing them so no matter what weekend we do it, we'll have conflicts. We've had this date ever since we've been doing the tournaments.

I would think the organizers need to sit down and see what they could offer that would attract the teams away from the other tournaments. It may take rule changes and other spiffs. I would suggest contacting teams that chose to go to the other tournaments and see why they chose that tournament over ours.