December 5, 2017

Dear Athletic Directors & Basketball Coaches,

I pray that your basketball season is proceeding nicely.

This letter includes a few important reminders concerning the upcoming State Basketball Tourney. The tourney will begin Friday, February 23rd, and continue through Sunday, February 25th. Games start at 4 p.m. on Friday. It will take place at ConcordiaUniversity, St. Paul this year and is open to both 7th/8th grade boys and 7th/8th girls teams.The tournament champion will have the opportunity to represent Minnesota at the national tournament in Valparaiso, IN. Remember, you need to file with the national tourney in order to be considered for participation. That entry is due in early March.

NEW TO THIS YEAR’S SELECTION

The tournament is open to all Lutheran schools in Minnesota. This tournament is for teams to represent their Lutheran school.We are welcoming all entries regardless of record to ensure that the tournament is full and all teams have to compete each of the rounds, eliminating byes. However, the number of teams will be limited to 16 teams per division. Entries for this tournament should be submitted no later than February 9th, 2018. All schools will be considered on an at-large basis. This means that if there are, for example, 8 quality teams out of southern Minnesota, we will take all 8. We would like to fill out the brackets. Schools will be notified of selections by Monday, February 12th. Please send in your information as promptly as possible.

Other Items of Interest (ALSO NEW TO THIS YEAR)

The cost for entry is $180 per team.We are giving an early bird registration break $160 per team for teams signed up before Friday January 30th. A check should be mailed in February, once your team’s selection has been announced.

Hotels in the area, as well as local churches, will be notified of incoming teams and fans. Some hotels that have blocked rooms for us will be included in the mailing in mid January.

We will play official high school league rules with one exception: quarters will be 7 minutes.

You will receive the official entry forms in mid January. If you don’t receive it, please contact me as soon as possible.

We look forward to seeing many of you later this winter in St. Paul. Tell your fellow athletic directors of this exciting tournament, too! It would be nice to see a number of new teams this February.

Please remember the deadline for entry forms is February 9th!

Sincerely,

George Padjen

tournament chair