There are a lot of REALLY TALL young men in Ignacio this weekend. Even in a town that has produced and hosted more than its share of basketball players, having four teams of 6'6" players - and many heading into the seven-foot range - is unusual.
On Friday morning, players from Fort Lewis College, University of Texas - Permian Basin, Western New Mexico University and St. Mary's University in San Antonio ate breakfast at Sky Ute Casino and received a welcome bag from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. The players are staying there for the weekend and playing at nearby SunUte Community Center in the first college tournament ever hosted in Ignacio, the Rocky Mountain Athletic/Heartland Conference Challenge.
Friday night's games include Western New Mexico against UTPB at 5 p.m., then FLC plays St. Mary's at 7 p.m.
There will be a Native blessing and welcome ceremony about 6:45 p.m. Friday between the two games.
On Saturday, WNM plays St. Mary's at 5 p.m., and FLC goes against UTPB at 7 p.m.
UTPB is located in Odessa in West Texas, while WNM is located in Silver City, N.M., near the Arizona border.
"We are a basketball and athletic-loving community," Johnny Valdez, one of the tournament organizers, told the players Friday morning. He and Andrea Taylor, the tribe's director of information services, also presented the teams' coaches with blankets emblazoned with the tribal seal.
One of the reasons the Ignacio community is hosting the tournament "is to show our kids, they can be anything and do anything," Valdez said. Taylor also welcomed the group to Ignacio and said she hopes the players enjoy themselves and play some good games.
Tickets are $25 per person, per night, and that includes admission to both of that evening's games. Tickets can be purchased at The Patio on Goddard Avenue in Ignacio.
Proceeds from the tournament will benefit FLC athletic scholarships, Ignacio boys basketball, the Boys and Girls Club of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Read to Lead Program in local area schools.
The tournament is sponsored by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, The Sky Ute Casino Resort, The SunUte Community Center, Ignacio Boys Basketball, Native Executive Services, The Wells Group, The Patio Restaurant, Tava Wu Cuttum, CJ's Diner, First National Bank of Durango, Comprehensive Financial Planning, the Ignacio School District, the Ignacio Chamber of Commerce, the Boedecker Foundation and Fort Lewis College.
