The Air Force is known for flying. But during the first week of February, only basketballs will be flying through the air during the 33rd Annual Flyin’ Irish Invitational Tournament. Hosted by Detachment 225 of the Notre Dame Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Core, this tournament has become one of the largest ROTC sporting events in the country, and will include men and women competing from three military branches. Registration for the event opened in December.
The tournament began in 1985 as a small event to allow cadets and midshipmen to meet and compete against their future colleagues and comrades-in-arms. But as the decades have passed, the event has grown in size, and now the University of Notre Dame regularly hosts over 500 players from more than 50 schools across the nation. Last year, over 800 cadets from 56 different teams took part in tournament weekend.
This year’s tournament will begin Friday, February 1 at the Joyce Athletic Conference Center on Notre Dame’s campus. The finals are held there on Sunday, and both a men’s and a women’s championship team are crowned. Sunday’s schedule will include both final games, as well as a three-point competition. Last year, the event was live-streamed on Facebook for the first time, and the expectation is that that will happen again this year.
While the atmosphere is friendly, it can also get competitive. Last year’s winners were Ohio State Air Force in the men’s division, with Marquette Army the women’s champions. Runner’s up for the men’s honors in 2018 were Iowa State Army, with Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets in second place for the women. Other previous tournament winners have included Texas A & M Tri-Military and the Marquette Golden Eagles Army ROTC. Notre Dame will have multiple teams participating from three military ROTC branches. Detachment 225 includes students from 7 Indiana schools, including the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s College, Holy Cross College, Indiana University South Bend, Bethel College, Trine University, and Valparaiso University.
The public is welcome to come and watch some of the nation’s most dedicated young people hit the hardwood to play for bragging rights in the Flyin’ Irish basketball tournament. Joyce Center admission for these events is free, and commemorative T-shirts will be available for sale. For more information, contact the JACC or Cadet Andrew Brannon at flyinirishbball@gmail.com.
