Cancun Challenge | 4/7/2022 12:00:00 PM

FORT COLLINS, CO – Even as the dust settles on a riveting college basketball season, officials with the 15^th Men’s Cancun Challenge are ready to announce the schedule for the 2022 event, featuring games both at US campuses as well as in Mexico.

The 2022 tournament features eight teams – Auburn, Bradley, Liberty, Northwestern, Eastern Michigan, Purdue Fort Wayne, Southern Miss and Winthrop.

This is the second trip to the event for Auburn, Bradley, Liberty, Northwestern and Southern Miss; it’s the debut appearance for Eastern Michigan, Purdue Fort Wayne and Winthrop. Liberty played in the 2020 Space Coast Challenge, a four-team tournament held last November in which Triple Crown reformatted the Cancun event and moved it to Florida.

The Cancun Challenge features four games played in the US before the teams make the trip to the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya during Thanksgiving Week. Here’s the schedule for the 2022 event:

US GAMES (times TBA)
 
Tuesday, Nov. 15
Eastern Michigan at Bradley
Winthrop at Auburn

Friday, Nov. 18
Southern Miss at Liberty
Purdue Fort Wayne at Northwestern

MEXICO GAMES (all times ET; second team listed is home)
 
Tuesday, Nov. 22

MAYAN DIVISION
12:30 p.m. – Purdue Fort Wayne vs. Eastern Michigan
3 p.m. – Southern Miss vs. Winthrop

RIVIERA DIVISION
6 p.m. – Bradley vs. Auburn
8:30 p.m. – Liberty vs. Northwestern
 
Wednesday, Nov. 23

MAYAN DIVISION
12:30 p.m. – Purdue Fort Wayne/Eastern Michigan loser vs. Southern Miss/Winthrop loser
3 p.m. – Purdue Fort Wayne/Eastern Michigan winner vs. Southern Miss/Winthrop winner

RIVIERA DIVISION
6 p.m. – Bradley/Auburn loser vs. Liberty/Northwestern loser
8:30 p.m. – Bradley/Auburn winner vs. Liberty/Northwestern winner
 
“With our 15^th event on the horizon, it makes sense we have a mix of returning teams obviously enthused about the chance to repeat their experience with the tournament, along with those first-time programs excited to see what so many others are talking about,” said Cancun Challenge event director Sarah Molina. “We’re proud to have a history of helping teams enjoy their time in beautiful Mexico, while also getting in the important work and competitive tests that will help them reach their potential on the eve of conference and league play.”
 
Teams and fans stay in well-appointed rooms at the HRH, within comfortable walking distance to the game arena and multiple options to enjoy food, drink and nightlife at this gated, secure setting. Fan packages include a four-night minimum stay with option to secure more nights at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya. Contact Sarah Molina for more details, and explore options HERE:
 
Sarah Molina – (970) 672-0533 or sarah@triplecrownsports.com
 
About Triple Crown Sports
Based in Fort Collins, CO., Triple Crown Sports has been producing youth, high school and college events for 40 years. TCS runs both the preseason and postseason WNIT basketball events and produces the men’s and women’s DI Cancun Challenge tournaments in November. Triple Crown is also powering “WNIT” concept events in D-I softball (NISC) and volleyball (NIVC), with those two events debuting in 2017. Triple Crown’s PV College Challenge features 8-10 of the top DI college softball teams in the country each year in Puerto Vallarta, MX. TC fastpitch tournaments (including the 1,000-team Sparkler/Fireworks event) draw the nation’s finest club programs, and hundreds of college coaches attend TCS events for recruiting purposes. TCS produces one of the largest youth baseball events in the world with the 650-team Omaha SlumpBuster during the College World Series. The Triple Crown Volleyball NIT has become the top-recruited club volleyball event in the country each February when 550 teams compete in Kansas City, MO.