CMU extends $50,000 partnership with Gus Macker Tournament

The Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament announced an extended partnership with Central Michigan University at a press conference Feb. 21 that includes a $50,000 donation to the CMU Events Center. The extended partnership will extend the current five-year agreement with Gus Macker through 2018.

 

The Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament is organized every year by CMU recreation and event management students. As part of a unique relationship with Gus Macker, CMU is the only university in the nation where students have the opportunity to get real world experience coordinating the event.

 

“For our students, we subscribe to the theory that you learn best by doing,” says Tim Otteman, CMU assistant professor of recreation. Otteman is one of the instructors of the course.

 

“The world isn’t a multiple choice exam, it’s an essay,” Otteman said. “The final exam of this class is that you need to put on the event. Our students benefit from the experience that comes with it.”

 

The tournament was created by 1979 CMU alumnus Scott McNeal, who pledged a total of $50,000 to the Events Center in 2008 as part of the initial five-year agreement. The extended partnership will pledge an additional $50,000 to the Events Center, bringing the total to $100,000 by 2018.

 

McNeal, whose father also is a CMU Chippewa, says it was his dream to be a basketball coach like his idol CMU alumnus and Hall of Fame basketball player Dick Parfitt. He says bringing Gus Macker to CMU is his way of giving back to his alma mater.

 

“Anyone affiliated with Gus Macker knows we’re big fans of the Chippewas,” McNeal said. “It’s a bragging point for us to do something unique like this and give back to a school that gave so much to me. It comes full circle.”

 

The 2013 CMU Gus Macker Tournament will take place April 27 and 28 on CMU’s campus between Warriner Hall and Finch Fieldhouse. This year’s event will be the last year of the initial five-year agreement. The proceeds of the Gus Macker Tournament are donated to the Dick Parfitt Gymnasium in the Events Center, used for special events and as a practice gym.