The first-ever Rady Children’s Invitational concluded with a bang and marked its pursuit of becoming one of the best early season college basketball tournaments in the country. Each game was nationally televised on FOX and FS1 and the games were played at UC San Diego’s LionTree Arena on November 23rd and 24th, 2023.
The four participating teams were USC Trojans, Seton Hall Pirates, Iowa Hawkeyes and Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma secured a nail-biting win over USC in front of a sold-out crowd to become the first-ever Rady Children’s Invitational Champions. Otega Oweh tipped in Javian McCollum’s missed jumper with 1.4 seconds left to give Oklahoma a thrilling 72-70 victory. Javian McCollum was named the tournament MVP and Otega Oweh, Boogie Ellis (USC), Payton Sandfort (Iowa), and Dre Davis (Seton Hall) were named to the All-Tournament Team.
The tournament is organized by Sports San Diego, a non-profit 501c3 organization dedicated to generating tourism, visibility, and economic impact for the San Diego region. The Rady Children’s Hospital, one of the largest children’s hospitals on the West Coast and one of the nation’s top pediatric health care systems, is the title sponsor. Global Sports & Events (GSE) is responsible for filling the fields and providing guidance on event operations and the overall team experience.
“We are thrilled with the success of the inaugural Rady Children’s Invitational,” said GSE Partner, Brian Ratzliff. “This tournament was made possible by the collaboration of Sports San Diego, Rady Children’s Hospital, FOX, and the four outstanding teams. We are proud to have been part of this great success and look forward to working together for years to come.”
The 2024 Rady Children’s Invitational will include the Arkansas Razorbacks, BYU Cougars, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and the Purdue Boilermakers. The second annual tournament takes place November 28-29 inside LionTree Arena.
For more information on the tournament, visit radychildrensinvitational.com. If you are a team interested in participating in future years, contact GSE.
About Global Sports & Events
Global Sports & Events (GSE) is the leader in producing unique events and experiences for athletes to develop inside and outside sports. With over three decades of practice and a deep sports network around the globe, the GSE team has organized hundreds of boutique events spanning collegiate and amateur athletics. In addition, GSE provides services for team acquisition, game scheduling, event operations, NIL project execution, media and distribution consultation and customized student-athlete development projects. With a specialization in athlete impact and team experience, GSE prides itself on creating memorable events for athletes, coaches, fans, universities, and conferences.
