In the eighth annual Fort Myers Tip-Off will feature a set of four pre-determined matchups as part of its Beach Division schedule. East Carolina will face Michigan State on Nov. 25 while the Pirates and Bonnies will battle on Nov. 27.
The game times and television designations for both matchups will be revealed at a later date.
It will be East Carolina’s first-ever meetings with the Bonnies and the Spartans, and the Pirates’ first encounter with a Big Ten rival since Rutgers in 2017.
Michael Schwartz, the Pirates’ fourth-year head coach, has guided the team to a 19-win season, including 10 conference victories. For the first time since 1974–75, the program has achieved double-digit conference victories, with the 10 league wins being the highest since joining the American Athletic Conference and the 19 overall victories being the most since 2012–13.
After only winning twice in the program’s first eight years in the league, East Carolina has won a game in the AAC Tournament in each of Schwartz’s last three seasons.
“We are extremely excited to be a part of this premier event,” Schwartz said. “The Fort Myers Tip-Off has always hosted some of the very best national programs in college basketball and it’s an honor to be a part of that alongside Michigan State, St. Bonaventure and North Carolina.”
Official fan travel packages will start becoming available on June 12 and include tickets to both of a chosen team’s games, hotel accommodations and parking at Suncoast Credit Union Arena. For complete travel package information, log on to www.fortmyerstipoff.com/travel.
At this time, the only way to guarantee tickets to the Fort Myers Tip-Off, which sold out last year, is through official fan travel packages, which offer a variety of hotel night options. Ticket packages, if available, will go on sale this fall.
The Beach Division teams of the Fort Myers Tip-Off will be hosted by the Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village and the Marriott Sanibel Harbor Resort and Spa, enabling spectators to stay where the teams stay and fully enjoy resort life.
Fans can also pick from a variety of lodging alternatives, including the Pink Shell Resort and Margaritaville Beach Resort, which are resort destinations situated on stunning Fort Myers Beach, and the Luminary Hotel & Co., a boutique hotel in downtown Fort Myers.
Fort Myers Tip-Off, launched in 2018, has become a staple of the early season college basketball calendar, regularly bringing championship-caliber programs to Southwest Florida on an annual basis. Gonzaga, Kansas, Auburn, 2025 national champion Florida, Ohio State, Marquette, Wisconsin, Virginia and Michigan, among others, have recently participated in the event.
About the Fort Myers Tip-Off
An annual celebration of men’s and women’s college basketball, the Fort Myers Tip-Off welcomes the top programs from around the country for incredible competition to see which teams and their fans will #OwnTheFort during Thanksgiving Week. Contested at Suncoast Credit Union Arena, the home of Florida SouthWestern State College, the Fort Myers Tip-Off has quickly become a staple of the Southwest Florida sports calendar.