Tar Heels featured in first Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte

Florida, Michigan and Oklahoma fill out the four-team holiday event

(Rick Bowmer / AP Photo)

CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte Sports Foundation has announced a three-year deal with Jordan Brand to host the Jumpman Invitational, a holiday college basketball event featuring North Carolina, Florida, Michigan and Oklahoma — the original four schools to sign a partnership with Jordan Brand.

The inaugural event is scheduled for Dec. 20-21, 2022, and will feature both the men’s and women’s teams playing in one game per year.

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The games will be played Charlotte’s Spectrum Center, home of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, which are owned by Michael Jordan.

The schedule will feature two games each night with matchups and game times to be determined. ESPN networks will air all four games.

“We’re incredibly excited to bring what we believe will quickly become the marquee college basketball event of the holiday season to the Queen City,” said Danny Morrison, executive director of the Charlotte Sports Foundation in a release Thursday. “These are four of the most storied and competitive programs in the game, and we’re looking forward to the interconference play.”

Morrison said the possibility exists to expand the event to include other Jordan-affiliated schools in 2023 or 2024, or to extend the partnership into subsequent years.