Hoop dream: P.E.I. hosting NCAA women's basketball tournament this winter

Prince Edward Island will play host to some of the best U.S. women's college basketball players this fall.

Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown will host four NCAA Division 1 teams playing six games in the inaugural Atlantic Slam W tournament from Nov. 22 to 24.

Veteran Canadian sports broadcaster Rod Black was in P.E.I. to make the announcement at City Hall on Wednesday. He'll be part of the broadcast team for the tournament, which will be televised on ESPN in the U.S. and on TSN in Canada.

Black hopes young basketball players in Prince Edward Island will be inspired by the level of athleticism they see during the games.

"There are a lot of Canadian players who have gone down and earned scholarships," he said of the NCAA.

"I do think it's an incredible level of basketball, which will inspire ... young boys and girls to aspire to greater heights, perhaps to get a scholarship and work on their academics as well."

Rod Black will be part of the broadcast team for the Atlantic Slam W tournament in Charlottetown. (Sheehan Desjardins/CBC)

Division 1 is the highest level of intercollegiate basketball in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The NCAA men's and women's March Madness national championship tournament consistently draws tens of millions of television viewers and has fans agonizing over their bracket selections each year.

Two of the four competing teams in Atlantic Slam W will include the Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) Rebels, who were ranked seventh in the 2024 March Madness tournament, and the Georgetown University Hoyas. The other two teams will be announced later this year.

Each of the six games played in the tournament on P.E.I. will count toward regular season points for the participating teams.

The first Atlantic Slam event, which featured men's NCAA Division 1 teams, was held last year in Moncton. That city will host its second men's tournament later this year.

Hosting the tournament plays into the strategic plans of both the province and the City of Charlottetown to boost tourism in the shoulder season.

But the city's event management and tourism officer, Laurel Lea, hopes the competition inspires young female athletes at the same time.

Laurel Lea, Charlottetown's event management and tourism officer, hopes the high calibre of play at the tournament will inspire young female basketball players. (Sheehan Desjardins/CBC)

"I think it's so important for our young local female athletes to be able to picture themselves in these high-calibre tournaments," Lea said.

"There's a lot of focus on men's sports, but women's sports — the profile is being raised across the globe and we're finally being seen for the first time for the value that these amazing athletes bring to our sports."

Passes for Atlantic Slam W will be available for purchase on the Eastlink Centre's website and at its box office beginning at 11 a.m. on Thursday.

Additional activities associated with the tournament, such as coach and player development, clinics will be announced at a later date.