# Great Alaska Shootout

The ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout is an annual college basketball tournament in Anchorage, Alaska that features host University of Alaska Anchorage and three visiting NCAA Div. I teams. The four-team tournament resumed in 2022 following a four-year layoff. The women's Shootout was started in 1980 and ran through 1997 as the Northern Lights Invitational, featuring either four- or eight-team fields and playing at the UAA Sports Center. Following a one-year absence, the tournament was renamed and run along with the men's Great Alaska Shootout every Thanksgiving week from 1999 to 2017. The tournament was held at Sullivan Arena from 1999 to 2013 and moved to the Alaska Airlines Center in 2014.
Now co-sponsored by Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and ConocoPhillips Alaska, the 2022 tournament is being held Nov. 18–19 at the Alaska Airlines Center. The 2022 field features host Alaska Anchorage (an NCAA Div. II program) against NCAA Div. I programs UC Riverside, La Salle and Pepperdine.

## Men's Shootout History

The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) hosted the tournament every Thanksgiving from 1978 to 2017. Tournament games were played at the Alaska Airlines Center, a new arena on the UAA campus, from 2014 to 2017. Prior to that, games were played at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage from 1983 to 2013 and at Buckner Field House on Fort Richardson from 1978 to 1982. The men's tournament included eight teams (with the exception of a six-team field in 2009).
The tournament was one of the longest-running tournaments in college basketball history, lasting for 40 years, and brought the highest level of basketball to Alaska. The Shootout was held Thanksgiving weekend.
Under National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules, teams are normally limited to approximately 28 regular-season games. However, games in "exempted events," traditionally played early in the season, are not counted against that limit. The most recent policy from the NCAA in this regard allows all teams to play in one exempted event per season. Those teams who choose to take advantage of that opportunity may play up to thirty-one games per season, including games played in those exempted events but excluding postseason tournament games. A previous version of the rule allowed for all games played outside the United States mainland to be exempt from the then-27-game limit. This version was partly responsible for the genesis of tournaments such as Great Alaska Shootout.
The Great Alaska Shootout began in 1978 as the brainchild of former UAA men's basketball coach Bob Rachal. Raycom Sports first picked up the broadcast rights to the tournament in 1979, and ESPN began broadcasting it in 1985.
On August 26, 2017, it was announced that the 2017 Shootout would be the last. The University of Alaska Anchorage stopped funding it as newer tournaments were drawing away top teams to warmer locations.

## Past champions, runners-up and MVPs
### Men's tournament

The following table indicates the winners, runners-up and tournament most valuable players (MVPs).
| Year | Winner | Score | Opponent | Tournament MVP |
| 1978 | North Carolina State | 72–66 | Louisville | Clyde Austin, NC State |
| 1979 | Kentucky | 57–50 | Iona | Jeff Ruland, Iona |
| 1980 | North Carolina | 64–58 | Arkansas | Scott Hastings, Arkansas |
| 1981 | Southwestern Louisiana | 81–64 | Marquette | Steve Burtt, Iona |
| 1982 | Louisville | 80–70 | Vanderbilt | Lancaster Gordon, Louisville |
| 1983 | North Carolina State | 65–60 | Arkansas | Joe Kleine, Arkansas |
| 1984 | UAB | 50–46 | Kansas | Steve Mitchell, UAB |
| 1985 | North Carolina | 65–60 | UNLV | Brad Daugherty, North Carolina |
| 1986 | Iowa | 103–80 | Northeastern | Roy Marble, Iowa |
| 1987 | Arizona | 80–69 | Syracuse | Sean Elliott, Arizona |
| 1988 | Seton Hall | 92–81 | Kansas | Chris Mills, Kentucky |
| 1989 | Michigan State | 73–68 | Kansas State | Steve Smith, Michigan State |
| 1990 | UCLA | 89–74 | Virginia | Don MacLean, UCLA |
| 1991 | Massachusetts | 68–56 | New Orleans | Jim McCoy, Massachusetts |
| 1992 | New Mexico State | 95–94 | Illinois | Sam Crawford, New Mexico State |
| 1993 | Purdue | 88–73 | Portland | Glenn Robinson, Purdue |
| 1994 | Minnesota | 79–74 | BYU | Townsend Orr, Minnesota |
| 1995 | Duke | 88–81 | Iowa | Ray Allen, Connecticut |
| 1996 | Kentucky | 92–65 | College of Charleston | Ron Mercer, Kentucky |
| 1997 | North Carolina | 73–69 | Purdue | Antawn Jamison, North Carolina |
| 1998 | Cincinnati | 77–75 | Duke | William Avery, Duke |
| 1999 | Kansas | 84–70 | Georgia Tech | Drew Gooden, Kansas |
| 2000 | Syracuse | 84–62 | Missouri | Preston Shumpert, Syracuse |
| 2001 | Marquette | 72–63 | Gonzaga | Dwyane Wade, Marquette |
| 2002 | College of Charleston | 71–69 | Villanova | Troy Wheless, College of Charleston |
| 2003 | Purdue | 78–68 | Duke | Kenneth Lowe, Purdue |
| 2004 | Washington | 79–76 | Alabama | Nate Robinson, Washington |
| 2005 | Marquette | 92–89 (OT) | South Carolina | Steve Novak, Marquette |
| 2006 | California | 78–70 | Loyola Marymount | Ryan Anderson, California |
| 2007 | Butler | 81–71 | Texas Tech | Mike Green, Butler |
| 2008 | San Diego State | 76–47 | Hampton | Kyle Spain, San Diego State |
| 2009 | Washington State | 93–56 | San Diego | Klay Thompson, Washington State |
| 2010 | St. John's | 67–58 | Arizona State | Justin Brownlee, St. John's |
| 2011 | Murray State | 90–81 (2OT) | Southern Mississippi | Isaiah Canaan, Murray State |
| 2012 | Charlotte | 67–59 | Northeastern | Pierria Henry, Charlotte |
| 2013 | Harvard | 71–50 | TCU | Wesley Saunders, Harvard |
| 2014 | Colorado State | 65–63 | UC Santa Barbara | Alan Williams, UC Santa Barbara |
| 2015 | Middle Tennessee | 78–70 | Toledo | Nathan Boothe, Toledo |
| 2016 | Iona | 75–73 | Nevada | Sam Cassell Jr, Iona |
| 2017 | Central Michigan | 75–72 | Cal State Bakersfield | Shawn Roundtree, Central Michigan |

### Women's tournament

The following table indicates the winners, runners up and tournament MVPs.
| Year | Winner | Score | Opponent | Tournament MVP |
| 1980 | Iowa | 73–52 | Alaska Anchorage | Cindy Haugejorde, Iowa |
| 1981 | San Diego State | 50–41 | Houston | Diena Pels, San Diego State |
| 1982 | Minnesota | 70–66 | Indiana | Laura Coenen, Minnesota |
| 1983 | Old Dominion | 76–53 | Wichita State | Lorri Bauman, Drake |
| 1984 | Texas | 82–60 | UNLV | Annette Smith, Texas |
| 1985 | Louisiana Tech | 88–69 | Penn State | Dawn Royster, North Carolina |
| 1986 | Northeast Louisiana | 70–68 | USC | Lisa Ingram, Northeast Louisiana |
| 1987 | New Orleans | 84–61 | Memphis State | Kunshinge Sorrell, Mississippi State |
| 1988 | South Carolina | 98–97 (OT) | UNLV | Martha Parker, South Carolina |
| 1989 | Stephen F. Austin | 96–81 | Old Dominion | Connie Cole, Stephen F. Austin |
| 1990 | Alaska Anchorage | 88–87 | South Alabama | Diane Dobrich, Alaska Anchorage |
| 1991 | Northern Illinois | 63–60 | Louisville | Lisa Foss, Northern Illinois |
| 1992 | Penn State | 83–62 | Missouri-Kansas City | Susan Robinson, Penn State |
| 1993 | Hawai'i | N/A$^1$ | SMU | Valerie Agee, Hawai'i |
| 1994$^2$ | Rhode Island | N/A$^1$ | Northeast Louisiana | Dayna Smith, Rhode Island |
| 1994$^2$ | Clemson | 79–62 | UCLA | Tara Saunooke, Clemson |
| 1995 | South Carolina | 83–71 | Arizona State | Shannon Johnson, South Carolina |
| 1996 | Georgia | 72–55 | Oregon | Tracy Henderson, Georgia |
| 1997 | Tennessee | 87–66 | Wisconsin | Chamique Holdsclaw, Tennessee |
| 1998 | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| 1999 | Kansas | 78–68 | Louisville | Lynn Pride, Kansas |
| 2000 | Ohio State | 95–60 | Rhode Island | Jaime Lewis, Ohio State |
| 2001 | Iowa | 90–73 | Gonzaga | Lindsey Meder, Iowa |
| 2002 | Nevada | 68–56 | Indiana | Laura Ingham, Nevada |
| 2003 | Alaska Anchorage | 61–58 | Clemson | Kamie Jo Massey, Alaska Anchorage |
| 2004 | Stanford | 67–47 | Louisiana-Lafayette | Candice Wiggins, Stanford |
| 2005 | Central Connecticut State | 69–65 (OT) | Arizona | Gabriella Guegbelet, Central Connecticut State |
| 2006 | Alaska Anchorage | 78–70 | UC Riverside | Rebecca Kielpinski, Alaska Anchorage |
| 2007 | Alaska Anchorage | 52–50 | Santa Clara | Rebecca Kielpinski, Alaska Anchorage |
| 2008 | Alaska Anchorage | 58–57 | Syracuse | Rebecca Kielpinski, Alaska Anchorage |
| 2009 | Alaska Anchorage | 49–48 | Cincinnati | Nicci Miller, Alaska Anchorage |
| 2010 | Kent State | 53–47 | Alaska Anchorage | Jamilah Humes, Kent State |
| 2011 | Miami | 92–72 | South Florida | Shenise Johnson, Miami |
| 2012 | Utah State | 67–57 | Alaska Anchorage | Devyn Christensen, Utah State |
| 2013 | Georgetown | 92–78 | Alaska Anchorage | Andrea White, Georgetown |
| 2014 | Long Beach State | 69–60 | Alaska Anchorage | Megan Mullings, Alaska Anchorage |
| 2015 | Western Kentucky | 62–58 | Alaska Anchorage | Kendall Noble, Western Kentucky |
| 2016 | USC | 67–54 | Portland | Kristen Simon, USC |
| 2017 | Alaska Anchorage | 59–53 | Tulsa | Shelby Cloninger, Alaska Anchorage |
| 2018 | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held |
| 2019 | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held |
| 2020 | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held |
| 2021 | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held |
| 2022 | Alaska Anchorage | 88–75 | La Salle | Vishe' Rabb, Alaska Anchorage |
| 2023 | Utah | 117–72 | Eastern Kentucky | Alissa Pili, Utah |
| 2024 | Troy | 86–69 | North Dakota State | Shaulana Wagner, Troy |
$^1$Tournament was played in a round robin format. $^2$The tournament was moved to earlier in the season beginning in the 1994–95 season; hence the first 1994 tournament corresponds to the 1993–94 season and the second tournament to the 1994–95 season.