The Jamaica Classic (branded as the Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic) is an early-season

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

tournament that takes place in November of each year at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in

Montego Bay Montego Bay is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Por ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. Each year, Jamaica Classic participants play games at campus sites in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, some before and some after the Montego Bay games. At Montego Bay, those which host the campus-site games play in the "Montego Bay Division" of the Classic, while those which visit the hosts for campus-site games play separately in the "Rose Hall Division." A separate championship is awarded for each division, and a

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

is selected in each division. Games played at the Montego Bay Convention Centre are televised on the

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American pay television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports Television also known as ...

History

The tournament debuted in 2017 with a 14-team field taking part in campus-site games. Seven of the 14 teams traveled to Montego Bay, where the Montego Bay Division played in a four-team showcase format, with predetermined match-ups scheduled as two doubleheaders. The Rose Hall Division had only three teams, which each played each other once in a three-day round-robin format. This resulted in a tripleheader on the first day at Montego Bay, a lone Rose Hall Division game on the second day, and another tripleheader on the third day. In 2018, eight teams participated. All traveled to Montego Bay, where each division played in a four-team showcase format, with predetermined match-ups scheduled as two doubleheaders over two days. This resulted in two days of competition with four games on each day (one doubleheader for each division), separated by an off day. In 2019, ten teams took part in campus-site games, eight of them

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

teams. The eight Division I teams traveled to Montego Bay, where play took place using the same format as in 2018. The 2020 edition of the tournament was canceled because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, which prompted the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) to move the first contest date of

for the 2020–2021 season to November 25, 2020.Jamaica Classic Games Accessed June 13, 2022
/ref> With the pandemic still raging in 2021, the 2021 tournament also was cancelled, and the competition for that year shifted to a temporary tournament, the Jersey Mike's Classic, in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

.Jersey Mike’s Jamaica Classic Champions Coaches Database Accessed June 13, 2022
/ref>Reid, Paul, "COVID-19 forces cancellation of Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic for second-straight year," ''Jamaica Observer'', October 7, 2021 Accessed June 13, 2022
/ref> The Jamaica Classic resumed competition in 2022 and introduced bracketed tournament play for the first time, with separate brackets for each division. As in 2018 and 2019, four games — two from each division — were played on each of two days, resulting in four games on each of the two days with an off-day in between. The 2022 Classic also reduced the number of campus-site games to four.

Champions

SOURCESThe Third Annual Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic Game Program November 22 & 24, 2019, p. 59.
/ref>

Montego Bay Division

*2022 —

Loyola Marymount Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

*2021 — No tournament *2020 — No tournament *2019 —

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

*2018 —

*2017 —

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

Rose Hall Division

*2022 —

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

*2021 — No tournament *2020 — No tournament *2019 —

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

*2018 —

Campbell Campbell may refer to: People Surname * Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell Given name * Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer * Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...

*2017 —

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

Most Valuable Players

SOURCES

Montego Bay Division

*2022 — Chance Stephens,

*2021 — No tournament *2020 — No Tournament *2019 —

Justin Bean Justin Barrus Bean (born November 17, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Hustle of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Utah State Aggies. High school career Bean played basketball for Southmoor ...

*2018 —

James Batemon III James Batemon III (born April 8, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for Ironi Kiryat Ata of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball with North Dakota State College of Science and Loyola Marymount. Fo ...

*2017 —

M. J. Walker James Michael "M. J." Walker Jr. (born March 28, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Canterbury Rams of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played college basketball for Florida State Seminoles. High ...

Rose Hall Division

*2022 — Jay'Den Turner,

*2021 — No tournament *2020 — No tournament *2019 — Noah Morgan,

*2018 — Chris Clemens,

*2017 — J. R. Lynch,

Tournaments

2022

After a three-year hiatus, the Jamaica Classic resumed play in 2022, featuring a new format. In addition to campus games, the 2022 event included a tournament featuring two brackets, the first time the Jamaica Classic included bracketed tournament play. Eight teams took part in the Jamaica Classic. Each participant played a game at a campus site in the United States, either before or after the tournament at Montego Bay. Play at Montego Bay was divided into the Montego Bay Division, a bracketed competition including the four teams which had hosted a campus-site game, and the Rose Hall Division, a separate bracketed competition made up of the four teams which played as the visitor in a campus-site game. The tournament took place over the course of two days, with two Montego Bay Division and two Rose Hall Division games each day and an off day in between. Championship and consolation games in each bracket determined the results in each division.

Participants

* Georgetown * Green Bay * La Salle *

* Morgan State *

Utah Valley Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

* Wake Forest

Campus games

Montego Bay Division

Rose Hall Division

2021

The 2021 Jamaica Classic was cancelled due to the

. Instead, a temporary tournament, the Jersey Mike's Classic, was held and played in the McArthur Center at

Eckerd College Eckerd College is a private liberal arts college in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1958, part of the campus is waterfront and beach on Boca Ciega Bay. Because of its location, Eckerd is considered a "beach school" and has its own student ...

. The Jamaica Classic competition was shifted to the Jersey Mike's Classic for the season, with

Ball State Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, industrialists and founders of the Ball C ...

FIU Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florida ...

, Green Bay,

UMass The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medical ...

UNC Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-al ...

, and

Weber State Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

participating.

2020

The 2020 Jamaica Classic was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Teams which committed to participate included

Missouri State Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...

, and Wake Forest.

2019

The 2019 Jamaica Classic had ten participants, eight of them

teams. All campus-site games took place before the Montego Bay tournament, with some teams playing in two campus-site games and others in only one. The eight Division I teams then traveled to Montego Bay, where play followed the format established in 2018 of a four-team showcase-style event in the Montego Bay Division made up of teams which strictly had hosted campus-site games, and a similar four-team showcase-style event in the Rose Hall Division, which consisted of the teams which played against the "host" teams as visitors at campus sites.

Participants

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

* Michigan–Dearborn * Nicholls *

North Carolina A&T North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public, historically black land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Caro ...

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wor ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

* St. Mary's (MD) *

UMBC The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

Campus Games

Montego Bay Division

Rose Hall Division

Source

2018

The 2018 Jamaica Classic had eight participants. Each team played in two campus-site games, some played before and some after the Montego Bay event. Four teams played strictly as hosts in the campus-site games and the other four strictly as visitors.Blogging the Brackets: Jersey Mike’s Jamaica Classic Montego Bay Accessed November 20, 2022
/ref> All eight teams traveled to Montego Bay, where the four teams which hosted campus-site games made up the Montego Bay Division and the four which had played as visitors at campus sites made up the Rose Hall Division. Each division played in a two-day showcase-like format with predetermined match-ups on both days of competition. Two Montego Bay Division and two Rose Hall Division games took place on each day, with an off-day in between.

Participants

Austin Peay Austin Peay (June 1, 1876 – October 2, 1927) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Tennessee from 1923 to 1927. He was the state's first governor since the Civil War to win three consecutive terms and the first to die ...

* Central Connecticut *

Florida A&M Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...

* Georgetown *

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

Campus games

Montego Bay Division

Rose Hall Division

Source

2017

Fourteen teams — 10

and four non-Division I teams — participated in the 2017 Jamaica Classic, all of them playing in campus-site games, some of which were held prior to and some after the Montego Bay events.Blogging the Brackets: 2017 Jamaica Classic Montego Bay Primer Accessed November 20, 2022
/ref> Seven of the Division I teams traveled to Montego Bay. Four of them which had hosted campus-site games formed the Montego Bay Division and played in a pair of doubleheaders at Montego Bay, while the other three, each of which had played as the visitor in a campus-site game against one of the "hosts," formed the Rose Hall Division and took part in a round-robin competition at Montego Bay in which each played the other two "visitors" once. After

withdrew from the 2017

Puerto Rico Tip-Off The Puerto Rico Tip-Off was an early-season college basketball tournament owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television that took place in late November of each year from 2007 through 2017, usually the week before Thanksgiving. History The Puer ...

to play in the Jamaica Classic, the Classic's organizers chose the showcase doubleheader format rather than a bracketed tournament between the four "hosts" to prevent Florida State and

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

— already scheduled to meet in the Heritage Insurance Classic on December 10 — from meeting in the Jamaica Classic as well in violation of NCAA scheduling rules.

Participants

Colorado State Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

* Fordham *

LIU Brooklyn LIU Brooklyn is a private university in Brooklyn, New York. It is the original unit and first of two main campuses of the private Long Island University system. Campus LIU Brooklyn is located at the intersection of Flatbush and DeKalb Avenues ...

* Miami (OH) *

Northwestern State Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSU) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the Univer ...

The Citadel The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a Public college, public United States senior military college, senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one ...

* Winthrop * Gordon College * LeTourneau * Oglethorpe * Trinity Baptist

Campus Games

Montego Bay Division

Rose Hall Division

Source

References

External links

Official site of the Jamaica Classic
{{NCAA men's college basketball tournament navbox College basketball competitions Recurring sporting events established in 2017 Basketball in Jamaica 2017 establishments in Jamaica