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The U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam is an
Official site of the U.S. Virgin Island Paradise Jam Tournament
{{coord, 18.340096, -64.97306, display=title College men's basketball competitions in the United States College women's basketball competitions in the United States College basketball competitions Recurring sporting events established in 2000 Basketball in the United States Virgin Islands 2000 establishments in the United States Virgin Islands Women's sports in the United States Virgin Islands
The U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam is an NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
college basketball
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
tournament that takes place annually in late November. The men's tournament typically takes place the week before Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...
, with the women's tournament occurring during Thanksgiving week. It is held at the Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center on the campus of the University of the Virgin Islands
The University of the Virgin Islands (or UVI) is a public historically black land-grant university in the United States Virgin Islands.
History
UVI was founded as the College of the Virgin Islands on March 16, 1962. In 1986, it officially becam ...
in Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas, U. S. Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located i ...
. Liberty
Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...
is the defending men's champion. Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
and Florida State
Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
are the defending women's champions in the Island and Reef divisions, respectively.
Format
Paradise Jam began in 2000 as a women's basketball tournament; a men's tournament was added the following year. In its current format, both tournaments feature eight teams that each play three games.Men's format
The men's tournament was introduced in 2001 with a six-team, three-game group play format. In 2006, the tournament was expanded to eight teams and abracket
A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. They come in four main pairs of shapes, as given in the box to the right, which also gives their n ...
format was adopted. All teams play three games in the tournament, with the final day's games determining the tournament standings: a championship game, third-place game, fifth-place game, and seventh-place game are all played.
Women's format
The format of the women's tournament has changed multiple times throughout the existence of Paradise Jam. The first tournament in 2000 featured four teams that played two games each. In 2001, the women's tournament was altered to include three divisions — St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. The following year, the St. Croix division was dropped, and two divisions were used going forward. In 2008, the format was adjusted to its current form, which features the Reef and Island divisions with four teams playing in each division. All teams play three games in the tournament, with the final day's games determining placement in all positions, first through fourth in each division. In 2025, Women’s Tournaments Dates: November 27-29, 2025 There are three women’s tournaments: the Reef Tournament, the Island Tournament, and the Water Tournament. Each tournament includes four teams, and each team will play two games. Reef Tournament: Teams to be announced soon Island Tournament: Teams to be announced soon Water Tournament: Teams to be announced soonTournament history
Men's tournament
* ''The 2020 tournament was condensed and played atWalter E. Washington Convention Center
The Walter E. Washington Convention Center is a convention center located in Washington, D.C., owned and operated by the city's convention arm, Events DC. Designed in a joint venture by the Atlanta-based architecture firm Tvsdesign, Washington ...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.''
Women's tournament
Men's tournament appearances
Women's tournament appearances
Tournaments held outside of the Virgin Islands
2017
The 2017 men's and women's tournaments were moved to the U.S. mainland due to heavy damage caused by Hurricanes Irma andMaria
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
* 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
* Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
. The tournament organizers decided to solicit hosting bids from all participating teams in both tournaments, with each tournament intended to be hosted by a participating school. The substitute venue for the 2017 men's tournament was Vines Center
The Vines Convocation Center, also known as simply The Vines Center, is a 9,547-seat multi-purpose arena in Lynchburg, Virginia. It was built in 1990 and was home to the Liberty University Flames (men's) and Lady Flames (women's) basketball teams ...
at Liberty University
Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...
in Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...
. The 2017 women's tournament took place in two different venues, with the Reef division playing at the Charles E. Smith Center
The Charles E. Smith Center is a 5,000-seat multipurpose arena in Washington, D.C. Opened on November 17, 1975, it is home to the George Washington Revolutionaries men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the university's swimming, water po ...
on the campus of George Washington University
The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and the Island division at the neutral Titan Field House at Eastern Florida State College
Eastern Florida State College (EFSC) is a public college based in Cocoa, Florida. It is a member of the Florida College System and has additional campuses in Melbourne, Florida, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Florida, Palm Bay, and Titusville, Florida, Ti ...
in Melbourne, Florida
Melbourne ( ) is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is located southeast of Orlando, Florida, Orlando along Florida's Space Coast, named because of the region's proximity to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. The city ...
, presumably after no school in the Island division submitted a bid. The tournament moved back to the Virgin Islands in 2018.
2020
Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the 2020 men's tournament was relocated to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, as travel restrictions prevented the tournament from being held in the U.S. Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...
as normal. The tournament took place November 26–28, 2020 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center
The Walter E. Washington Convention Center is a convention center located in Washington, D.C., owned and operated by the city's convention arm, Events DC. Designed in a joint venture by the Atlanta-based architecture firm Tvsdesign, Washington ...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
The tournament was condensed from the typical eight teams to just four teams — Belmont, George Mason
George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, where he was one of three delegates who refused to sign the Constitution. His wr ...
, Howard
Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...
, and Queens (N.C.). Belmont went undefeated, beating the three other teams to win the 2020 men's tournament. The 2020 women's tournament was cancelled.
References
External links
Official site of the U.S. Virgin Island Paradise Jam Tournament
{{coord, 18.340096, -64.97306, display=title College men's basketball competitions in the United States College women's basketball competitions in the United States College basketball competitions Recurring sporting events established in 2000 Basketball in the United States Virgin Islands 2000 establishments in the United States Virgin Islands Women's sports in the United States Virgin Islands