Purdue Alumni Basketball Team, Men of Mackey, Makes Announcement on 2025 TBT
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Purdue basketball fans hoping to scratch their itch for summer hoops are going to have to figure out another plan. On Tuesday, the Purdue men's basketball alumni team, Men of Mackey, announced that it will not participate in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) this summer.
The team's social media account released a statement regarding the decision.
"This decision was not made lightly, but we will not be competing in the 2025 TBT," the statement read. "On behalf of everyone with the Men of Mackey, we're grateful for your incredible support over the last five years. We will continue to work hard, and we hope to compete again in the 2026 TBT. Please stay tuned for any future updates."
For those unfamiliar, TBT is a summer basketball event that features several former college basketball standouts. It's a single-elimination event — similar to the NCAA Tournament — with a $1 million, winner-take-all prize at stake.
Last year, Men of Mackey participated in the event and received a No. 4 seed in the Butler Regional. The team defeated Fort Wayne Champs in the first round, but suffered a 68-55 loss to Assembly Ball — Indiana's alumni team — in the second round.
Men of Mackey participated in The Basketball Tournament each of the past five years (2020-24). The Purdue alumni won the first-round game each year, but failed to make it past the second round.
This year, the TBT will begin on July 18 and run through Aug. 3.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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