PEI will host the NCAA women's basketball tournament this winter

Prince Edward Island will host some of the nation's best college basketball players this fall.

At the Eastlink Center in Charlottetown, four NCAA Division 1 teams will play six games in the inaugural Atlantic Slam W tournament Nov. 22-24.

Veteran Canadian sports broadcaster Rod Black was in PEI on Wednesday to make the announcement at City Hall. He will be part of the broadcast team for the tournament, which will be broadcast on ESPN in the US and TSN in Canada.

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

“There are a lot of Canadian players who have gone down and gotten scholarships,” he said of the NCAA.

“I think it's an incredible level of basketball that will … inspire young boys and girls to strive for greater heights, perhaps to get a scholarship and also work on their academic achievements.”

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 draws tens of millions of television viewers each year and leaves fans pondering their bracket selections every year.

Two of the four participating teams in the Atlantic Slam W will be the Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) Rebels, who finished 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 PEI counts toward the participating teams' regular season points.

The first Atlantic Slam event to feature NCAA Division 1 men's teams was held in Moncton last year. This city will host its second men's tournament later this year.

Hosting the tournament is in line with the Province and City of Charlottetown's strategic plans to boost off-season tourism.

However, Laurel Lea, the city's event management and tourism officer, hopes the competition will also inspire young female athletes.

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

“I think it’s very important for our young local female athletes to be able to showcase themselves at these high-level tournaments,” Lea said.

“There is a strong focus on men’s sport, but women’s sport – the profile is being raised around the world and we are finally being seen for the first time for the value that these great female athletes bring to our sport.”

Passes for Atlantic Slam W can be purchased starting at 11 a.m. Thursday on the Eastlink Center website and at the box office.

Additional tournament-related activities such as coach and player development and seminars will be announced at a later date.