MEN’S SHOOTOUT HISTORY mer Anchorage mayor George Sullivan, it was part of Anchorage’s Project 80s, in which oil wealth was turned into a series of major public building projects. The $30 million facility gave the Shootout twice the number of seats and a classy new home. In the early 1990s, the Shootout faced an obstacle that couldn’t be solved through local help alone. The NCAA passed legislation to push the start of the basketball season back to December 1, threatening the existence of the Thanksgiving tournament. But then-coach Harry Larrabee and former athletic director Ron Petro went to work, crisscrossing the country to gain support for an exemption for the Shootout. Fortunately for Anchorage basketball fans, their efforts were not in vain and the Shootout was granted the exemption it needed to continue as the premier in-season basketball tournament in the nation. In 1994 the event became the Carrs Great Alaska Shootout when Carr Gottstein Food, Inc., became the title sponsor of the event. With the purchase of Carrs by Safeway in 1999, the event is known today as the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout. All told, 26 NCAA champions have taken part in the Shootout. The defending national champion has taken part in the tournament five times, most recently Kentucky in 1996. North Carolina State was the first, starting the defense of its 1983 title in Anchorage. Two years later, Villanova played in the 1985 Shootout after winning a national title earlier that spring. Louisville (1986) and Kansas (1988) have also played in the Shootout after winning national titles. Duke, the 1998 Shootout runner-up team featuring Anchorage’s own Trajan Langdon, began its run to the 1999 Final Four here. In 1997-98 North Carolina started its trek to the Final Four at the Shootout as did Kentucky in 1996-97 and Duke in 2003-04. In the last decade, the Shootout has again served as a springboard to success. The entire 2003 Final Four field featured teams who had made Shootout appearances since 1999 – Kansas (1999 champion), Syracuse (2000 champion), Marquette (2001 champion) and Texas (2001, 5th place). Indiana made the 2002 NCAA Final after placing third at the Shootout. The 2004 Shootout saw one of the strongest fields ever, producing five NCAA Tournament teams – Alabama, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Utah and Washington. Both Oklahoma and Utah – featuring future NBA No. 1 pick Andrew Bogut – went on to win their leagues, while Washington earned a No. 1 seed for March Madness. In 2007, the Shootout featured eventual top 10-ranked Butler, NCAA Tournament darling Western Kentucky, and all-time college basketball wins leader Bob Knight in his last go-round with Texas Tech.
The powerful Atlantic Coast Conference has been well represented at the Shootout over the years, including appearances by Anchorage native Trajan Langdon and his Duke squad in 1998 (left) and Brad Daugherty-led North Carolina (No. 42, right) in 1985. LEFT: Led by point guard Mike Green, Butler topped John Roberson and Texas Tech for the 2007 Shootout crown. BOTTOM: Connecticut’s Ray Allen is one of just six players to earn the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player honor without playing for the championship team.
Of the 69 NCAA schools that have won the NCAA men’s basketball title, only six – Wisconsin, Holy Cross, CCNY, La Salle, Loyola (Ill.) and Texas-El Paso – have not played in the Shootout at one time or another. In fact, with UConn’s 2011 coronation, the last 45 NCAA champions have appeared in the Shootout. From the beginning, the Shootout has attracted the attention of the nation’s sports press. Nearly every major daily newspaper and sports magazine has at one time or another staffed the
event. Televised from its inception on a regional basis, the Shootout went live nationwide via the ESPN cable television network beginning in 1985 and continuing through 2007. This year, in addition to regional telecasts, the Shootout will be available to viewers around the world via the internet. Indeed, the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout is no secret anymore, but rather an event eagerly awaited annually by millions.
2011 Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout
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