140 years of expanding access to quality local care
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WELCOME TO HOOPTOWN USA!
Welcome back to Hoopfest 2025 and the Best Basketball Weekend on Earth! We’re excited to report that we’ve increased our numbers for the third consecutive year. Hoopfest may seem like just a basketball tournament to some, but to many people, including myself, Hoopfest is something bigger and more impactful — it’s a way to connect with family and friends who have a common bond through sports and Spokane, allowing everyone to create memories that will last a lifetime.
Over the last 35 years, Hoopfest has changed, but our goal of putting on the best 3-on-3 basketball tournament has never wavered. This is impossible to do without the players, volunteers and spectators who make Hoopfest what it is. We are so grateful for you and everybody who participates in Hoopfest. Thank you for allowing us to create this incredible event, and we hope your experience in Hooptown USA is one to remember! Here is to the next 35 years of Hoopfest magic!
Riley Stockton Hoopfest Executive Director
MAP IT OUT
Plan your Hoopfest weekend by checking out where your team will play on the Hoopfest court maps, along with where you can find something to eat and the entire schedule of events.
STARTING ON PAGE 13
ON THE COVER
Mark Few, the legendary coach at Gonzaga and for the 2024 US Olympic Team is the star of the 2025 Hoopfest poster. Learn how Few made Spokane into Hooptown (page 4) — and meet his fellow inductees into Hooptown USA’s newest Hall of Fame class (page 8).
Poster design by
HOOPFEST OFFICIAL EVENT GUIDE SPONSOR
ICCU is excited to be part of the Spokane community, and we are here to serve you no matter what your financial needs are. Stop by one of your local Spokane branches to see for yourself how we can help you achieve your financial success or visit us online at iccu.com.
ICCU, a credit union looking after your daily balance.
QUICK DOWNLOAD
TEN CAPITAL TEAM CHECK-IN
Ten Capital Team Check-In will again be in the Central Plaza, just west of the Gesa Credit Union Pavilion inside Riverfront Park. Ten Capital Team Check-In will be available during the following times: Thursday, June 26: 3 pm – 7 pm; Friday, June 27: 11 am- 7 pm.
LOG YOUR WINS
Mobile scoring is available, allowing you to drop off your score sheets at any of the Avista Scoring Kiosks located at: 1) Riverside and Post; 2) Main and Washington; 3) the Visit Spokane Information Center in Riverfront Park; 4) The Plaza in Riverfront Park (next to the Gesa Credit Union Pavilion); and 5) the North Channel Bridge near the north entrance to Riverfront Park.
SPOKANE HOOPFEST STORE
Visit the Spokane Hoopfest Store, presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods, located in the Gesa Credit Union Pavilion Lobby, next to Northern Quest Center Court. Explore the Local Corner, featuring exclusive Hoopfest and Great PNW gear for the whole family. (To learn more, go to page 18.)
NORTHERN QUEST CENTER COURT
Hoopfest is thrilled to welcome back Northern Quest Center Court to the heart of the city, located under the Gesa Credit Union Pavilion in Riverfront Park. Northern Quest Resort & Casino is owned and operated by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians and has served the Inland Northwest as a community partner for more than two decades. Northern Quest Center Court will be the epicenter of excitement, featuring former college stars, local legends, national champions and slam dunk extraordinaires. (To learn more, go to page 6.)
TEST YOUR SKILLS
You can win a 2025 Tacoma with your half-court shot at the Toyota Shootoff, or try free throws and three-pointers in the Rodda-Miller Paint Contest Zone (to learn more, go to page 22). And new for 2025, check out the World’s Largest Game of Knockout powered by Baden (details on page 19).
COMMUNITY CELEBRATION 202 5 The Way to Justice and SERA Present
SATURDAY AUGUST 9TH, 2025
UNDERHILL PARK 10 AM TO 6 PM BIKE RAFFLE, CONTESTS, & PRIZES
FREE SHOES, BACKPACKS & SCHOOL SUPPLIES FREE FOOD & DRINKS
They’ve followed parallel paths to success, and for the first time Mark Few and Hoopfest are meeting on the Hoopfest Poster
While John Stockton has been called the godfather of Spokane basketball, Mark Few is certainly the face of the sport in our city, aka Hooptown USA. So it’s fitting that this year he’s the face we see on the Hoopfest Poster.
“Mark Few is arguably the most important person in making this Hooptown USA,” says Riley Stockton, executive director at Hoopfest and John Stockton’s nephew.
Much like the story of Hoopfest itself, Mark Few’s rise from obscurity to a name known around the world of sports is both unexpected and inspirational. The timelines of Hoopfest and Few also share many parallels.
HELP US GEAR UP FOR SUCCESS!
We’re excited to host this incredible day of fun, food, and giving—but we can’t do it without you. To make sure every student starts the school year strong, we’re collecting: Monetary donations New backpacks
New brand name shoes Every donation helps a child walk into the school year with confidence.
A native of Creswell, Oregon, Few arrived at Gonzaga as a graduate assistant coach for the 1989-1990 season. Hoopfest got its start just a handful of months later in June 1990, making it only fitting that it’s Few who is featured on the 35th anniversary poster.
Few, like the Zags of those early ’90s and those first few years of Hoopfest, had to earn his way onto the stage of the game’s elite. Hoopfest wasn’t always the largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the world, and Few wasn’t always a household name, even here in Spokane. After a decade as an assistant, but still in his 30s, Few was promoted to head coach.
“What they were able to do with that program over the last 25, 30 years has definitely sparked the love for basketball in this area,” Stockton says.
In the eyes of many, Gonzaga was nothing more than a Cinderella team back in 1999 when Few took over. Those teams — small schools
who become darlings of March — tend to fade back into obscurity. Not Gonzaga.
Under Few, the Zags have reached the NCAA Tournament every single season, and he owns the best winning percentage among Division I coaches.
It’s been his consistent success that has vaulted him not just into the elite among college coaches, but onto the world stage as well.
Last summer at the Paris Olympics, Few was on staff as an assistant with Team USA, coaching the biggest names in the sport — names that can stand alone like LeBron, Steph and KD.
The team took home the gold.
Once again, Few and Hoopfest found their timelines aligning. Who better to grace the poster in the first Hoopfest after an Olympic Gold than the guy who returned to Spokane after helping lead Team USA to that ultimate goal?
“The Olympics definitely came into play for it,” Stockton says of Hoopfest selecting Few for the poster this year. “It’s hard to argue that there’s anybody more deserving to be on that poster.”
Beyond the poster, Few is also entering this year’s Hooptown Hall of Fame class.
Not only is it the longevity of Few’s success, but it’s that just like Hoopfest, Few has remained committed to the sport of basketball right here in Spokane.
The poster nails it with the tagline of “Few do it better.” At the college level, and more recently at the Olympics, that’s been Mark Few. For 35 years, that’s been Hoopfest, too.
Spokane Hoopfest
THE CENTER OF IT ALL
Hoopfest is adding even more fun at Northern Quest Center Court, with events kicking off on Friday
Located in Riverfront Park’s iconic Gesa Credit Union Pavilion, Northern Quest Center Court will be even more of a focal point for Hoopfest weekend than it has been in years past. Hoopfest has worked to expand the event programming at center court this year, specifically focusing on Friday during the busiest hours of the team check-in process.
“We want to definitely make it when people come down Thursday and Friday to pick up their packets that they can come down and do cool stuff as well,” says Hoopfest Executive Director Riley Stockton. Northern Quest Center Court’s expanded programming gets underway bright and early, 8 am Friday, with the Women’s Professional 3XBA Tournament presented by Delta Air Lines. They’ll be back again Saturday at 4 pm; for details, check out the story on page 24. The fun continues Friday afternoon starting at 2 with the World’s Largest Game of Knockout powered by Baden. More information on this world record attempt that is open to all, go to page 19.
Don’t worry, longtime crowd favorites like the MultiCare Slam Dunk Competition (Saturday at 2 pm, with the finals on Sunday at 3) and the Men’s Elite Semifinal and Championship Games to cap off the weekend Sunday after 3:30 pm aren’t going anywhere, they’ll just be mixed in with an expanded offering for spectators.
Also under the Pavilion next to Northern Quest Center Court is the Hoopfest Store presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods, which will be open from Thursday afternoon until the end of the event on Sunday evening.
EVENTS
FRIDAY, JUNE 27
8am-1pm: Women’s Professional 3XBA Tournament presented by Delta Air Lines
While most of the landscape of Hoopfest extends across miles of asphalt and pavement, the setting of Northern Quest Center Court with its grass lawns in the middle of the relatively cooler Havermale Island — especially in the potentially sweltering afternoons of a late-June weekend — is a welcome change of pace for many spectators. More than just a centerpiece venue surrounded by basketball, Northern Quest Center Court is an oasis featuring a great show.
2-5pm: World’s Largest Game of Knockout powered by Baden
SATURDAY, JUNE 28
2-2:55pm: MultiCare Slam Dunk Competition
4-7pm: Women’s Professional 3XBA Tournament Finals presented by Delta Air Lines
SUNDAY, JUNE 29
3-3:30pm: MultiCare Slam Dunk Competition (finals) Championship Games (Sunday after 3:30pm)
Men’s 6-Foot-And-Over Elite Semifinals (2 games)
Men’s 6-Foot-And-Under Elite Championship
Men’s Open Elite Championship
SPONSORED CONTENT
A longtime sponsor of Hoopfest, Northern Quest values its role in helping support this celebration of basketball. By sponsoring Northern Quest Center Court, that support is put literally at the center of the event. This year, they’re going above and beyond by hosting activities even earlier than normal.
THE BEST OF THE BEST
One of coaching’s brightest lights, a legendary Native American baller, two of the best local women to ever lace ’em up and a scrappy bunch of Vandals — the Hooptown Hall of Fame 2025 class is overflowing with excellence
MARK FEW
Gonzaga Men’s Basketball head coach
No one could be a more fitting inductee into the Hooptown Hall of Fame than Mark Few, because no one did more heavy lifting in turning Spokane into Hooptown USA. And this year, you can even see him on the official Hoopfest 2025 poster. In 26 years as Gonzaga’s head coach, Few was first a key figure in one of the truly fun comets in the history of college basketball, and then the maestro of a story that’s simply unprecedented. The Zags have reached the NCAAs 25 times under his direction — and qualified for a 26th before the pandemic wiped out the tournament. In that time, they’ve played into the second weekend 14 times and reached the Final Four (and championship game) twice.
This at a school that didn’t play in its first NCAA tournament until 1995, and waited until 2001 to get a national TV appearance in the regular season. Until the turn of the century, Gonzaga was a mom-and-pop store in the college basketball marketplace. Now it’s a worldwide brand, thanks to Few’s vision.
“It is one of the greatest success stories, I think, in American sports history,” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas has said.
“At some point he decided it could be done at Gonzaga,” said Matt Santangelo, Few’s first point guard. “It was, ‘Why can’t we do it from Spokane?’ That conviction and belief system stayed true no matter what the obstacles were.”
“He’s one of the best coaches our game has ever seen,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson once commented. “Mark is a Hall of Famer.”
The Hoopfest Hall of Fame dedication ceremony will be at the Hooptown USA court complex on the North Bank of Riverfront Park on Wednesday, June 25, from 6-9 pm. hooptownusa.com
JR CAMEL
Hellgate High School, University of Montana, Hoopfest Elite Champ
ANGIE BJORKLUND
University High School, University of Tennessee
There was always something a little otherworldly about Angie Bjorklund’s journey. McDonald’s All-American. State Gatorade Player of the Year. Recruited by legendary coach Pat Summitt to play at the University of Tennessee. Won a national championship and 124 college games. Even now, retired from a professional career overseas, she considers it a gift to carry on as a coach at her own youth basketball academy in Spain.
That’s a lot of peaks reached from a base camp in Spokane Valley presided over, more or less, by her older sister, Jami.
“We would go in the backyard and play one-on-one, and I could never beat her until a certain age,” Bjorklund recalled. “Jami taught me the work it takes to become great.”
It was truly an all-family endeavor, with the girls coached at various times by father Jim, grandfather Duane, their uncle Steve, by NBC camps, the Spokane Stars AAU program and eventually at U-Hi under coach Mark Stinson. When Angie was a sophomore and Tennessee came to play against Jami’s team, Gonzaga, the sisters got to face off on the biggest stage.
Bjorklund’s choice of Tennessee was no shocker — it had been her obsession going back to grade school when she watched the Lady Vols win three straight national championships. So it was a dream come true when she cracked a starting lineup led by one of the game’s all-time greats, Candace Parker, on a team driven to greatness by Coach Summitt.
“She’d always say, ‘Find a way’ and that’s something I’ve always carried with me,” said Bjorklund, who left Tennessee as the program’s all-time leader in 3-pointers. “Don’t complain. Find a way. There’s always something you can do to get better.”
JR Camel will be 51 years old when he pulls on a jersey for Hoopfest 2025, dusting off a legend cemented a decade ago when his Desert Horse team was putting together a threepeat in the men’s elite 6-feet-andunder division.
His father, Henry, steered his sons toward boxing, but when Camel moved to the Flathead Indian Reservation in the sixth grade, there was no boxing outlet. There was, however, plenty of basketball.
“But I couldn’t figure it out,” Camel said, “and spent a lot of time on the bench.”
Not for long. He put in long summer days on the outdoor courts in St. Ignatius and open gyms at the University of Montana where his brother was enrolled.
For his senior year in 1993, Camel transferred to Hellgate High School in Missoula and led them to a 23-0 season and the state title, earning the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year award. At Montana, he was twice All-Big Sky and part of an NCAA tournament team; caravans of Native fans made the hour drive from the reservation on game nights.
“He had the whole weight of a nation on his back when he was out there playing,” said his nephew Zach Camel, “and still does wherever he goes. He’s been under that spotlight his whole life, and he rises up to meet it.”
Camel’s first brush with Hoopfest followed a three-year pro career in Kosovo, and he’s had it circled on his calendar every June since.
“I’m 51 and I’m in dogfights with kids who are in shape and feisty,” he said. “They don’t take it easy on me, and I go as hard as I can.”
Photos provided by Hoopfest
ERICK DOXEY PHOTO
HEATHER BOWMAN
Lewis and Clark High School, Gonzaga University
It all started at Lewis and Clark High School, where coach Jim Redmon was trying to revive the women’s team that hadn’t been to the state tournament in more than a decade. Once Heather Bowman walked through the doors to join Briann January and a special core group, they wouldn’t miss for nearly another decade.
“It was a collection of people who just wanted to win,” Bowman said, “and really without ego. It was organic and natural, but with an understanding that you have to work at it, too.”
Bowman’s work left her as the Greater Spokane League’s all-time scoring leader with 1,564 points — a brief distinction, as fellow Hooptown Hall of Famer and her AAU teammate Angie Bjorklund claimed it the next year.
With recruiters from Oregon, Washington and Notre Dame calling, Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves put on a full-court press — Zags men’s stars Ronny Turiaf and J.P. Batista were dispatched to LC to ferry her to a campus visit, and Graves sold a vision of building a program that would be nationally relevant.
She also got to play with Courtney Vandersloot: “I was incredibly fortunate to play with her.”
Bowman would finish her career in 2010 as the school’s and WCC’s most prolific scorer with 2,165 points — a record that stood until just this year. But in the big picture, her impact could be seen in a more significant stat: attendance at McCarthey Athletic Center increased 100 percent in her four years and continues to be one of the best-attended women’s college basketball venues in America.
Fuel Up and Chill Out
Cool down, eat up, and take a break from the crowds
• Grab & go snacks and drinks
• Full deli, salads, sandwiches & poke bar
• Fresh made smoothies
• Indoor seating with A/C
• Patio seating
1982 UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO VANDALS
Not only were the 1982 Idaho Vandals the talk of the Palouse, they were the talk of all of college basketball.
“I don’t mean to overstate this,” coach Don Monson told Sports Illustrated that season, “but I guess this is as big a thing athletically as has ever happened.”
They did it with an undersized rotation of players, almost all passed over by “name” programs. None stood taller than 6-foot-6, shots were divvied up like cards at the poker table and defense was played in confounding fashion out of Monson’s pet matchup zone.
Gordie Herbert grew up in Canadian hockey country before a detour to North Idaho College. Bullet-train point guard Kenny Owens and lithe shot-blocker Kelvin Smith also arrived via junior college. Phil Hopson — both the “fill” and “hops” parts fit — came from Portland, shunned by Oregon State. Richland’s Brian Kellerman once drew the highest compliment from Portland coach Jack Avina as “the best ugly player I’ve ever seen.” Sixth man Pete Prigge contented himself with screening, boarding and playing D.
Romps on the road at Washington and Washington State got the ball rolling, but the eye of the hurricane was blitzing through the Far West Classic in Portland, crushing Iowa State (88-68), 15thranked Oregon State (71-49) and Oregon (81-62) in the championship game.
Up went the signs in Moscow: Idaho 4, Pac-10 0.
They came tantalizingly close to an undefeated regular season. At Montana they lost at the buzzer. Two days later at Notre Dame — after three canceled flights and seven hours on the highway — UI lost by a bucket in overtime.
And yet the thrills kept coming, capped by an OT victory over Iowa eight miles down the road in Pullman in the first round of the NCAAs. That Kellerman’s winning shot bounced three times on the iron before falling only underscored the magic.
Oregon State — by this time ranked No. 4 — would exact some revenge four days later, making for a bitter end to the season, but not to the good times. Idaho would eventually win 43 in a row at home, and crowds swelled to as large as 11,000 the next season.
“I always felt the one thing I left behind at Idaho,” said Monson, whose son Dan coached Gonzaga and now coaches at EWU, “was the idea they could compete on the national level.”
Large selection of fresh, highquality, value-conscious products and specialty items, in addition to everyday grocery essentials.
“ YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO PLAY IN THE STREETS ”
Hoopfest: A Timeline
1990 Homer Simpson and George Costanza made their TV debuts. A little band by the name of Pearl Jam formed over in Seattle, and Nike dropped the fifth edition of its Air Jordan. The year was 1990, and another bit of awesomeness was taking root in Spokane — Hoopfest.
Co-founders Rick Betts and Jerry Schmidt came to the light-bulb moment from different places — Schmidt was looking for a cool, citywide fundraiser, while Betts had just witnessed the brand-new, NBA-sponsored Hoop It Up three-onthree basketball tournament on the streets of Washington, D.C. Like chocolate and peanut butter, they were just meant to collide.
The next thing they knew, Betts, Schmidt, freshly minted event director Rick Steltenpohl and a team of local gym rats were scrambling to get permission to shut down the streets of Spokane.
Soon enough, they were sketching out brackets by hand, throwing up makeshift hoops, hand-taping lines to create courts across downtown (“we were there through the night and saw sunrise,” Betts recalls) and then quickly lacing up their high-tops to play.
On June 30 and July 1 of 1990, they mustered 36 courts, filled with 512 teams and 2,009 players. The score has just kept going higher — some 3,000 volunteers per year, hundreds of thousands of hoopers who have played over the decades, more than $2.5 million donated, along with more than 30 community basketball courts built.
“We think it’s cool to play in the streets,” Steltenpohl told whoever would listen back in 1990, “because you’re not supposed to play in the streets.”
Now, in 2025, not only is it cooler than ever to play in the streets, for one weekend a year, that’s just the way we do it.
1991 For Year II, Mother Nature seemed intent on nipping this upstart event in the bud with the worst weather of any Hoopfest. Along with thunderstorms rolling through all weekend, the high on Saturday only hit 65 degrees.
1994 By Year V, Hoopfest was rolling, with 3,086 teams — six times the number the event started with. Hoopfest’s charitable side started kicking in this year, as Harmon Park in Hillyard was given the first of scores of basketball courts Hoopfest would fund and build over the years.
1996 Worried the event was growing too fast, Hoopfest had to cap the number of teams at 3,900. Year VII was also the year Hoopfest became the largest three-on-three tournament in the nation. Hollywood superstar and Spokane native Craig T. Nelson was featured on the poster (right).
1999 For Year X, Hoopfest honchos wanted to do something really epic with the poster. They had seen the cool photomosaic image Hollywood created for The Truman Show poster. So they collected 2,200 images and sent them off to the MIT grad who developed the technology, resulting in arguably the coolest of all Hoopfest posters.
2000 Still growing! Hoopfest hit 5,426 teams, and the Nike Center Court made its debut.
2003 With the help of OneEighty Networks and others, Hoopfest installed something called WiFi across the streets of downtown Spokane for Hoopfest weekend.
2004 The first-ever neutral-site WNBA game was played at the Spokane Arena the night before Hoopfest, with the New York Liberty taking down our own Seattle Storm. Meanwhile, North by Northwest’s documentary 3 on 3, aka the Hoopfest movie, played all weekend long at AMC River Park Square.
2006
An independent study found that Hoopfest was generating $39 million in economic benefit to Spokane. That’s a lot of Powerade!
2009 NBA royalty Kareem Abdul Jabbar came to Spokane to promote his book On the Shoulders of Giants at the Fox during Hoopfest weekend.
2010 After 2009’s 6,700-team turnout, The Guinness Book of World Records officially recognized Hoopfest as the biggest three-on-three basketball tournament in the world.
2012 The hoop stars kept coming, as Seattle studs Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson and Isaiah Thomas were hosting events; meanwhile, Klay Thompson and John Wall played in the charity game. Hoopfest turnout surpassed 7,000 teams.
Founders Rick Betts (left) and Jerry Schmidt
2014
After serving as executive director for almost every year since its inception, Rick Steltenpohl stepped aside for Matt Santangelo, the former Gonzaga standout. “I’m a basketball junkie,” Santangelo said at the time, “that’s how my mind works.” You’re hired!
2015 None other than ESPN set up shop to present live coverage of Hoopfest weekend, exposing the nation to this only-in-Spokane phenomenon. We welcomed them with the hottest Hoopfest ever, part of the hottest June weather ever recorded in Spokane, hitting 102 degrees on Saturday and 105 on Sunday.
2017 The buzz started spreading across the blacktop on Saturday, with rumors confirmed on Sunday — NBA Finals MVP and first-round draft pick of our sorely missed Sonics, Kevin Durant (above), was in the ’Kan! Fans jammed Center Court, KD played some pickup with local kids and Santangelo asked him to philosophize about the sport. “It’s always about the game,” Durant told the crowd. “We’re all going to come and go, but the game is forever!”
2018
A high school hoops star from Minnesota joined a bunch of other future stars and won the women’s elite division: Her name is Paige Bueckers. Seven years later, in 2025, she’d lead her UConn Huskies through the Spokane bracket of the NCAA tournament on the way to a national championship.
2020 Despite best efforts to somehow stage Hoopfest, the COVID-19 pandemic caused both the 2020 and 2021 events to be cancelled. Hoopfest was able to refund anyone who paid to participate, although many just turned their fee into a donation.
2021 Despite no Hoopfest event, the inaugural Hooptown Hall of Fame class was named — led by the likes of John Stockton, George Raveling and the Gonzaga men’s 1999 basketball team.
2022 The tradition roared back to life for the first time since 2019, with about 3,500 teams — down from the 7,000plus from back in 2012. Nephew of Gonzaga and NBA legend John Stockton, Riley Stockton, who first played Hoopfest as a Kindergartener, then starred at Ferris, Seattle Pacific University and in Spain as a professional, started his tenure as Hoopfest’s executive director.
2024 Seattle Supersonics legend Gary Payton (right) stopped by to help judge the dunk contest and marvel at how much the event had grown since he first visited back in its fledgling days.
Companies near and far have joined in Hoopfest’s mission, including Guardian Life Insurance
One of the overlooked ways that Hoopfest shines as a world-class event is on the list of all those who support it. Sure there are local and regional businesses, and those in the sports industry, but it’s also captured the attention of some prominent supporters with a national footprint, like also Guardian Life Insurance.
So, what brings them back to Spokane year after year?
“Hoopfest is more than a basketball tournament — it’s a celebration of inclusion, resilience, and community,” says Francine Chew, Guardian’s Head of Corporate Impact. “For 10 years, Guardian has proudly supported Hoopfest, along with
LIFE WELL PLAYED
the Special Olympics. This partnership reflects our belief that well-being should be accessible to everyone, regardless of ability.”
Guardian’s partnership with Hoopfest shows that everyone, from the local level to a Fortune 500 company, can play an active role in building community.
“Guardian’s corporate impact work is where social good and business priorities meet — it’s our purpose in action,” Chew adds. “Whether it’s supporting adaptive athletes, funding disaster relief or empowering underserved communities, we believe that helping others thrive is the most meaningful way to fulfill our purpose to inspire well-being.”
MEET THE HOOPFEST TEAM
Chad Smith Director of Staffing and Volunteering
Stephen Opland Site Director
Leslie Cogley Sponsors and Partnerships Manager
Jamie Copeland Marketing and Inventory Manager
Riley Stockton Executive Director
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Downtown North Of The River
HOOPFEST APP
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Maximize your weekend with the FREE Hoopfest App! We want to make sure you can keep an eye on as many games as possible with our Team Tracker. Look up players, find courts and have all event details right at your fingertips. Download or update it FREE today from the App Store or Google Play.
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Lonnie Bill’s Lemonade
Lylo’s Teriyaki MacDaddys Pina Coladas Acapulco
Pizza Rita
Puget Sound BBQ
Puget Sound Pizza
Raspados & Hotdogs Del Sur
Sno Pros Concessions
Spud-Tenders
Sweet Mama’s
Sweet Snack Attack
Sweet Summer Sno
Tacos Camargo Tea’s Company
Teriyaki Grill and Orange Chicken Express
The Bibby Booth
The Churro Hut
The Cuban Way Food Truck
The Licorice Guy Wake Up Call Coffee
WHOLE LOTTA HOOPIN’
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25
6-9pm: Hoopfest Hall of Fame ceremony at the Hooptown USA court complex, North Bank of Riverfront Park
THURSDAY, JUNE 26
2-6pm: Hoopfest Store presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods in the Gesa Credit Union Pavilion Building, next to Northern Quest Center Court
3-7pm: TEN Capital Team Check-In in Riverfront Park Central Plaza next to the Pavilion
3-7pm: Toyota Shootoff in Riverfront Park, just north of the Orange Bridge (prequalification round)
FRIDAY, JUNE 27
7am-midnight: Embrace Hoopfest 24 Hour Charity Game at the Hooptown USA court complex, North Bank of Riverfront Park
8am-1pm: Women’s Professional 3XBA Tournament presented by Delta Air Lines at Northern Quest Center Court, under the Pavilion
11am-6pm: Hoopfest Store presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods in the Pavilion Building, next to Northern Quest Center Court
11am-7pm: TEN Capital Team Check-In in Riverfront Park Central Plaza next to the Pavilion
11am-7pm: Toyota Shootoff in Riverfront Park, just north of the Orange Bridge (prequalification round)
12-1pm: Join current Vandal players for a skills clinic on Gesa High School Center Court, located next to the Pavilion. Open to grades 1-6.
1-1:30pm: Mascot showdown, see Joe Vandal in action as he takes on other mascots in 3-on-3 at Gesa High School Center Court
2-5pm: World’s Largest Game of Knockout powered by Baden, at Northern Quest Center Court
4-4:30pm: Guardian Showcase at Gesa High School Center Court
6pm: Hoopfest Streets close for the night
SATURDAY, JUNE 28
midnight-7am: Embrace Hoopfest 24 Hour Game at the Hooptown USA court complex, North Bank of Riverfront Park
6am-8pm: STA Hoop Loop
7:30am-7pm: Hoopfest Store presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods in the Pavilion Building, next to Northern Quest Center Court
7:50am: Opening Ceremonies and National Anthem at Northern Quest Center Court
8am: Tip-Off (site-wide)
9am-6pm: Rodda-Miller Paint Contest Zone in the Bennett Block Parking Lot, corner of Spokane Falls Blvd and Stevens
9am-6pm: Toyota Shootoff in Riverfront Park, just north of the Orange Bridge (prequalification round)
2-2:55pm: MultiCare Slam Dunk Competition at Northern Quest Center Court
3-6pm: Women’s 3XBA Tournament Finals presented by Delta Air Lines at Northern Quest Center Court, under the Gesa Credit Union Pavilion
SUNDAY, JUNE 29
7am-6pm: STA Hoop Loop
7:30am-4pm: Hoopfest Store presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods in the Pavilion Building, next to Northern Quest Center Court
8am: Tip-Off (site-wide)
9am-1pm: Rodda-Miller Paint Contest Zone in the Bennett Block Parking Lot, corner of Spokane Falls Blvd and Stevens
9am-1pm: Toyota Shootoff in Riverfront Park, just north of the Orange Bridge (prequalification round)
1-4pm: Toyota Shootoff in Riverfront Park, just north of the Orange Bridge (quarters, semifinals and finals)
3-3:30pm: MultiCare Slam Dunk Competition (finals) at Northern Quest Center Court
CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES (Sunday after 3:30pm)
Men’s 6-Foot-And-Over Elite Semifinals (2 games) at Northern Quest Center Court
Men’s 6-Foot-And-Under Elite Championship at Northern Quest Center Court
Men’s Open Elite Championship at Northern Quest Center Court
JUNE 27-28, 2026
Hoopfest Returns to the Streets of Spokane!
GRAB YOUR HOOPFEST GEAR V
isit the SPOKANE HOOPFEST STORE, presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods, at our location in the Gesa Credit Union Pavilion Lobby, next to Northern Quest Center Court. Explore our Local Corner, featuring exclusive Hoopfest and Great PNW gear for the whole family. Don’t miss this year’s Hoopfest poster, created by Propaganda Creative, featuring Gonzaga Men’s Basketball Coach Mark Few. We’ve also got the official 2025 Baden Sports basketballs, celebrating Hoopfest’s 35th anniversary, with special anniversary logos and three distinct colorways: size 5 (27.5”) in red, size 6 (28.5”) in blue, and size 7 (29.5”) in yellow.
KNOCKING OUT A WORLD RECORD
Already the world record holder for the largest streetball tournament on Earth, Hoopfest is looking to put its name into the record books once again — this time for the world’s largest game of knockout, also known as bump.
THE WORLD’S LARGEST GAME OF KNOCKOUT powered by Baden will go down from 2 to 5 pm on Friday at Northern Quest Center Court. Players are encouraged to sign up online in advance at spokanehoopfest.net/events, but walkups are welcome as well; it’s $5 to sign up and open to ages 8 and up.
Currently the record, defined by the number of players to actively take a shot in the game, is 728 and owned by students at Grand Canyon University. That school is known for its passionate basketball fans, but Hoopfest is a different beast entirely.
“Our hope is to get in the eight hundreds,” Hoopfest’s Riley Stockton says.
And unlike regular games of knockout played on basketball courts around the world, there won’t just be one winner — all participants will have bragging rights.
HOOPIN’ AROUND THE CLOCK
When most players take to the court with fresh legs on Saturday morning, a small group of basketball diehards will have already logged a full day of playing time — and “full day” is not an exaggeration. Starting at 7 am Friday and continuing all the way until 7 am Saturday, the EMBRACE HOOPFEST GAME will be a 24-hour marathon of five-on-five action at the Hooptown USA court complex on the North Bank of Riverfront Park.
The charity event is a partnership between Hooptown USA and Embrace Washington, a Spokane-based nonprofit working with youth in foster care (embracewa.org).
“Half of the money we raise will go toward our Hooptown Youth League, and then half will go to Embrace Washington and all their great causes with the underserved
game with very limited breaks for the entire duration of the 24 hours. It’s a great way to get the basketball energy going while also supporting two great youth-focused organizations.
“I think people are really going to enjoy not only the 24-hour game and the people doing it, but also the cause it benefits,” Stockton says.
You can get involved by sponsoring a player or a team at go.eventgroovefundraising.com/embracehoopfest. Or when you stop by to cheer them on, make a donation right there
THE FESTIVAL AT SANDPOINT 2025 SUMMER SERIES
PARKING
All parking garages are open during Hoopfest, with access provided to entrances and exits. Street parking where available is paid until 7 pm Saturday, but free all-day on Sunday. The Parkade is offering day and weekend passes; more information
Visit ewu.edu/runningstart
NOTHING BUT NET
Winning Wordplay
TOYOTA SHOOTOFF
The annual half-court shooting contest runs Thursday through Sunday in Riverfront Park, north of the Orange Bridge. You can attempt three half-court shots for just $10; sinking one shot qualifies you for the quarterfinals. Surviving finalists reconvene at 3:30 pm Sunday for a chance to win by dropping a half-court shot. The last man or woman standing drives home this year’s completely Hooped Out 2025 Toyota Tacoma.
RODDA-MILLER PAINT CONTEST ZONE
Show off your skills at the Rodda-Miller Paint Contest Zone in the Bennett Block Parking lot, near Spokane Falls Blvd. and Stevens. Test your long-range game at the 3-Point contest, your clutch shooting in the Free Throw Contest or your ability to hit from all over the court in the Hot Shot Contest. Entry is $5.
MULTICARE SLAM DUNK CONTEST
Watch as Hoopfest’s best athletes defy gravity at Northern Quest Center Court in the Gesa Credit Union Pavilion! The qualifying round is Saturday, June 28, at 2 pm; the finals are Sunday, June 29, at 3 pm. It’s $10 to participate.
Clever team names from the 2025 Hoopfest field
Air Ball Express
Alley Oopers
Annual Exercise
Apostles of LeBron Baconator Bros
Ballin’ and Fallin’
Baskets and Gravy
Can I Get a Sub?
Chicken Noodle Hoops
Dino Nuggies
Flying Pickles
Frito Lay
Holy Cross Up
Honey Buckets
Hoops I Did It Again
Kobe wan Kenobi
Lava Chickens
Lord of the Rims
Meme Team
Middy Committee
Pink Pony Club
Quad Fathers
Silly Gooses
Slayups
SplashTown USA
XFINITY ELITE DIVISION
The Elite division showcases teams composed of top-tier players at Hoopfest, with many having competed at the highest levels of the game. Catch the action at the Xfinity Elite Division located along Spokane Falls Boulevard. Finals start at Northern Quest Center Court on Sunday after the Multicare Slam Dunk Contest finals.
ELITE SKILLS ON DISPLAY
3XBA, a professional 3x3 league for women, is bringing its international version of the game to Northern Quest Center Court. The WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL 3XBA TOURNAMENT presented by Delta Air Lines will go down from 8 am to 1 pm on Friday, with the final rounds taking place on Saturday from 3 to 6 pm.
“3XBA athletes have consistently represented the U.S. at the highest levels, including the Olympic Games, World Cup, AmeriCup, Pan American Games and U23 World Cups,” says league co-founder and President Alanna McDonald.
3x3, a slightly different variation of the game that will take over the streets of Downtown Spokane over the weekend, made its Olympic debut at the 2020 games in Tokyo.
Featuring some of the best women’s basketball players in the United States, ballers of all ages are encouraged to stop by and pick up some moves from the game’s elite. 3x3 is one of the fastest-growing sports around the world, and 3XBA now provides a professional path for the game on the women’s side.
“3XBA addresses a significant gap in opportunities in the American market for female basketball athletes by expanding professional pathways beyond the limited roster spots in traditional leagues like the WNBA,” McDonald says.
Thanks To All Our Sponsors and Volunteers!
So much support is the only way an event this massive can work. Along with everyone listed on this page, a special thanks to all of our area administrators, marshals and court monitors, as well as the dedicated individuals serving in our subcommittees and volunteer roles. You help us create magic, enrich lives and foster community spirit year after year. And to all you Hoopfest court sponsors seen on our backboards, your support is invaluable. Please help us thank everyone who is part of this community-wide effort!
— THE HOOPFEST TEAM
MAJOR SPONSORS
MEDIA SPONSORS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Brandon Haugen Board President/ Chairman
Rick Betts Vice President/ Founder/Chairman
Rob Hartman Board Secretary
Hubert Langenhorst Board Treasurer
Mike Nilson
OPERATING COMMITTEE
Awards
Jennifer Chaparro
Communications & Security
Jim Dibble
Court Monitor Group Coordinator
Christina Ridenbaugh
Communications & Security
Nathan Mulkey, Jason Hartman, Tom Michaud
Computer Applications
Mike Busby, Pat Dever
Contest Activities
Arianne Johnson
Court Monitor Headquarters
Gina Scott
Court Taping
RJ Del Mese
Electrical Services
Jim DeStefano
Elite Division
Jim Jacobson, August Weile
High School Center Court
Daniel Swartz
Information
Charlotte Finnegan
IT Connectivity
Don Hartzog
Adam Swinyard
Tom Psomas
Shelbie Rabe
OFFICIAL SPONSORS
1-Stop Media
SUPPORTING SPONSORS
Maintenance Engineering
Dave Jackson
Merchandise
Claire Soulek
Northern Quest Center Court
Holly Elmer
Recycling/Clean-Up
Matt Littrel
Retail Beverages
Darcy Markham
Master Scoreboard
Paige Houston, Sarah Olson
Site Team Organization
Blake Jones, Scott Jones
Special Projects
John Koenig, Jim Olson, Bev Stamper
Sponsor Garden
Kari Kostelecky
Team Check-In
Kathleen Sullivan Garman
Tip-Off Party/Hospitality
Kari Kostelecky
Traffic Safety
Adam Jackson, Ben Sevigny
Volunteer Coordination
Stacey Stockton
Volunteer Lunches
Julie Laird
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