Jumpman Invitational won’t continue after three-year run

By R.L. Bynum

After a three-year run, the Jumpman Invitational will not continue.

This season’s edition of the event, which brought together the men’s and women’s basketball teams from North Carolina, Florida, Michigan and Oklahoma to Charlotte’s Spectrum Center for two nights of games, was the last of a three-year contract.

The Charlotte Sports Foundation, which owned and operated the event along with ESPN Events, also runs the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, the Charlotte Invitational tennis tournament and the Ally Tipoff women’s basketball event.

“It was founded around creating impactful experiences, fostering strong connections, and leaving a lasting positive legacy for the players and the community,” Danny Morrison, the executive director of the Charlotte Sports Foundation, said of the Jumpman Invitational in a statement. “While this chapter is closing, we’re excited to see where the momentum continues to carry the game of basketball in Charlotte.”

Carolina’s men’s and women’s teams are tied for the best record in the event at 2–1. Both Oklahoma teams were 2–1 and the Florida men were 2–1. Michigan’s men lost all three games.

In the inaugural Jumpman, UNC split with Michigan, with the men winning 80–76 and the women losing 76–68. In 2023, Carolina swept Oklahoma, winning the men’s game 81–69 and the women’s game 61–52. The Tar Heels split with Florida this season, with the men losing 90–84 and the women winning 77–57.

With no pep bands, the Jumpman Invitational had more of an NBA-type atmosphere. The first night this season when UNC’s men played drew a crowd of 16,058 in the 19,077-seat arena. However, on the event’s second night, when Oklahoma and Florida’s men played in the second game after UNC’s women’s win, the attendance was only 5,859, and curtains obscured the upper arena.

UNC coach Hubert Davis has said that, except for the game at Kansas, most of his team’s non-conference schedule this season, including the CBS Sports Classic, the Jumpman Invitational and the Maui Invitational, was determined by contracts signed before he became head coach and that he would prefer for the Tar Heels to play more home games in future seasons.

Photo by Smith Hardy