This past weekend, Feb. 15-16, the DePaul club men’s basketball team hosted the first Basketball Winter Classic Tournament at the Ray Meyer Fitness & Recreation Center on DePaul’s Lincoln Park Campus.
A total of 12 teams participated in the two-day tournament from colleges from the Midwest region.
The participating institutions were University of Missouri, Loyola University Chicago, Marquette University, University of Tennessee, Ferris State University, Northwestern University, University of Chicago and Indiana State University.
DePaul had two teams composed of upper- and lowerclassmen and played in different groups. The team decided to name their teams DePaul Past, composed mostly of seniors, and DePaul Future, made up of sophomores and two freshmen.
Both teams led their groups and made it to the championship game on Sunday.
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Dalen Horace dribbles the ball down the court in a game against Marquette University at the Winter Classic Tournament held at DePaul University on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. Horace is a senior at DePaul University.
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Adam Hardek sticks his tongue out while dribbling the ball during a game against Indiana State University in the Winter Classic Tournament at DePaul University on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. DePaul had two teams in the tournament and both teams made it to the finals.
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Head coach Patrick Montague, Oliver Thomas, and Zach Ryza cheer on their DePaul team in the Winter Classic Tournament held at the Ray Meyer Fitness & Recreation Center on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. The tournament featured ten schools from the Midwest.
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Musa Butler attempts a free throw in the Winter Classic Tournament against Indiana State University on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. The Tournament was held at the Ray Meyer Fitness and Recreation Center at DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus.
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Head coach Patrick Montague draws up a play during a time-out in a game against the University of Tennessee during the Winter Classic Tournament at DePaul University on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. The club basketball team is entirely student-led, including the coaching staff.
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“We wanted to show the older guys what we are capable of and what they are leaving behind. We got the job done,” said DePaul sophomore Chris Nash.
Before the game, both teams and head coach Patrick Montague decided to not play against each other.
“I really wanted to play, but that just shows how competitive both our teams are,” said Oliver Thomas, a senior at DePaul and president of the club basketball team. “Hopefully we can get the game scheduled at the end of the year once our seasons are done and see a really competitive game.”
Both teams celebrated being the Winter Classic champions and joked about playing each other later in the season.
“I made it to the championship to play the older team and then they were scared to play us,” said Smiley Cotton, a DePaul sophomore that played on the DePaul Future team.
Under the chant “two teams, one program,” the Blue Demons make their way to their last two conference games at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky.
“If we’re able to (win both road games), then we’re going to be looking at being the first or second seed at regionals,” Thomas said.
The National Club Basketball Association (NCBBA) Regionals will be hosted at the Ray Meyer Fitness & Recreation Center on March 29-30.
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