By: Chris Coombs | WVU Athletics | Press Release
NASSAU, The Bahamas – An amazing destination resort greets a standout collection of women’s basketball teams when Baha Mar plays host to the 2025 Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship, Monday, Nov. 24 and Wednesday, Nov. 26 at the Baha Mar Convention, Arts & Entertainment Center. Veteran sports promoter bdG Sports announced seven teams scheduled to participate in the eight-team field Wednesday.
Confirmed teams set to compete include Alabama, Belmont, Harvard, Minnesota, Ohio State, South Florida and West Virginia. All seven of the squads announced Wednesday advanced to postseason play a year ago, including five that appeared in the NCAA Tournament.
Once the final team is added, the event will feature two separate, four-team divisions resulting in two champions being crowned. Matchups and game times will be announced later. All games will be streamed.
“We are excited and proud to showcase a top-tier brand of hoops in the Bahamas once again as we continue to grow and expand women’s basketball and our events,” college basketball analyst and event contributor Debbie Antonelli said. “I’m known for saying, ‘The Product is the Narrative’ because we create opportunities to compete and the players and coaches deliver. Teams are returning because they trust bdG Sports to deliver another first-class event in an incredible destination location, and rest assured, it will be entertaining given the quality of competition!”
Alabama (24-9 in 2024-25) made its third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament under head coach Kristy Curry a year ago. The Crimson Tide’s historic season included multiple program milestones, among them, a listing in the Associated Press poll in all but two weeks of the season (with its highest ranking of No. 18).
Belmont head coach Bart Brooks helped guide the Bruins (26-13) to a runner-up finish in the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) en route to program’s 10th consecutive 20-plus win season in 2024-25. Enjoying its deepest national postseason run in school history last season, Belmont has won seven national postseason games over the last five years.
Under head coach Carrie Moore, Harvard (24-5) notched arguably its best season in program history in 2024-25, earning its most wins in school history, claiming its first Ivy League Tournament title and appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 18 years.
Head coach Dawn Plitzuweit’s Minnesota (25-11) squad capped the 2024-25 campaign, winning the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament.
Ohio State (26-7) made its fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2024-25, hosting games as a top-16 seed for the third consecutive season. Kevin McGuff’s Buckeyes finished the season ranked No. 19 nationally and have won at least 25 games in each season since the pandemic.
USF (23-11) capped the 2024-25 season with its 10th NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Jose Fernandez, in his 25th season. The Bulls went 13-4 in conference play and secured their fourth league title by winning the 2025 American Athletic Conference Tournament, defeating Tulane, North Texas, and Rice on three consecutive days. The campaign marked Coach Fernandez’s 14th straight 19-win season and 12th 20-win season.
West Virginia (25-8) made its third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season. WVU advanced to the tournament’s second round for the second straight season a year ago and has posted back-to-back 25-win seasons under head coach Mark Kellogg. The Mountaineers ended the season ranked No. 21 in the nation.
Alabama (2022), Ohio State (2023) and USF (2021) are making return trips to Baha Mar after previously competing in the Pink Flamingo Championship when it featured a non-bracketed format.
Eventual national champion UConn and regional finalist LSU each won its separate four-team divisions of the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship last season.
TICKETS AND VIP PACKAGES ON SALE JULY 15
Tickets and VIP packets can be purchased at www.bahamarhoops.com beginning Tuesday, July 15.
Amenities of the VIP packages include a four-night stay at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, two courtside tickets to all games of the event, two tickets to the tournament’s VIP reception (Nov. 25) with dinner and open bar included, round-trip ground transportation from the airport and resort, two daily breakfast vouchers, welcome gifts and personal concierge service. (Airfare not included in the packages.)
MORE THAN BASKETBALL AWAITS AT THE BEAUTIFUL BAHA MAR RESORT
The remarkable Baha Mar resort serves as the backdrop to this basketball showcase. Anchored by Grand Hyatt and featuring SLS Baha Mar and Rosewood Baha Mar, the resort is situated on 1,000 acres overlooking Nassau’s famous turquoise ocean waters. The destination resort boasts more than 2,300 rooms, the largest casino in the Caribbean, a $200 million luxury water park, an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, the Caribbean’s first and only flagship ESPA Spa and a collection of more than 45 restaurants and lounges.
ABOUT BAHA MAR HOOPS
Baha Mar annually plays host to one of the largest regular-season events in the sport of college basketball. Each November around the Thanksgiving holiday, 20 NCAA Division I men’s and women’s teams visit the stunning resort to compete in various basketball tournaments. In total, 20 games will be played over an 11-day span.
Each August, the resort also holds the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League, offering NCAA teams exhibition games against international competition as part of a foreign tour. The resort has welcomed men’s basketball teams from Kentucky, Louisville, Penn State, Rhode Island and Xavier for summer exhibition tours in recent years.
BAHA MAR HOOPS SOCIAL TAGS
Keep up to date with the latest information regarding Bah Mar Hoops via social media at @BahaMarHoops on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
ABOUT bdG SPORTS
bdG Sports is a sports and entertainment leader with a dynamic event management portfolio anchored with a focus in basketball and professional golf. The firm boasts an event schedule that has delivered significant economic impact to multiple communities throughout North America and the Caribbean while featuring broadcasts to viewers across the globe.
In basketball, bdG has a lengthy history of producing college basketball content. From summer exhibition tours to multiple high-profile in-season tournaments, bdG will contract nearly 150 regular-season men’s and women’s Division I basketball games annually. It boasts the record for the largest hoops crowd in Nevada state history (Duke-Gonzaga 2021 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas) and the second-most watched game since 2008 (Arkansas-Illinois on Thanksgiving Day 2024 with 5.1 million viewers). bdG is proud to be the only third-party operator which manages a conference tournament, assisting The Big West Conference Tournament each March in Henderson, Nevada. In professional basketball, bdG managed home games for the NBA G-League’s Ignite for its two years at the Dollar Loan Center.
In professional golf, bdG owns and operates two season-opening Korn Ferry Tour tournaments, The Bahamas Golf Classic at Paradise Island and The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, both featuring $1 million purses. And among its newest events, the ESPN Ultimate Fantasy Football Weekend at Baha Mar each August.
