Christmas tournament gets sponsor, new name

A new sponsor and new name will add a twist to the annual boys' basketball Christmas tournament at the Show Me Center.

The Southeast Missourian and seMissourian.com have become the primary sponsors of the 58th annual event, renamed the seMissourian Christmas Basketball Tournament. The event will be Dec. 26 through 30.

"We've always been open to having a major sponsor," tournament director Tom Allen said Friday. "Having a sponsor helps the tournament in a lot of ways and it helps us give more money back to the schools that participate."

Under state guidelines, the 16-team tournament pays participating teams a portion of profits after expenses. Last year, for example, teams that played two games could expect about $600. That total went up to about $900 for teams that played three games or $1,200 for teams with the maximum four games. The addition of a major backer could help boost those totals.

"We weren't financially handicapped before," Allen said, "but having a sponsor helps everybody."

The five-year deal with the Southeast Missourian was approved in a vote by the 16 member schools.

The bracket for the event will be determined in a meeting of coaches Sunday, Dec. 8.