Doug Gottlieb didn’t sign the oldest Division I men’s basketball player just to boost Green Bay’s average age.
By adding a 28-year-old to a roster that limped to a 4-28 finish last year, Gottlieb isn’t just looking for a grown man to battle teenagers in the paint. He’s aiming at something higher. According to ESPN, Green Bay has filed a waiver with the NCAA in hopes of playing in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), the $1 million summer showcase where college alums and overseas vets go head-to-head.
The ask is unusual, but not to Gottlieb’s program. Green Bay filed a similar request last year, but the denial came too late in the process to properly appeal the ruling.
That’s because TBT isn’t NCAA-sanctioned, nor does it fit into any neatly defined offseason exception. But Gottlieb’s explanation, as he tries to lobby the big, bad NCAA, is that it would be in lieu of those once-every-four-year trips where college teams fly overseas to play professionals.
Green Bay argues that participating would give its players a comparable opportunity, just one that fits the program’s budget.
“When you play overseas, these teams that go to France, Spain, Belgium, whatever, those aren’t NCAA-sanctioned games,” Gottlieb told ESPN. “So the NCAA’s argument is, ‘Hey, in summer competition, you can’t play these games in the United States. They’re not NCAA-sanctioned.’ So if I played this exact same game three hours north of here in Canada, it’d be OK. It doesn’t make sense.”
And then there’s the budget reality.
Foreign trips are expensive, especially for a program like Green Bay. With college athletics bracing for the financial ripple effects of the House settlement, Gottlieb and Green Bay AD Josh Moon are looking for a workaround that keeps the competitive value but cuts the cost.
“Let’s not worry about the prize money right now, but that could go to a charity, just let us play,” Moon said. “It’s really about our team and trying to give them opportunities.”
The original logic behind the foreign tour rule was to ensure that every player got the chance to take one international trip during their school years. But with the transfer portal and NIL upending rosters every season, Moon tells ESPN that the idea is way past its expiration date.
Green Bay’s hoping the NCAA is willing to adjust the rulebook to match the reality on the ground.
If the NCAA grants Phoenix a waiver, they’d join TBT as it enters its 12th edition this summer. The event also has a new home. Last year, it moved from ESPN to Fox Sports under a multi-year deal.
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