Why is the NCAA holding games in China?
“Why is the NCAA holding games in China?”
The NCAA doesn’t hold games in China, two educational institutions do. For the same reason all schools do something like this . . . to market their schools to potential students who might pay the full fare.
UCLA and Georgia Tech likely have a lot of Asian students and recruit heavily in China. Many schools are encouraging their students to spend a semester abroad as part of their curriculum (my college was just voted by Princeton Review as having the #1 Student Abroad program in the country for the past school year . . . I have no idea how that ranking occurs) and it’s likely that there are plenty of students over there right now.
Sometimes the game is also a Thank You to a big donor. We had that when we held the Hobart-Cornell lacrosse game in West Palm Beach a couple of years ago, to make it easy for a big donor who lives here to see the team play while he is having health issues.
On top of all this China is pretty much basketball crazy right now and it likely is chipping in the cost of the trip in some fashion.
All that said, I’d love to be a fly on the wall of the Ball household tonight . . .
“Why is the NCAA holding games in China?”
To promote better understanding and friendship between the the American and Chinese people.
$$$$ ?