Greensboro Sports Council Distributes Funds to HAECO Invitational Schools

GREENSBORO SPORTS COUNCIL DISTRIBUTES FUNDS TO HAECO INVITATIONAL SCHOOLS

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Greensboro Sports Council donated $112,000 to the eight schools that participated in the 40th anniversary HAECO Invitational presented by NewBridge Bank last December, the Council announced today. In addition, the Sports Council donated $19,000 in scholarships and charitable contributions from tournament proceeds. The 41st annual HAECO Invitational is set for Dec. 26-29, 2016 at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center with exact dates still to be determined.

The $112,000 donation total works out to $14,000 for each of the eight participating schools. Prior to the school donations, the Council awarded four $2,000 Bill Lee Scholarships, made a $5,000 donation to the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in memory of longtime Greensboro Sports Council member Worth Holleman, a $5,000 donation to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association and a $1,000 donation to the Corrigan Faircloth Chapter of the National Football Foundation to sponsor a scholarship.

In recent years, the Greensboro Sports Council made the following donations to the HAECO Invitational participating schools following that year’s tournament:
2008: $96,000
2009: $80,000
2010: $86,000
2011: $100,000
2012: $108,000
2013: $112,000
2014: $112,000
2015: $112,000

“Since it was founded 40 years ago, the HAECO Invitational has always been about raising money for its participating schools,” Greensboro Sports Council president Dan Goley said. “Charitable donations and scholarships are also part of the mix, but at the end of the day, the HAECO Invitational mission is to raise money for the schools that play in the tournament. It’s gratifying that businesses and individuals throughout our community support the HAECO Invitational year after year – that consistency shows that they believe in our mission and understand how much the schools count on the funds. We appreciate our title sponsor, HAECO Americas, our presenting sponsor, NewBridge Bank, and the many additional companies and individuals that help us fulfill our mission.”

The field for this year’s 41st annual HAECO Invitational will feature men’s and women’s teams representing the same schools as last year: Dudley High School, defending men’s champion Greensboro Day School, Grimsley High School, Northern Guilford High School, defending women’s champion Northwest Guilford Vikings, Page High School, Ragsdale High School and Smith High School. Due to other events tentatively scheduled for the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in late December, this year’s exact tournament dates have not yet been finalized.

The HAECO Invitational presented by NewBridge Bank is an annual high school basketball tournament in Greensboro, N.C. Founded in 1976 as the Little 4 Invitational, the tournament features men’s and women’s teams representing eight Guilford County high schools playing at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. Tournament proceeds are donated to local charities and the participating schools; the HAECO Invitational is planned and implemented by the Greensboro Sports Council. For more information, please visit www.HAECOInvitational.com and follow the event on Twitter: @HAECOinvit.

2 thoughts on “Greensboro Sports Council Distributes Funds to HAECO Invitational Schools

  1. How are these participating schools chosen? It’s not fair for the other schools in Guilford County that don’t get this great opportunity to play and receive funds for their school.

  2. You have the four schools that have been in here since the inception/beginning back around 1976 and that being Grimsley, Page, Smith and Dudley was a charter team back in the days of the Little Four, but they left and just came back in last year/2015…

    One of the big criteria to be in this tournament and to remain in this tournament is ticket sales…Your school and its fan base has to be able to sell tickets and get a crowd/large group of people out to the Coliseum to watch and attend the games…

    Some schools like the Greensboro Day School will sell out their ticket allotment the first day they get their tickets, the GDS fans go wild over this tournament and it doesn’t hurt that they have won the men’s title the last 4-5 years…

    Sell tickets and get fans to come out and once you’re part of the tournament field you will remain in and also as long as your teams/school stays competitive…

    The Greensboro Sports Council wants schools that can compete…

    Some schools are in the field and their talent pool drops off and with that their fan base and attendance declines as well…

    We have seen the current field with Page, Grimsley, Smith, Dudley, Northwest, Northern, Ragsdale and GDS for this day and time and in times past you had Northeast Guilford, Southwest Guilford, Western Guilford, Eastern Guilford, Southeast Guilford and even HP Wesleyan was in for a year or two back when they had Nathan Jameson on board…I don’t think HP Central, HP Andrews and Southern Guilford have been a part of the field over the years, but could be wrong…

    There was a time when they had one lineup with a school having their boys team in the field and not their girls team and you don’t want that…You want it to all match up and be even…All same boys and girls teams in the field of 8 schools…

    If teams want in, get on the list and once you get in, sell your tickets, stay competitive and don’t leave out, or you may not get back in….

    There’s some ideas for you and others may have more….

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