Welcome to the Rockford Public Schools 205 Tip-Off Classic

We are delighted to bring back this first-class, competitive experience for players, coaches and fans. The tournament features five days of action with 23 games played by 13 boys' varsity basketball teams.

This elite competition is the result of collaboration with the business community, the Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Rockford Sports Coalition and generous sponsorships from Hagney Architects, Associated Bank, Rockford Wildcats, Rockford Orthopedic and OSF Healthcare. We'd also like to thank all of our in-kind sponsors, as well as the athletic directors, staff and booster clubs for the three hosting schools.

Five of last year's eight competing teams return -- Rockford East, Rockford Auburn, Belvidere, Elgin Larkin and Indianapolis Pike. New to this year's event are Rockford Guilford, Chicago Dunbar, Chicago Hyde Park, Chicago Farragut, South Elgin, Janesville Parker, Madison La Follette and Freeport. To accommodate this year's numbers, we have added a third venue, developed a tournament website at 205tipoffclassic.net, and secured a partnership with WIFR to have three of our games broadcast online at wifr.com.

This year's event will again feature teams with immense talent, such as Larkin junior Christian Negron and Pike senior Justin Thomas. Both are guards and are currently being recruited by several Division 1 programs. Add to that the program history of some of our new teams such as Farragut -- the home of the NBA's Kevin Garnett -- and we have a tournament full of talent and tradition that we are excited to showcase.

Thank you to everyone who made last year's inaugural Tip-Off Classic an overwhelming success, and we look forward to seeing you all back to support a bigger and better event this year.

Mat Parker
Director of Athletic Activities and Program Development
Rockford Public Schools