WELCOME TO THE MCDONALD’S TEXAS INVITATIONAL BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
High school basketball stirs my competitive nature more than any other sport. It is a sport where every possession matters, and you get to see how the individual effort of every player impacts the course of the game. It’s time for the 21st Annual McDonald’s Texas Invitational Basketball Tournament, the best high school basketball tournament in Texas.
We’ve once again gathered some of the elite high school basketball talent in Texas to compete against one another in this year’s edition of the MTI scheduled for Nov. 21-23. We adopted the slogan, “The Road to State Starts Here,” because so many of the teams playing in our tournament find their way into the state basketball tournament at the end of the season. This year’s competition promises to be stellar.
The City of Pasadena, its Chamber of Commerce and the Pasadena Independent School District once again join together to host the McDonald’s Texas Invitational. Along with our chamber and school district partners in Deer Park, we look forward to welcoming the 48 boy’s teams and 32 girl’s teams and all their parents and all the fans who love great basketball.
More than 300 community volunteers work hard to ensure that our tournament goes off without a hitch. We absolutely want you to have a great time in our community. The leaders of our tournament steering committee and our community take great pride in supporting our youth, not just in our town, but across Texas. I am deeply appreciative of the work they do in preparation for our tournament.
The tournament is more than just a game to us. All the profits from the tournament are donated to the Pasadena ISD and Deer Park ISD education foundations. As an extension of their mission, the funds are then given to teachers to support innovative teaching projects to assist students in the classroom. Since the tournament’s inception in 2003, more than $3.5 million has been raised to support our students. That’s what it’s all about…making a difference in the lives of our children and young people.
None of that work would be possible without the financial support of more than 140 sponsor businesses and individuals. You’ll see their names scattered around our gyms and in our materials. Despite the impact of Hurricane Beryl on our community earlier this year, these business owners, corporations and individuals renewed their support for the tournament because they know the value of a well-educated work force. They understand the goal of our tournament is to benefit our students. Take note of who they are. I encourage you to do business with them if you have a need for their services and products. You will enjoy getting to know them.
Scroll through our website at www.texasinvitational.com for game times, locations and additional information about the tournament. Download our tournament app called Tourney Machine. It will give you constant updates on the final scores of each game.
It is our hope that you enjoy as many of the 195 games that will be played in the MTI. Cheer the student athletes who pour their heart into every second of every game. I know they feed off the energy you bring to the tournament. It’s my hope these games stir your competitive nature as much as it does mine.
Thank you for being a part of something special.
Kirk Lewis
2024 Tournament Chair