Within days of the most-watched NCAA Women’s Final Four in history, Charlotte (N.C.) Sports Foundation executive director Danny Morrison had an idea to meet his core objective of bringing a high-profile basketball game to boost the local economy and add to the Queen City’s quality of life.
His board immediately agreed, as did a title sponsor and a television network. It took some time, but so did the teams. Today, the inaugural “Ally Tipoff” becomes official with an intersectional clash on Nov. 9
Iowa, the NCAA runner-up, has become the biggest draw in women’s college basketball and will bring national player of the year Caitlin Clark to Charlotte. The Hawkeyes’ opponent? Defending ACC champion and fellow Final Four participant Virginia Tech, which has its own elite talent in two-time ACC player of the year Elizabeth Kitley.
An ESPN network will televise the game. Ally Financial has signed on as a title sponsor. Iowa will receive $150,000 to participate, plus $50,000 to cover travel expenses. Virginia Tech’s payout is undisclosed.
“Internally, we said we think this would be an amazing event to bring to Charlotte,” Morrison said. “We thought that if we could get two of the Final Four teams with Iowa being the anchor, that this would be a compelling…
