Slaybaugh to head the Hoopla

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“Continuing the NCAA First Four basketball games here in our front door provides an opportunity to give back to the community while showcasing what a true regional asset Dayton, Ohio is for families and businesses,” Slaybaugh said in a release. “The tremendous legacy that has been built by the fans and championed by the Local Organizing Committee has been what has driven me to accept the chairman position.”

“There would be no Big Hoopla without the incredible partnership between the NCAA, UD, and the volunteers of the (Local Organizing Committee),” University of Dayton President Eric Spina said in the same statement. “Jeff’s leadership over the last three years has taken the community’s enthusiasm for the Big Hoopla and transformed it into a valuable economic development tool, using the tournament as a vehicle to showcase the best the region has to offer. I know Terry will carry that momentum forward.”

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The committee’s work in supporting the First Four games has led to multiple sellouts (in the years 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017), record television viewership (2014), record attendance (2017) and visits from a sitting U.S. president, a British prime minister and Ohio governor (2012).

“I have been honored to serve as the (Local Organizing Committee) chairman for the last three years, and I am grateful for the many dedicated volunteers who bring the Big Hoopla to life in Dayton, Ohio year after year,” Hoagland said.

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In the release, the committee hailed the Hoopla ticket program, a charitable local outreach that since 2012 has donated more than 30,000 tickets.

The First Four games have had a nearly $85 million economic impact on Dayton and Ohio since 2001, the committee says.

The 2018 First Four on truTV grossed 5.9 million viewers across TV and digital platforms to deliver the most-watched First Four coverage since 2014 and was the second most-viewed since the inception of the format, the organizing committee also says.