The Dan Fitzgerald Memorial Basketball Tournament (“The Fitz”) is a premier high school basketball tournament held in Spokane, Washington to honor the memory of Dan Fitzgerald. Dan was a legendary basketball coach at Gonzaga University, Santa Clara University and Archbishop Mitty High School. Dan’s success on the court was as much about the man that he was off the court than anything else. Wins and losses were measured more in the lives that he touched than in the final score of any contest. Dan was very active with local charities including the Spokane Gospel Mission Outreach, Boys and Girls Club of Spokane and local youth sports organizations among others. He also dedicated countless hours to many local high school and youth coaches to share his philosophies on basketball and life.
To keep his legacy of service and commitment alive, the net proceeds of The Fitz Tournament will go to deserving charities selected by the Fitzgerald family every year. In addition each student athlete participant spends volunteer hours at a local charity giving back to the community in the tradition of Dan and Darleen Fitzgerald. To date The Fitz has raised over $100,000 to benefit charities that the Fitzgerald family supports.
The Fitz Tournament was kicked off by our 9th Annual Fitz Banquet at Northern Quest Resort and Casino on Thursday, December 5th. The event was open to the Spokane community including all the members of the participating teams and their families. The banquet celebrated the life and values of Dan Fitzgerald a beloved coach, mentor and friend to the community. Highlights of the banquet included:
ADMISSION –
Tickets can be purchased at the door or by contacting Cajer Neely at cajer.neely@comcast.net.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Gloria Nevarez is the first Latin American commissioner of a Division I conference and currently serves on the NCAA’s Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee, a member of the NCAA Committee on Athletics Certification’s executive group and is chair of the Gender and Diversity Committee.
Nevarez came to the WCC from the PAC 12 Conference, where she served for eight years as the conference Senior Associate Commissioner, Senior Woman Administrator, in which role she oversaw all sports and championships except football.
One of Coach Fitzgerald’s favorite community organizations– that he supported with his own volunteer hours– is the Union Gospel Mission. Again, this year, the boys teams assisted the mission by serving lunch and dinner on Friday. One group of players helped serve the meal while the other players ate and conversed with the guests. The girls teams served at the Ronald McDonald House, creating a festive holiday environment for the families who use the Ronald McDonald House.
The tournament itself will be a showcase format. Each team will play two games, one on Friday and one on Saturday. We are very excited about the overall caliber of the teams and the competition they will bring to our ninth event. In conjunction with 2nd Harvest Food Bank, admission to all games will be two cans of food.
All games are at Ferris High School.
BOYS
Mt Spokane 82 | West Valley-Yakima 58
St. Ignatius 42 | Mt. Spokane 83
St. Ignatius 55 | Ferris 58
West Valley-Yakima 54 | Ferris 50
GIRLS
Beaverton (OR) 62 | Central Valley 54
St. Ignatius 48 (SF) | Central Valley 58
St. Ignatius 83 | University (SPO) 86 (2 OT)
Beaverton 70 | University 47
Aspyn Adams – Mt. Spokane – Loyola Marymont University
Fran Belibi – Regis Jesuit – Stanford University
Tyschal Blake – St.Mary’s – Weber State University
Brett Boese – Shadle Park – Washington State Univerisity
Jacinta Buckley – Lewis & Clark – University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Noelle Cahill – Regis Jesuit – University of Pennsylvania
Hannah Caudill – Gonzaga Prep – Montana State University
Tanner Christianson – University – University of Idaho
Javary Christmas – De La Salle-North – Chicago State University
Taya Corosdale – Bothel – Oregon State University
Tahlia Garza – Archbishop Mitty – University of California at Irvine
Otiona Gildon – Gonzaga Prep – University of Oregon
Riley Grigsby – Archbishop Mitty – Seattle University
Dani Guglielmo – Archbishop Mitty – University of California at Irvine
Daryn Hicks – Grant – Weber State University
Heleyna Hill – Archbishop Mitty – San Jose State University
Maddy Holland – Archbishop Mitty – St. Mary’s University
Haley Jones – Archbishop Mitty – Stanford University
Ben Kone – Archbishop Mitty – Oregon State University
Coreen Labish – Mead – University of Wyoming
Riley Lupfer – Lewis & Clark – Boise State University
Gina Marxen – Eastlake – University of Idaho
Martina McCowan – St.Mary’s – Long Beach State
Jayda Noble – Mt. Spokane – University of Washington
Laura Stockton – Gonzaga Prep – Gonzaga University
Evina Westbrook – South Salem – University of Tennessee/University of Conneticut
Katie Williams – South Salem – Oregon State University
Sue Winger – Mead – University of Idaho
Jordan Woodvine – South Salem – Boise State University
Bendu Yeaney – St.Mary’s – Indiana University