University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt To Compete In 2026 Fort Myers Tip-Off
5/21/2026 11:20:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Ninth edition of the event features Purdue, Oklahoma, DePaul and Pitt on Nov. 24 and 26 at Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers
FORT MYERS, Fla. (May 21, 2026) – The Fort Myers Tip-Off will once again be prominently featured on this year's Thanksgiving Week menu as Purdue, Oklahoma, DePaul and Pitt participate in the Beach Division of the ninth-annual event taking place Nov. 24 and 26 at Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers, Fla.
Final game times and television designations will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Beach Division schedule gets underway on Nov. 24 when Purdue faces DePaul and Pitt takes on Oklahoma. The Thanksgiving Day slate will include the Boilermakers facing the Sooners and the Blue Demons taking on the Panthers. It will be the second time Pitt has appeared in the Fort Myers Tip-Off, having won the event in 2019, while the Boilermakers, Blue Demons and Sooners will be making their first all-time appearance in the event.
At this time, the only way to guarantee tickets for the 2026 Fort Myers Tip-Off is through official fan travel packages. Fan travel packages for the event will be available on June 3, but fans can immediately register to express interest in a travel package and to receive priority access to the event by logging on to www.fortmyerstipoff.com/travel. Base packages include hotel accommodations, game tickets to each selected team's games in the official fan section and VIP parking at the arena.
The Fort Myers Tip-Off has established itself as one of college basketball's premier early season events, having featured some of college basketball's top programs in recent years, including 2026 national champion Michigan, 2025 national champion Florida, 2022 national champion Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Wisconsin, Virginia, Ohio State and Auburn in recent years.
The announcement of the Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division comes on the heels of the Elevance Health Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off announcing its complete roster of team participants. The event, set to take place Nov. 27 and 28, will feature prominent national powers such as LSU, NC State, TCU, Villanova, Indiana, Kansas State, Mississippi State and Georgia Tech.
Prominent national brands, such as State Farm and Old Trapper, have aligned themselves with the high profile nature of the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Locally, Lee County will serve as hosts for the ninth-annual event, welcoming fans from across the country to Southwest Florida once again this November.
To receive the latest email alerts regarding tournament news, ticket information and more, visit our website at www.fortmyerstipoff.com and follow Intersport Basketball on Twitter (X) and Instagram at @IntersportHoops.
About the Teams of the 2026 Fort Myers Tip-Off
DePaul
-Chris Holtmann, who owns 281 career wins in 15 seasons as a head coach, begins his third year with DePaul, having turned around a program that won just three games prior to his arrival in 2024
-Last season, the Blue Demons finished Big East play with eight conference wins, the most league wins for the program in nearly 20 years
-The 2026-27 DePaul roster returns seven players from last year, including two returning starters and the team's third-leading scorer, Layden Blocker
-DePaul also welcomes a bevy of high-impact transfers, including All-Conference honorees Magoon Gwath (2025 MWC Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year), Kahmare Holmes (2026 First Team All-SoCon) and Koree Cotton (2026 First Team All-Southland)
Oklahoma
-The Sooners begin their sixth season under Porter Moser, who is on pace to win his 400th career game this coming season and has led the program to three straight 20-win campaigns for the first time since 2013-16
-Moser was head coach at Loyola Chicago when the Ramblers appeared in the inaugural Fort Myers Tip-Off in 2018
-Last year, Oklahoma won 21 games and advanced to the championship contest of the College Basketball Crown
-Oklahoma has earned 34 all-time NCAA Tournament berths (most recently in 2025) and has made five Final Four appearances (most recently in 2016)
-Xzayvier Brown (15.4 ppg) and Derrion Reid (11.7 ppg) started all 37 games for OU last year, making it one of just four SEC programs returning multiple starters and double-digit scorers
Pitt
-The Panthers are making their second all-time appearance in the Fort Myers Tip-Off, having won the tournament championship in the event's second year in 2019
-Jeff Capel will enter his ninth year with the Panthers, establishing himself as the fifth-longest tenured head coach in program history
-Capel also coached five seasons at Oklahoma, where he led the Sooners to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and a run to the 2009 Elite Eight
-Pitt, which claims 27 NCAA Tournament appearances in program history, is set to welcome a pair of four-star recruits in Chase Foster and Jermal Jones, along with a promising collection of transfers
Purdue
-Head Coach Matt Painter will begin his 22nd season coaching at his alma mater, winning 25 or more games in 13 of his 21 years with the team and five conference Coach of the Year honors
-The Boilermakers have made 37 all-time NCAA Tournaments, including a run of 10 consecutive berths and trips to the Sweet 16 in four of the past five seasons
-Purdue leads the Big Ten with 26 conference titles and returns all available scholarship players from last year's team that won 30 games and advanced to the Regional Final
-Purdue will return a bevy of contributors from last season, anchored by rising junior CJ Cox, who started all 39 games, and welcome a host of newcomers that will immediately impact the program
Head Coach Quotes on the Fort Myers Tip-Off
DePaul Head Coach Chris Holtmann
"I'm excited for the opportunity to return to the Fort Myers Tip-Off after previously attending in 2021. Intersport runs a first-class tournament, and this year's event will be no exception with high-level games. Facing Purdue and Pitt early in the season will be a great opportunity for our team and program to be tested ahead of BIG EAST play."
Oklahoma Head Coach Porter Moser
"We're really looking forward to traveling to Florida in November. I know firsthand how great the Fort Myers Tip-Off is, as my Loyola Chicago team played in the inaugural event in 2018. We had a great experience and I loved how the community embraced it. These will be two high-level games for us, as Pitt and Purdue are tremendous programs. We're excited and can't wait for Thanksgiving week."
Pitt Head Coach Jeff Capel
"We are excited to be part of this year's Fort Myers Tip-Off and to return to a place that has been good to our program. Winning the tournament in 2019 is a memory our staff and Panther fans look back on fondly. Building a strong, challenging non-conference schedule is a priority for us, and competing against this caliber of program in late November will sharpen our team for the demands of ACC play. We are grateful for the chance to spend Thanksgiving Week with our players, their families and the Pitt fans who travel to Southwest Florida to support our program."
Purdue Head Coach Matt Painter
"We are excited to spend our Thanksgiving in Fort Myers, competing in an outstanding event against DePaul and Oklahoma. We take great pride in making our non-conference schedule one of the best in the country and playing in this event will definitely help prepare us for Big Ten play. Both of these teams are led by outstanding coaches and will provide a big opportunity for our program. Our fans have consistently traveled in large numbers for all of our neutral-site games and we expect a great contingent on the Florida Gulf Coast during Thanksgiving Week."
Series History
Pitt vs. Oklahoma
Series Record: Oklahoma leads, 2-1
Last Meeting: Jan. 15, 1989 (Pitt, 99-91)
Notable: The teams squared off in three straight seasons, most notably in the 1987 NCAA Tournament, a game won by the Sooners, before the programs completed a home-and-home agreement in Jan. 1988 and Jan. 1989.
DePaul vs. Purdue
Series Record: Purdue leads, 12-9
Last Meeting: Nov. 22, 2006 (Purdue, 81-73)
Notable: It will be the first matchup in the series in almost exactly 20 years, with the most recent meeting coming in Maui … This will be the second neutral site matchup in the 22-game series.
Pitt vs. DePaul
Series Record: Pitt leads, 9-2
Last Meeting: March 9, 2013 (Pitt, 81-66)
Notable: Ten of the first 11 meetings of the series came when both programs were members of the Big East Conference … the first meeting between the programs came in 1936 … this will be the first neutral-site contest between the teams.
Oklahoma vs. Purdue
Series Record: Oklahoma leads, 6-4
Last Meeting: Nov. 28, 2008 (Oklahoma, 87-82)
Notable: The last two meetings in the series have come at neutral sites (Maui in 2006, New York in 2008) … This will be the fourth neutral site meeting between the teams, with the first coming in the second round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament.
About the Fort Myers Tip-Off
An annual celebration of men's and women's college basketball, the Fort Myers Tip-Off welcomes the top programs from around the country for incredible competition to see which teams and their fans will #OwnTheFort during Thanksgiving Week. Contested at Suncoast Credit Union Arena, the home of Florida SouthWestern State College, the Fort Myers Tip-Off has quickly become a staple of the Southwest Florida sports calendar. To receive the latest email alerts regarding tournament news, ticket information and more, visit our website at www.fortmyerstipoff.com or www.womensfortmyerstipoff.com and follow Intersport Basketball on Twitter (X) and Instagram at @IntersportHoops.
About Intersport
Intersport is an award-winning agency that fills the empty space between marketing campaigns and consumers—helping brands make more meaningful connections. Its industry-leading team offers expert insights in content marketing, experiential marketing, hospitality, partnership consulting and platform development. The Chicago-based agency also owns and operates events across the professional and collegiate sports landscape, including basketball, football, golf, pickleball and volleyball. Intersport has been headquartered in Chicago since its inception in 1985 and has an additional office in Detroit. Learn more at www.intersport.global and on social media (LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook).
