Deacon Sports Xtra: From Creation to Participation: Forbes was Cornerstone for Emerald Coast Classic
11/29/2021 12:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
When Steve Forbes got settled in at Northwest Florida State College back in 2011, he quickly determined the setting, facilities and leadership were special — and they deserved the spotlight.
He reached out to his friend Maury Hanks, an NBA scout and founder and president of Global Sports, which manages several college basketball multi-team events.
"When he got the job down there, he called me," Hanks said. "I was living in Las Vegas at the time. People from the West Coast don't go to places like Destin or Hilton Head. He told me about the great arena, beaches and hospitality. I went down there and saw it and determined it would work."
Thus was born the Emerald Coast Classic, an annual MTE that began in 2014, that takes place at Raider Arena on the campus of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida.
"It took about two or three years to get the tournament off the ground," Hanks said. "You have to be sanctioned by the conferences, then find teams to participate. Many of them were booked for a couple years. He had already left for Wichita State by the time it started."
Forbes took his Demon Deacons to compete in the tournament last week that was brought into existence because of a call he made a decade ago.
"It was exciting to go back," Forbes said this week. "It's exciting that I made the call to Maury Hanks when I got the job (at Northwest Florida), who is the operator of the MTE. I told him to come down and see the place because I thought he could do an MTE there. He came down that first year. We talked about it and I took him around to show him the facilities."
With it not being a busy tourist time in Destin, the tournament has been a yearly boom to the local economy.
"It's taken off and Maury has done an unbelievable job of running it," Forbes said. "It's the first chance I've had to come back to it. I'm proud of it. I'm proud that Maury has been able to start this MTE. It's one of the better ones in the Continental United States.
"It's an easy one for fans to get to. It's nice to go to places like Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Caymans, but there's a little more travel involved. Here you can get right down there and back. We're looking forward to going down there."
Northwest Florida State Athletic Director Ramsey Ross is thrilled at the evolution of the event and looks forward to seeing Forbes back in Raider Arena.
"He introduced Maury to our facility and to me, which helped bring the Emerald Coast Classic here," Ross said. "It was only natural at some point that Coach Forbes as a head coach would have a chance to come back and do this. It really fell into place. It was so satisfying to see him back on the Raider bench leading Wake Forest."
Hanks wsd on site starting Wednesday and enjoys his time each year in Destin.
"It's a great, intimate arena that seats about 2,300 fans," he said. "The people at the college are all-in on the event. They know with the TV coverage, it's a great selling point for not only the basketball program, but the entire university to have something like this there. Then there's the location. The beaches are world-class. It's easy to get to. It's a nice spot.
"We do things the right way, my staff and myself. If we tell you something is going to happen, we make it happen. All six referees working here have worked in the Final Four, and that's a great selling point. It's a fantastic arena and it's easy to get in and out. There are hotels right on the beach that aren't $300 a night. We don't charge $80-90 a ticket for the fans."
Previous champions of the event are Mississippi, Iowa State, Virginia, TCU, Cincinnati and Florida State.
"We've had Ole Miss and Cincinnati come back a couple of times," Hanks said. "We had Virginia here two years before they won the national championship and Baylor here two years before they won the national championship. We've had very good teams."
The Deacs faced LSU in the Championship game this year and the Tigers took home the title.
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He reached out to his friend Maury Hanks, an NBA scout and founder and president of Global Sports, which manages several college basketball multi-team events.
"When he got the job down there, he called me," Hanks said. "I was living in Las Vegas at the time. People from the West Coast don't go to places like Destin or Hilton Head. He told me about the great arena, beaches and hospitality. I went down there and saw it and determined it would work."
Thus was born the Emerald Coast Classic, an annual MTE that began in 2014, that takes place at Raider Arena on the campus of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida.
"It took about two or three years to get the tournament off the ground," Hanks said. "You have to be sanctioned by the conferences, then find teams to participate. Many of them were booked for a couple years. He had already left for Wichita State by the time it started."
Forbes took his Demon Deacons to compete in the tournament last week that was brought into existence because of a call he made a decade ago.
"It was exciting to go back," Forbes said this week. "It's exciting that I made the call to Maury Hanks when I got the job (at Northwest Florida), who is the operator of the MTE. I told him to come down and see the place because I thought he could do an MTE there. He came down that first year. We talked about it and I took him around to show him the facilities."
With it not being a busy tourist time in Destin, the tournament has been a yearly boom to the local economy.
"It's taken off and Maury has done an unbelievable job of running it," Forbes said. "It's the first chance I've had to come back to it. I'm proud of it. I'm proud that Maury has been able to start this MTE. It's one of the better ones in the Continental United States.
"It's an easy one for fans to get to. It's nice to go to places like Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Caymans, but there's a little more travel involved. Here you can get right down there and back. We're looking forward to going down there."
Northwest Florida State Athletic Director Ramsey Ross is thrilled at the evolution of the event and looks forward to seeing Forbes back in Raider Arena.
"He introduced Maury to our facility and to me, which helped bring the Emerald Coast Classic here," Ross said. "It was only natural at some point that Coach Forbes as a head coach would have a chance to come back and do this. It really fell into place. It was so satisfying to see him back on the Raider bench leading Wake Forest."
Hanks wsd on site starting Wednesday and enjoys his time each year in Destin.
"It's a great, intimate arena that seats about 2,300 fans," he said. "The people at the college are all-in on the event. They know with the TV coverage, it's a great selling point for not only the basketball program, but the entire university to have something like this there. Then there's the location. The beaches are world-class. It's easy to get to. It's a nice spot.
"We do things the right way, my staff and myself. If we tell you something is going to happen, we make it happen. All six referees working here have worked in the Final Four, and that's a great selling point. It's a fantastic arena and it's easy to get in and out. There are hotels right on the beach that aren't $300 a night. We don't charge $80-90 a ticket for the fans."
Previous champions of the event are Mississippi, Iowa State, Virginia, TCU, Cincinnati and Florida State.
"We've had Ole Miss and Cincinnati come back a couple of times," Hanks said. "We had Virginia here two years before they won the national championship and Baylor here two years before they won the national championship. We've had very good teams."
The Deacs faced LSU in the Championship game this year and the Tigers took home the title.
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