Sure, it sounds like a Polynesian getaway, but it's just across the Gulf in Texas.
The USF men’s basketball team was invited to participate in the South Padre Island Invitational.
The field also includes BYU, Texas Tech, Liberty, St. Mary’s College, Georgia Southern, Chicago State and Mississippi Valley State.
The basketball ought to be pretty good, but the host island seems like a laid back place. In 2008, Men’s Fitness Magazine named the place one of the top 10 beaches in the country, and the entire island is a 'no tie zone.'
In 1997, the Island passed a proclamation stating that visitors come across the Laguna Madre bay to escape the workday world, re-focusing their priorities on beautiful sandy beaches along the Gulf. Because the pristine atmosphere is sometimes shattered by the appearance of the most blatant symbol of conformity and business throughout the world - the "tie" - it has become necessary to further protect visitors to the Island, it states. Therefore, the "tie" was deemed detrimental to the Island's welfare and banished.First offenders are given a written warning notice accompanied by a complimentary South Padre Island t-shirt, and second offenders are fined the cost of a fine silk tie.
Still, I'd stay away from the Hawaiian shirts.
Anyway, the tournament is around Thanksgiving, and you can find out more about the island at SoPadre.com