The defending national champions will play in the D3hoops.com Classic this December. UW-Stevens Point athletics photo

Sport Tours International, Inc. and D3hoops.com have reached a partnership to further promote and expand the opportunities for Division III basketball teams, players, and coaches. Sport Tours, a global leader in organizing college basketball tournaments and tours, and D3hoops.com believe this partnership will provide more alternatives and exposure for Division III basketball.

"This partnership makes a whole lot of sense," said Lee Frederick, President of Sport Tours International. "We have been running DIII tournaments and tours for over 20 years. Division III schools have been our best clients and we enjoy working with them. Everybody who follows D-III basketball knows about D3hoops.com. It is the site where you can always find the latest and most reliable news and information about D-III basketball. Working with them on a few projects to promote the game is a winner for us."

Beginning this season, Sport Tours and D3hoops.com will promote, organize and run the D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas. The 2010 event features 10 DIII men's and women's teams and will be held at the South Point Hotel Events Center from Dec. 27-30. In future seasons the tournament plans on continuing the post Christmas and pre-New Years dates and the Las Vegas location.

"Las Vegas is the perfect place to host the D3hoops.com Classic," Frederick said. "The dates are great, the facility/hotel combination is unbeatable, and the city of Las Vegas is a popular destination. We're proud to have D3hoops.com in the mix. They make this tournament much more appealing to prospective teams."

In addition to the in-season D3hoops.com Classic, STI and D3hoops.com will also organize and promote a postseason foreign tour for DIII men's and women's all-stars. The tours, which will take place annually in May, will feature some of the best DIII players in the nation. Players will come together to showcase their talents across the globe while creating memories that will last a lifetime. D3hoops.com will play a significant role in helping to select and promote the all-star team. The 2011 all-star tour, consisting of one men's team and one women's team is, tentatively, set to travel to London and Paris from May 21-30, 2011.

"We're looking forward to putting some great teams on the floor, both in the regular season and postseason," said D3hoops.com executive editor Pat Coleman. "Our working with Sport Tours International is going to bring some great events to men's and women's Division III basketball."