In what is shaping up to be one of the wildest stories of the college basketball offseason, the George Mason men’s basketball program had a foreign tour to the Bahamas cancelled at the last minute.
The VII Group, who have operated tours for Georgia and Tulane in recent years, while operating the Holiday Hoopsgiving event in Atlanta, released a statement apologizing to George Mason for cancelling the tour on such short notice.
“It is with deep regret and sincere apologies that The VII Group announces the cancellation of the George Mason University Men’s Basketball team’s foreign tour to the Bahamas, initially scheduled for this summer. This unforeseen outcome is not only a profound disappointment to all involved but a failure that we at The VII Group take full accountability for.”
The Patriots were supposed to fly on Thursday and play their first game on Friday afternoon, neither which occurred. Foreign tours are popular among college programs during the summer, as a way for teams to bond and get some scrimmage action in against other opponents before the season.
After months of coordination by student-athletes, coaches, families, boosters, donors, and others, an inability to fulfill obligations by The VII Group led to this sudden cancellation – and no doubt some serious frustration for all parties involved.
Social media already made comparisons to the ill-fated Fyre Festival, a fraudulent luxury music festival started by Billy McFarland and Ja Rule that was also supposed to take place in the Bahamas and scammed people out of thousands of dollars.
Under coach Tony Skinn, George Mason went 20-12 last year and 9-9 in the A-10.
This story is continuing to develop.