Ballin in Boutwell will start in October with a competition amongst first-year head coaches.
The event will begin with an exhibition match between Samford and Alabama A&M on Monday, October 13 at 7 p.m. at Birmingham’s Boutwell Auditorium.
At a press conference held Tuesday in the lobby of the Boutwell Auditorium, the pairings were formally revealed.
The game will serve as the kickoff for an event that also features Alabama’s women’s and men’s games against Florida State the next day and Auburn’s men’s game against Oklahoma State on October 15.
The tournament was known as Bama in Boutwell the previous season, and the only game played there was Alabama vs. Wake Forest, which Alabama won 98-77 in an exhibition. The competition will now feature five in-state teams and four games.
You can find the tickets for all four games here.
There will be two new coaches for both programs in the battle between the two in-state mid-majors: Alabama A&M coach Donte Jackson and new Samford coach Lennie Acuff.
Huntsville native Acuff, who spent 22 seasons as head coach at UAH and guided Lipscomb to an NCAA tournament appearance this season, was hired in April to succeed Bucky McMillan, who left Samford to become head coach at Texas A&M.
After eight seasons as head coach at Grambling State, where he guided the team to a 2023–24 NCAA tournament victory in the First Four over Montana State and was a three-time SWAC Coach of the Year winner, Jackson was hired by Alabama A&M in April.
Samford has a 6-1 record versus Alabama A&M, including a Dec. 21, 2024, 97-90 triumph at Huntsville.
