I’m curious if any internal staffing changes have been made because of this. Hearing that over 150k may have been lost because of this, in my mind there needs to be some sort of accountability for what happened.
Bahamas Trip Cancelled
- Thread starter JC_FoodcourtBandit
- Start date
Just catching up on this story and there is still so much missing info. We outsourced all the logistics to The VII Group who then outsourced the flights to some other unnamed company?
Did players actually show up to the airport or was that made up? If folks who bought the travel package were notified ahead of time it wasn't happening, I sure hope the team/players knew as well.
The VII Group immediately took responsibility so it doesn't seem like they were trying to scam the program. Did The VII Group get scammed or was it just incompetence?
Did players actually show up to the airport or was that made up? If folks who bought the travel package were notified ahead of time it wasn't happening, I sure hope the team/players knew as well.
The VII Group immediately took responsibility so it doesn't seem like they were trying to scam the program. Did The VII Group get scammed or was it just incompetence?
Pablo
Hall of Famer
No games, no flights: George Mason athletes stranded in travel scandal
The men's basketball team had a trip to the Bahamas planned for some exhibition games and some beach fun. But, it did not go as expected.
wjla.com
"Some GMU student-athletes were already at the airport when they discovered nothing had been booked— No flights, no hotels, and no games."
"It’s unclear how much of a deposit was put down by members of the college program.
The school also issued a statement saying, 'George Mason University is extremely disappointed for its student-athletes, coaches and supporters regarding the last-minute cancelation of the men's basketball program's foreign tour scheduled for last week in the Bahamas.'
No refunds have been issued and no word yet from the company about a refund. George Mason University has made some national news before, most notably a memorable final-four run in 2006. But now Head Coach Tony Skinn and his squad are making news after falling victim to the sudden cancellation after months of coordination by student-athletes, coaches, families, boosters and donors.
The university told 7News it was working to promptly resolve the matter and secure a full refund for those directly impacted."
Someone like @gmubrian can correct me but essentiallyNo games, no flights: George Mason athletes stranded in travel scandal
The men's basketball team had a trip to the Bahamas planned for some exhibition games and some beach fun. But, it did not go as expected.
"Some GMU student-athletes were already at the airport when they discovered nothing had been booked— No flights, no hotels, and no games."
"It’s unclear how much of a deposit was put down by members of the college program.
The school also issued a statement saying, 'George Mason University is extremely disappointed for its student-athletes, coaches and supporters regarding the last-minute cancelation of the men's basketball program's foreign tour scheduled for last week in the Bahamas.'
No refunds have been issued and no word yet from the company about a refund. George Mason University has made some national news before, most notably a memorable final-four run in 2006. But now Head Coach Tony Skinn and his squad are making news after falling victim to the sudden cancellation after months of coordination by student-athletes, coaches, families, boosters and donors.
The university told 7News it was working to promptly resolve the matter and secure a full refund for those directly impacted."
1) The only players who showed up to the airport, were international players. They showed up on Tuesday, to fly early in the event of any passport issues. No other players showed up to the airport.
2) The VII Group put out an AI generated apology. Chris Williams, the owner of the group, is well known in basketball circles but apparently its come out in recent days that he owes money. It can be debated on whether the apology is genuine or not.
3) The VII group outsourced the booking to a contractor, who apparently did not book anything. However, as Brian tweeted " he has an email that states "everything has been arranged".
The other items like "why didn't Mason have meetings along the way with regards to logistics" , "will folks get money back" are still questions that will be answered at some point.
Who is going to send in the rescue and retrieval team to get GMUBrian and GMUTom out of the Bahamas?
They’ll stay in Nassau awaiting paradise jam 2025.
Response from any reasonable person/organization in the world: “That’s terrible, of course you can do another international trip next year.”
Likely response from NCAA: “No, and we are now investigating you for some sort of infraction.”
Just like our football team... Undefeated.
Peterson and Jayden Haynes had their usual numbers.
Apparently the FBI is and has been involved
www.sportico.com
FBI Contacted George Mason Over Botched Bahamas Basketball Bash
The foreign tour, arranged by The VII Group, was canceled two days before the GMU men’s basketball team was due to depart.
www.sportico.com
Be careful what you wish for. If the ponzi scheme doesn't keep going, we don't get paid back any of our money.
Might also be their last year hosting the event…
You may want to wait till it actually occurs to ask that question. As we found out, nothing is sure until it happens.
Probably using the money from Masons to finance the hoopsgiving tournament. The other schools school drop out in solidarity with Mason!
This is a surprisingly great article. Rare to see actual journalism being done nowadays, going to the extent to FOIA the ADs emails. Well done.Apparently the FBI is and has been involved
FBI Contacted George Mason Over Botched Bahamas Basketball Bash
The foreign tour, arranged by The VII Group, was canceled two days before the GMU men’s basketball team was due to depart.
WillWeaverRVA
Three-star Recruit
I was coming here to share that article. Sportico does really good investigative work, which isespecially helpful in the current Wild West of NIL schemes. They were covering the drama of the Players Era Festival last week.
Forum statistics
#MasonNation Network
Check out these great sites:
GiantKiller.co
ByGeorge
Expat Hoops
Fourth Estate
Doc Nix and the Green Machine
Bill Bride - DMV Sports Shots
Patriot Brew Blog/Newsletter
GiantKiller.co
ByGeorge
Expat Hoops
Fourth Estate
Doc Nix and the Green Machine
Bill Bride - DMV Sports Shots
Patriot Brew Blog/Newsletter