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NIWBT CHAMPIONSHIPS: No. 6 Mustangs open NIWBT Tournament play against No. 3 UW-Whitewater today

MARSHALL — Across the country, eyes are fixed on the start of the NCAA Tournament, as schools such as the University of Missouri, the University of Alabama, Auburn University and others get ready for the start of March Madness.

However, there are teams at those schools who will play in a different college basketball tournament over the weekend, as Southwest Minnesota State University is set to host the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament today through Saturday.

Participating in the nine-team men’s tournament are Alabama, University of Texas-Arlington, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Missouri, Edinboro University, SMSU, University of Illinois, University of Nebraska-Omaha and Auburn. UTA, Alabama, Illinois and UWW also field women’s teams that will play in the four-team women’s tournament Thursday and Saturday.

SMSU coach Derek Klinkner is excited for the opportunity to bring the tournament to Marshall.

“It is an honor to host the NIWBT,” he said. “It is something that only comes around once every eight to 10 years.”

Games start today at 8 a.m., with seven games held between the R/A Facility and PE Gym throughout the day.

Seven more games will be played on Friday, with the final four games of the tournaments on Saturday.

The Mustangs (9-14) enter the tournament as the No. 6 seed and will face Wisconsin-Whitewater at noon.

“Our goal for this weekend is to play hard, play smart, and then win some games,” Klinkner said.

There is a special meal deal for SMSU students who attend today’s SMSU game, put together by the school’s official food service provider Chartwells.

With a valid SMSU ID, students can purchase a slice of pizza, a beverage and a box of popcorn for $5.

Most of the college wheelchair basketball programs in the tournament are run as intramural teams, but SMSU and Edinboro include their teams as part of their school’s athletic departments, which can benefit the programs financially.

“It helps our program when it comes to resources, fundraising, and support staff,” Klinkner said.”

The SMSU also gets some financial help from a partnership with Action Trackchair.

As part of the partnership, Action Manufacturing has donated trackchairs to the wheelchair basketball program for fundraisers.

Action Manufacturing owners Tim and Donna Swenson also established the Action Trackchair Wheelchair Basketball Scholarship through the SMSU Foundation, which is awarded annually to one or more fulltime students who are members of the wheelchair basketball team.

“Words cannot describe what Tim has done for our program,” Klinkner said. “Action Trackchair is a big supporter of program and also athletics as a whole.”

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