MONROE - Friday and Saturday marked the 17th annual Monroe boys basketball alumni tournament. Starting in 2001 under then-first-year head coach Pat Murphy, the alumni tournament has grown into a Thanksgiving weekend staple in the city.
"It's well attended and a lot of the guys that play think it's pretty good to play in front of a crowd again," said Murphy, who retired from coaching after the 2015-16 season.
Former players and Monroe alumni string together two days of basketball and raffle drawings and raise money for the boys basketball program.
"Every program at the high school has a fundraiser to cover costs the school won't be able to. Some teams sell discount cards or candy bars, and this tournament is ours," Murphy said. "The money goes for things like new uniforms, a coach bus for a big game or other things for the program. It's (the tournament) been good to us."
Murphy said the tournament raises on average about $8,000 for the team. This year, there were over 70 sponsors that donated more than $100 each.
"If you look at the list, a lot of the sponsors have been there every year," said Jeff Conway, a 1977 graduate who is on the tournament committee and helps secure sponsors. "The biggest thing is helping the kids. Every dollar we can give them helps take the pressure off the booster club."
Spectators paid $5 to enter, there were raffle tickets for various prizes, and each of the 16 teams that registered had to pay $125 dollars.
"We have to find good referees for the games, which is not easy, and we need to pay them," Murphy said.
Every year, after the games finish on both nights, players and spectators are invited out to Cash's Old Smokey bar for drinks and food.
Kyle Foulker has played in the tournament every year since his graduation in 2005.
"It's nice seeing all the guys come back," Foulker said. "My brother graduated in '98 and they won a conference championship, and it's nice to get to see him and his friends together again."
Foulker played on the 2004-05 team that went to state. It was Monroe's first team in the state tournament since the 1965 champions 40 years earlier. Murphy then guided three more teams to state in the next four seasons, including the 2007 state champions.
"It really is like a homecoming," Foulker said. "It's nice to see some of the younger guys and re-live some of those state games. And then the older guys, too. They always thought they were better than us and it's our chance to play them for it."
Foulker and his brother Josh, who graduated in 1998, have both played with and against each other in the tournament depending on the number of people returning. Kyle Foulker said of the players from his senior class, only he and Nate Scott still live in Monroe.
Jim Curran, a 2000 Monroe graduate, now teaches in South Dakota but found his way onto the hardwood at MHS over the weekend.
"It means a lot to re-connect to the program and the individual guys that helped make me who I am today," Curran said.
Current Monroe head coach Brian Bassett, who has been on the coaching staff since 2000, said the growth of the tournament has been neat to see.
"Part of watching it grow is our guys coming back," Bassett said. "The first couple of years I didn't know many people, but now almost all the guys played for us (under Murphy)."
The varsity boys basketball team usually plays its season opening game over Thanksgiving weekend, and many who attend the fundraiser also attend the high school game. This year's game was at Beloit Memorial Saturday night.
Of the 16 teams that registered this year, 14 were considered "youngsters" and two teams were "old-timers" teams made up of mostly graduates of the 1970s and '80s. The youngsters were graduates from the '90s, 2000s and 2010s. The 2009 team won the championship Saturday night.
"Everyone gets two games. The high school has been great to us, and we can use three courts," Murphy said. "Everyone seems to have a good time. We just don't want anybody to get hurt."
One of the program's biggest supporters for many years was Monsignor Thomas Campion. Campion ran the Apostolate to the Handicapped from the 1960s until his death in 2010. The November after his death, Murphy and the tournament organizers changed the name to the TC Alumni Tournament in honor of Campion.
The tournament committee is comprised of Conway, Murphy, Bassett and longtime assistant coach Ken Gratz.
"It's a lot of fun to hear some of the stories that are told. They get more and more exaggerated over time since when they happened," Gratz joked. "It's good to see some old faces."
"It's well attended and a lot of the guys that play think it's pretty good to play in front of a crowd again," said Murphy, who retired from coaching after the 2015-16 season.
Former players and Monroe alumni string together two days of basketball and raffle drawings and raise money for the boys basketball program.
"Every program at the high school has a fundraiser to cover costs the school won't be able to. Some teams sell discount cards or candy bars, and this tournament is ours," Murphy said. "The money goes for things like new uniforms, a coach bus for a big game or other things for the program. It's (the tournament) been good to us."
Murphy said the tournament raises on average about $8,000 for the team. This year, there were over 70 sponsors that donated more than $100 each.
"If you look at the list, a lot of the sponsors have been there every year," said Jeff Conway, a 1977 graduate who is on the tournament committee and helps secure sponsors. "The biggest thing is helping the kids. Every dollar we can give them helps take the pressure off the booster club."
Spectators paid $5 to enter, there were raffle tickets for various prizes, and each of the 16 teams that registered had to pay $125 dollars.
"We have to find good referees for the games, which is not easy, and we need to pay them," Murphy said.
Every year, after the games finish on both nights, players and spectators are invited out to Cash's Old Smokey bar for drinks and food.
Kyle Foulker has played in the tournament every year since his graduation in 2005.
"It's nice seeing all the guys come back," Foulker said. "My brother graduated in '98 and they won a conference championship, and it's nice to get to see him and his friends together again."
Foulker played on the 2004-05 team that went to state. It was Monroe's first team in the state tournament since the 1965 champions 40 years earlier. Murphy then guided three more teams to state in the next four seasons, including the 2007 state champions.
"It really is like a homecoming," Foulker said. "It's nice to see some of the younger guys and re-live some of those state games. And then the older guys, too. They always thought they were better than us and it's our chance to play them for it."
Foulker and his brother Josh, who graduated in 1998, have both played with and against each other in the tournament depending on the number of people returning. Kyle Foulker said of the players from his senior class, only he and Nate Scott still live in Monroe.
Jim Curran, a 2000 Monroe graduate, now teaches in South Dakota but found his way onto the hardwood at MHS over the weekend.
"It means a lot to re-connect to the program and the individual guys that helped make me who I am today," Curran said.
Current Monroe head coach Brian Bassett, who has been on the coaching staff since 2000, said the growth of the tournament has been neat to see.
"Part of watching it grow is our guys coming back," Bassett said. "The first couple of years I didn't know many people, but now almost all the guys played for us (under Murphy)."
The varsity boys basketball team usually plays its season opening game over Thanksgiving weekend, and many who attend the fundraiser also attend the high school game. This year's game was at Beloit Memorial Saturday night.
Of the 16 teams that registered this year, 14 were considered "youngsters" and two teams were "old-timers" teams made up of mostly graduates of the 1970s and '80s. The youngsters were graduates from the '90s, 2000s and 2010s. The 2009 team won the championship Saturday night.
"Everyone gets two games. The high school has been great to us, and we can use three courts," Murphy said. "Everyone seems to have a good time. We just don't want anybody to get hurt."
One of the program's biggest supporters for many years was Monsignor Thomas Campion. Campion ran the Apostolate to the Handicapped from the 1960s until his death in 2010. The November after his death, Murphy and the tournament organizers changed the name to the TC Alumni Tournament in honor of Campion.
The tournament committee is comprised of Conway, Murphy, Bassett and longtime assistant coach Ken Gratz.
"It's a lot of fun to hear some of the stories that are told. They get more and more exaggerated over time since when they happened," Gratz joked. "It's good to see some old faces."