Matt Painter and his Purdue Boilermakers got the call. They'll be the ones representing the U.S. at the World University Games (WUG) in Chinese Tapei -- in 2017.
The WUG happen every other year. Kansas was USA's rep in 2015, and it won gold. The 2017 WUG will take place from Aug. 19-30 of 2017.
"We are obviously very excited to represent our country at the World University Games. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our program," Boilermakers coach Matt Painter said via written statement. "It is a very unique opportunity for an institution to represent our country. This will be an extremely positive and rewarding experience for everyone associated with Purdue basketball. Our players are thrilled to get the opportunity to represent the Stars and Stripes against the best competition in the world."
The WUG basketball event is a 24-team bracket, which includes pool play. Similar in many respects to how the World Cup is done in soccer. Purdue will bring all eligible players to the games, those who will -- in theory -- be in uniform for the 2017-18 season. The only exceptions are players on Purdue's roster that are not U.S. citizens, if any should apply.
"The Purdue travel party, consisting of 12 competitors and staff (24 total), will spend more than two weeks in Chinese Taipei and live in the athlete village throughout the Games," per Purdue PR.
Purdue becomes the third team to rep the United States in men's basketball at the WUG. KU in 2015 and Northern Iowa in 2007 are the only other two. UNI took ninth when it played.
