History

The Pizza Hut Invitational presented by NewBridge Bank:

A Great Tournament with a Rich History

Men's & Women's MVP | Men's and Women's Winning Coach | Founders | Bill Lee Scholarship

When the Pizza Hut Invitational presented by NewBridge Bank debuted in 1976 as the Little 4, its creators saw it as the little brother of the Big Four Tournament, which had drawn North Carolina’s four ACC men’s teams to the Greensboro Coliseum since 1970.  Big brother is long gone, having departed in 1979, but the Pizza Hut Invitational remains. And the tradition has only grown as the tournament is played for the 36^th time at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.

The Greensboro Sports Council started the tournament as a two-day playoff among the four city schools – Dudley, Grimsley, Page and Smith – but it didn't take long to expand the field to eight schools and to add a women’s tournament to the program.  Despite changes along the way, the basics of the event remain the same, and the holiday tournament’s popularity and significance remain strong.

The inaugural tournament opened with eager anticipation and a little bit of apprehension. When Grimsley played Page and Dudley faced Smith in the first tournament games Dec. 28, 1976, organizers knew they had four good men’s basketball teams, and they knew that with strong support from the community, they’d be able to return $5,000 to each of the four schools. As it turned out, the event drew nearly 4,000 high school hoops fans to the Coliseum each night. Not bad for a holiday tournament that was no sure thing. 

That first-year success pales in comparison to the local impact in more recent years.

The eight participating school received approximately $x following the 2009 tournament, which Grimsley’s men won for the sixth time while Smith High School won its third women’s  title. Last year’s event also enjoyed record-breaking fundraising, which allowed the Greensboro Sports Council to make record donations back to the participating schools.

The Pizza Hut Invitational proudly boasts that 100 percent of the tournament’s proceeds go back to the schools or local charitable causes. The revenue comes from ticket sales and sponsorships. For the past seven years, the schools have shared in those sponsorship efforts. In the last 10 years, more than $1 million has been contributed to the participating schools.

Proceeds have in the past gone to Greensboro Urban Ministries, the American Cancer Society’s Coaches vs. Cancer, Friends for an Earlier Breast Cancer Test, the Eastern Guilford High School Fund, the Joey Cheek Fund, the North Carolina State Games and the Girls and Boys Club.

The Bill Lee Memorial Scholarship has also become deeply rooted in the tournament since it was established in 2001 following Lee’s death. Recipients from participating schools are nominated by their schools and selected by the Greensboro Sports Council based on academic, athletic and civic criteria. Thirty-two scholarships have been awarded since ’01.

With the tournament’s new name in 2008 came an increased emphasis on the invitational aspect of the event.  The participating teams are no longer guaranteed a spot in the tournament each year so that additional Guilford County schools can enjoy the possibility of participating in what is widely considered one of the best high school basketball tournaments in North Carolina.

Men's & Women's MVP

Men's and Women's Winning Coach

The Founders Cup:  In July of 2000, the Greensboro Sports Council board of directors voted unanimously to name the Pizza Hut Invitational championship trophy the Founders Cup in honor of the seven Sports Council members most responsible for creating and nurturing this illustrious high school event.  Gentlemen, thank you for vision and commitment to the Pizza Hut Invitational presented by NewBridge Bank; we are forever in your debt.  In honor of your exemplary service to the Greensboro Sports Council, the Pizza Hut Invitational and the community, the Founders Cup is presented to the men’s and women’s championship teams each year. 

The seven founders of the Pizza Hut Invitational are below:

Jim Betts

Jim Betts, a faithful and ardent supporter of sports in our area, is a past president of the Greensboro Sports Council and a past chairman of the Pizza Hut Invitational. Betts is also a past chairman of the Greater Greensboro Open, now the Wyndham Championship, and a life member of the Greensboro Jaycees, which honored him with the Roy Cary Award. He is a former co-chairman of both the Southern Conference Soccer Championship and the ACC Golf Championship. He served as a director and vice chairman of the Central YMCA and is a past chairman and current member of the Bryan Park Golf Commission.

Many other organizations in Greensboro have had the benefit of his leadership including the Natural Science Center, Greensboro Board of Education, Gateway Education Center, Greensboro Country Club, Shepherd Center of Greensboro and West Market Street Untied Methodist Church where was Lay Leader. He is vice chairman of the board of directors of N.C. Grange Mutual Insurance Company.

Betts attended N.C. State where he is a member of the Varsity Wolfpack Club and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He owned E.K. Williams Company of North Carolina for 36 years before a successful switch to financial services. He is retired from Merrill Lynch.

Lem Cox

Over a 40-year career in education, Lem Cox has demonstrated his deep commitment to youth and sports. He holds degrees from East Carolina University and Vanderbilt University and worked as a teacher and coach in the public schools of both Virginia and North Carolina. Cox is probably best known to Greensboro residents as the long-time City Athletic Director in the Greensboro City Schools until 1993. For the past 14 years, Cox has served as the Director of the Internship Program at Greensboro College.

The Greensboro Sports Council is just one of his many community involvements. Cox is also a member and Elder of the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant.

Bradley E. Faircloth

Bradley E. Faircloth has spent a lifetime ensuring athletic success and fairness on the athletic field. He was involved in football officiating for over 45 years and was appointed Assistant Commissioner and Supervisor of Football Officials for the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1983. He received the Collegiate Commissioners Football Officials Award of Merit and was inducted into the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. A longtime ACC official, Faircloth officiated more than 200 games in his career including seven major bowl games, the North Carolina-South Carolina Shrine Bowl, the North Carolina East-West All-Star games and the NAIA Championship.

He traveled extensively in Europe conducting officiating clinics for the U.S. Air Force. In 1991, he assisted in the establishment of a scholarship program in the Triad area for high school football players who distinguished themselves academically, athletically and in the community.  In the past 16 years, more than 200 students have been awarded scholarships. Faircloth was honored when his name was added to that of former Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner Gene Corrigan in establishing the Gene Corrigan/Bradley Faircloth Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

Faircloth is a past president of the Greensboro Sports Council and a past chairman of the GGO, now the Wyndham Championship. The City of Greensboro selected him as an outstanding civic leader; he received the Service to Youth Award and the Distinguished Service Award from the Salvation Army.

Stanley Frank

Stanley Frank, a keen supporter of the Pizza Hut Invitational, passed away on January 2, 2006.  He was a former chairman of the Greensboro Sports Council who worked tirelessly in a number of community endeavors. Frank came to Greensboro in 1936 to rescue a faltering business, Carolina By-Products, which he eventually purchased and became its president, chairman and Chief Executive Officer before retiring.

Frank was president of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the United Community Services (now United Way), honorary chairman of the Greater Greensboro Open, the first chairman of the Guilford County Zoning Committee and a trustee of Guilford College, where he established the Frank Scholarship. He served as a director and chairman of the development committee of the N.C. Symphony, director of Boy Scouts of America, director and past chairman of the First Union National Bank board of directors, member of the American Business Club, director of First Mortgage Insurance and a member of the Wake Forest Board of Visitors.

Frank was perhaps best known as chairman of the Greensboro-High Point Airport Authority, a precursor to the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority. He served on the board longer than any of its other members and became Chairman in 1972. He also served as Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Aeronautics Council.

Frank received the chamber's Distinguished Citizen Award, a brotherhood citation from the National Conference of Christians and Jews and an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Wake Forest University in 1981. He was honored for his civic leadership by the Interclub Council, a coalition of Greensboro's civic clubs, in 1984.

Doug Galyon

Doug Galyon has given a lifetime to community activities in Greensboro. He is a past chairman of the Greensboro Sports Council, a former Greensboro City Councilman, a former Guilford County Commissioner and vice-chairman for economic development for Greensboro Area Chamber of Commerce. His memberships have included the N.C. Textile Manufacturers Association board of directors, United Arts Council board of directors and the planning division for the United Way of Greater Greensboro.

Galyon’s current civic and business involvements are numerous, including chairman of the North Carolina Board of Transportation, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Excellence Foundation Board, the Board of Visitors at Greensboro College and Guilford College and the Greensboro Rotary Club. He is a life member of the Greensboro Jaycees and the Iron Dukes and the recipient of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce’s Distinguished Citizen Award.  Galyon attended Duke University and is a graduate of Guilford College. He is retired from Guilford Mills.

Fred I. Joseph

Fred I. Joseph has long been a vital supporter of athletics in our community. After joining the Greensboro Sports Council in 1960, Joseph served as its president as well as both chairman and later honorary chairman of the Pizza Hut Invitational.

Joseph is a graduate of North Carolina State University and has served on both the Alumni Board and the Athletic Council of N.C. State. Locally, he was chairman of the Guilford County Wolfpack Club for 20 years. He was an active supporter of sports at Page High School serving as a volunteer football coach and president of the Boosters Club. Joseph founded the Booster Club at Greensboro College, which honored him with the Joseph Athletic Award now presented annually to the outstanding male and female athletes at the college. He served as a Trustee of Louisburg College for 20 years.

Joseph has enjoyed a successful career with Shenandoah Life Insurance Company and has been recognized as a member of the Million Dollar Round Table numerous times. He is also a past president of the Greensboro Association of Life Underwriters. Joseph and his son, David, operate Joseph Athletic Management, a sports agency representing athletes in professional football, golf and baseball.

E. Kemp Reece

E. Kemp Reece has been an outstanding supporter of athletics and the community. Reece has been a member of the Greensboro Sports Council for more than 40 years and served as Treasurer and President of the Sports Council.  He is now an Emeritus Director. Kemp’s other community activities are extensive. He is active in his Kiwanis Club where he served as President and Lieutenant Governor of the Carolinas District. He served on the board of directors for the Greensboro Symphony and chaired the Endowment Committee. Reece is a past trustee of Greensboro College and former president of the board of associates at Meredith College.

Reece has degrees from Wake Forest University and the University of Chicago Investment Banking School. He has worked in all aspects of the securities and investment field as a broker, branch office manager and financial consultant.