Gus Macker

The Gus Macker is a 3 on 3 basketball tournament that occurs in several cities around the Midwest each year. The tournament originated in 1974, expanding to multiple cities in 1987. At its peak the Gus Macker was in 72 cities during the mid-1990s.

The tournament came to Peoria in 1989 and grew over those first few years to a swelling of almost 2,000 teams at its 1993 zenith. Peoria’s YMCA organized the tournament in downtown Peoria and drew basketball players of all levels from all over the Midwest.

After that 1993 pinnacle there was a steady decline in the number of teams at the Peoria Macker tournament. The tournament started to shift locations in Peoria and by 2003 it was down to just over 800 teams, less than half of the size of the tournament just a few years prior. YMCA dropped its sponsorship after the 2001 tournament, and coordinator Julie Snell stepped in to take over.

In 2004 the Gus Macker was looking for a new home outside of downtown Peoria. According to reports, the tournament was very close to signing a contract with the East Peoria Convention Center, but the deal never took place. Whether it was the Convention Center or the Gus Macker that backed out of the deal depends on who is telling the story.

Enter Washington.

Washington was contacted by the Gus Macker people very late in the process, less than six months before the tournament was to take place to see if they would be interested in hosting the tournament. Meetings were held by the Washington Park District Board and they had to answer many questions before they made their decision. Would this be good for Washington? Can they get enough volunteers? Can it be profitable? The key to the last question would be sponsorships. Since the Gus Macker tournament itself takes a large chuck of the money from team entry fees, plus charging upward of $10,000 just to host one of their events, hosts make most of their money from corporate sponsorships of the event. Also, could they put all this together in time? In May 2004 the Park Board decided that they wanted to take on the challenge and a signed a three-year deal to host the tournament.

Some Peorians were not totally on board with the decision to move the tournament to cozy Washington, however, and in June they announced a Peoria tournament to be held the exact same weekend, called the “Peoria Area 3 on 3 Tournament” (PA3). The plan was to have that tournament at the Peoria Castle Lodge and in future years move it to the East Peoria Convention Center where the tournament would exist with live music and other entertainment. Peoria basketball legends Howard Nathan and Jerrance Howard were announced as co-directors of that tournament. One of the organizers for the inaugural event was the owner of the Convention Center, and a public feud erupted for a time between the two tournaments. The Peoria Journal Star voiced its opinion on the whole thing in a June 19, 2004 editorial:

Regarding the emergence of another 3-on-3 basketball tournament to compete with the Gus Macker, which recently moved from its 14-year home in Peoria to Washington, you can color us troubled by the message it sends.

The "Peoria Area Regional 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament" will take place July 30 to Aug. 1 in the parking lot at Peoria Castle Lodge - formerly Jumers, soon to be Radisson Hotel Peoria - before moving to a more permanent location at the East Peoria Convention Center at The Oaks the following summer. That's the plan, anyway. The Macker will be played the same weekend in Washington.

We've heard the various explanations and allegations. There may be transportation obstacles for inner-city folks trying to get to Washington. The Michigan-based Macker takes too much profit off the top, and its local competition guarantees that the money stays in the community. The Macker has deteriorated the last few years, with complaints regarding rough play, garbage and crowd behavior problems, and this is the only way to resuscitate a dying event; let the strongest survive.

Organizers of the Peoria tournament who originally negotiated with Macker officials say the latter acted in bad faith by shopping the tournament around after an oral agreement was reached. They further say that the new tournament is actually an encouraging example of regional cooperation, with Peoria, East Peoria and West Peoria all getting together.

Macker officials have denied some of the above claims. Others may have merit. In any event, what's most bothersome is the implication here that city kids, many of them African-American, won't feel comfortable in a place like predominantly white Washington, so they need their own tournament. Event co-director and new Peoria High basketball coach Dan Ruffin hinted at that: "The people of Peoria, as soon as it was announced (the Macker) was going, wondered if they could get to Washington, if they would be welcome in Washington." He later amended that by adding, "No knock on Washington," but by that time a few folks had gotten the message, intended or not.

Maybe we're overreacting. Maybe those concerns are unfounded. Maybe there will be a fair amount of racial back and forth between the tournaments. Maybe they'll both flourish. But it's also possible, perhaps even likely, that two separate tournaments will dilute them both and diminish the chance that either survives.

Forgive us our apprehension, but it would be playing ostrich not to notice some very disturbing trends here in central Illinois. Blacks and whites largely live in different neighborhoods and communities. They go to school in different places. Some might suggest they're even starting to shop at different locations. While that kind of self-segregation has always been around in central Illinois - and enforced segregation was before that - we can't imagine how it can be deemed healthy or why it would be anything to celebrate.

The competition from outside central Illinois' borders is formidable enough without the splits among ourselves. City vs. suburb or black vs. white, it's just not productive. Next time around, let's work toward one tournament, in a place where all will feel welcome.

Planning for the Washington tournament was successful. Over 500 volunteers were secured, and sponsorship goals were achieved. The registration of 503 teams fell a little below what they were expecting (the PA3 had just over 100 teams), but the tournament went off without a hitch. The only complaints heard were grumbles of distant parking and a $2 charge for that parking, but overall the tournament was a great success, with 10,000 spectators taking in the event over the two-day period.

In 2005 things got even better for the tournament as it seems the bad blood had ended with the PA3 contingent. Some of the men’s teams from Peoria returned to participate in the Gus Macker that year, and there was a slight uptick in teams, from 503 to 537. During this year the tournament debuted a new age group, the high school division, which was a great success. Incidentally, there was a PA3 scheduled for 2005, for the weekend before the Gus Macker, but it was canceled when the parking lot for its location was needed for a Peoria Rough Riders football game.

2006, the final year of Washington’s initial three-year agreement, was also very successful as the Macker started to switch its focus from the Men’s Division, as participation in that division had been dwindling in recent years, to younger divisions. In 2006 the tournament had 500 teams. 2006 was also very memorable for the blazing heat experienced by all.

After the three-year contract expired, Washington signed on for another three years with the option of backing out after the first year. In 2007 there were 410 registered teams. A big surprise and last-minute entrant to the men’s division that year was Frank Williams, Peoria Manual and University of Illinois alum, who also had a son playing in the tournament.

A month after that tournament, Washington exercised its right to back out of the contract and end its affiliation with the tournament. Washington officials pointed to the resignation of Julie Snell, long-time Macker coordinator and Washington Park Board Marketing and Special Events Manager, as one of the key reasons why they backed out, but they also attributed their decisions to costs to the city incurred each year. Snell had started helping with the Gus Macker when the YMCA backed out and had been instrumental in its survival.

The next year, 2008, the Gus Macker was canceled as a site or local organizer could not be found.

In 2016 the Gus Macker returned after a long hiatus. It was held north of Peoria at Northwoods Community Church through an affiliation with the non-profit P.A.C.E. (Peoria Area Community Evens) with 250 teams.

In 2017 the tournament was canceled due to a drop in sponsorships and lack of funds.