Series consists of material related to the Wesmen Classic basketball tournament held by the University of Winnipeg annually in December. The tournament began in 1967 to commemorate Canada’s centennial anniversary and the recently instituted University of Winnipeg, as well as to develop the basketball scene in Manitoba. It was called the Golden Boy Classic until 1977, when the name was changed to the Wesmen Classic. Although the nomenclature has sometimes included corporate sponsorship (Labatt’s 1988-1993, MTS 1994-2007), the name Wesmen Classic persists to the present day.
The tournament started with four University men’s teams and eight high school boys’ teams. In 1970, it was expanded to eight University teams, drawn from applicants across Canada; 1972 saw the addition of a high school girls’ section. In 1980, a University women’s division was added which in 1981 became a separate event held in January; it was discontinued after 1996. A further Junior High section was included in 1986, and Freshmen in 1989. The Junior High section was replaced in 2000 by a Community Classic, comprised of school and community youth teams. In 2017, during the University’s (and the Classic’s) 50th anniversary celebrations, it was announced that the tournament would alternate between men’s and women’s volleyball as well as women’s basketball in annual rotation.
The expansion of the tournament in 1970 included the Winnipeg Arena as a venue for the championship games. While the tournament returned solely to Riddell Hall for 1974, in 1975 it was held at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. It remained in that venue until the University opened its Athletic Centre in 1984 (renamed the Duckworth Centre in 1993), which was still its home in 2017.
The material primarily includes programs, posters, and media guides for the tournaments generated by the University, including the years 1970 and 1972-2012. Some years include communications and notes related to planning the tournament for that year, or statistics and results from the tournament compiled after its completion. The material is arranged chronologically by the year of the tournament.