Welcome To The

2024 BIG TEXAS SHOOTOUT

CELEBRATING OUR 36th SEASON

“But I don’t know anything about college basketball!”

This is the most common phrase we hear. Although familiarity with the teams can prove to be an advantage when picking your bracket, there are MANY documented cases of NCAA gurus going down in flames after the first round and a complete novice jumping to the head of the pack! It’s March Madness! It is the best tournament of any sport with upsets around every corner. So click on the “Bracket” link above (available once the teams have been determined) to fill out your bracket because “It’s Awesome Baby, with a capital A!”

“This is a private tournament!”

If you happen upon this website by accident, please know that this is a privately held contest for friends and family of Greg Painter, John Painter, our Mom and Dad, my nephew, my aunts, uncles, and cousins, friends of their families, as well as our closet friends. Once you start getting into friends of friends of friends, it gets tougher for me to get in contact with them if I need to. You must have some connection back to someone in the Painter family to participate in this contest. (I will also say to all of our friends, as I have in the past, I am holding you accountable for anyone you invite into the tournament. Make sure they behave themselves and follow all of the rules.) Please note that you will be required to list the person that introduced you to the Shootout on the bracket page. We have a pretty large network of friends out there so you just need to know the right people. If we know you or friends of ours know you, we would love for you to play. If you don’t fall in this category, thank you for your interest but please recognize this as our private tournament. If you have played in the past, of course you will be welcomed back as a past participant, unless I’ve BANNED you for violating the spirit of the BTS or if we’ve had to hunt you down like a fugitive to get you to fulfill your financial obligation.

“Remember I do this for FREE!”

Yes, we do have web browser issues with bracket submissions. Over the years web browsers (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, etc…) have changed dramatically to tailor themselves to mobile devices which makes it very difficult for me and the software I own to keep up. I AM NOT A PROGRAMMER OR A CODER OR WHATEVER YOU MIGHT THINK and no one out there in the BTS community has stepped up and offered their services to design a professional bracket for us. What we have is the best that we know how to do. Are there issues? Yes, there are some issues with getting brackets to me, but everyone that plays can help out by following my instructions to make sure everyone’s entry gets in. I put in hours and hours of time to provide you information and feedback. One of the things you can do to help out is to follow my instructions starting with downloading a copy of Adobe Acrobat (its free) on your DESKTOP computer before you try to submit an entry. I know that is asking too much for some of you, but find a friend to help you with the process if need be. I just know that although it is not 100% foolproof, that this will aid in the process. We have figured out over the years that programs that simulate Adobe Acrobat will submit a blank bracket to us.

YOU CAN NOT SUBMIT AN ENTRY VIA A MOBILE DEVICE. It just doesn’t work.

Again, I put hours and hours of time to update entry lists to make sure you know whether your entry is received or not. Check the website to make sure your entry is received. It is your responsibility, not mine, to make sure I get these in a readable format.

“I AM JUDGE, JURY, AND EXECUTIONER”

The Commissioner has sole and FINAL say on any discrepancies or questions regarding the rules, bracket picks, etc. Once a ruling is made, the decision stands. Further, the Commissioner has the right to refuse admission to the contest to anyone, even if the player has played in the past. Reasons for not allowing admission might include, but not limited to:
* Failure to submit entry fee by the deadline as stated below.
* Questioning of a ruling made by the Commissioner.
* Unfavorable or derogatory postings on social media about the BTS in general.
* Once you are banned from participation, the ban stands forever.

“Everything you need is here!”

This website is your key to everything. Come here for your bracket form, standings updates,  running commentary, and lots of other information related to the tournament. After Selection Sunday, just click on the Bracket tab at the top of the page and you will be shown a link to this year’s form. All you need to do is click on the “DOWNLOAD” button and the form will be saved to your computer. Everyone should have a “Download” folder on their computer and that is where you should be able to find it the bracket. Fill out the bracket with your picks, save or print a copy of your picks if you’d like a record of it, and then click on the “SUBMIT” button to enter your picks in the Shootout. It’s just that easy but I MUST stress, please check the website after your submission to make sure your entry is received. I update a list often after the bracket is released so make sure you check back on the website to validate receipt of your picks. It is YOUR responsibility to check on this, not mine. Also, remember that we will do this again the following week with our Second Chance brackets.

The “OFFICIAL” BTS bracket will not be available until the evening of March 17th.

Entries are due by 7:00 am, Eastern Standard Time, Thursday March 21st.

$10 per entry also know as chips.

CHIPS ARE DUE BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT STARTS (March 21st)

“Payment Methods”

I would prefer that fees are paid electronically. You can pay via these methods:

Venmo: @gregpainter14
Zelle: greg.painter@sbcglobal.net

PayPal: I do not accept PayPal.

If you can’t handle electronic payments, you must be too stubborn to accepting technology. I will still accept payments of Cash and/or Checks if need be.

Make checks payable to:
Greg Painter (not BTS or BTS Commissioner or any other reference – banks don’t like that.
Address:
PO Box 215
Sulphur Springs, IN 47388

“Closing Statement”

Again, everything you will need is right here. Your bracket, standings, rules, updates, and commentary, plus our contact information. What more do you need?

I hope everyone enjoys the Shootout again this year. I know I always look forward to hearing from everyone each year.

Enjoy – BTS Commissioner