Sports Media Report
The best of college basketball cannot simply be watched. It must be experienced. It lives in historic arenas, generational rivalries, deafening student sections, quirky traditions and unforgettable March moments.
SLAM celebrates that rich culture in Buckets List: 64 Iconic College Basketball Experiences, a new limited-edition coffee table book releasing October 15, 2026. The inaugural print run will be limited to just 1,000 copies.
“The pageantry, spirit and uniqueness of college basketball’s greatest experiences belong not only to its magnificent players and remarkable coaches, but the hardcore junkies, students, alumni and communities that keep showing up, season after season, as well,” said Alejandro “Ali” Danois, the book’s co-editor. “Our hope is that readers and passionate fans of the sport will bask in the beauty of, while joyfully reminiscing and cherishing, the places they love, while discovering a few they’ve never considered or even heard about, and begin planning their next Buckets List trip before they finish the book.”
Created for the fans who plan road trips around rivalry games, know every word of their school’s fight song and believe the best way to understand and appreciate the spectacle of college basketball is to experience it in person, Buckets List travels across the country in search of the places and moments that give the sport its soul.
The book organizes its 64 experiences into five categories:
- Cathedrals
- Rivalries
- Traditions
- Big Stages
- Hidden Gems
From Allen Fieldhouse, Cameron Indoor Stadium and The Palestra to Silent Night at Taylor University and the Toilet Paper Game at John Brown University, the book captures college hoops at every level. Its pages visit the Final Four, the Maui Invitational and conference tournaments while also celebrating distinctive venues such as the Corn Palace, Rose Hill Gymnasium and The Sanford Pentagon.
“Every college basketball fan has a list of places they want to get to someday,” said Peter Robert Casey, chairman of SLAM and creator of Buckets List. “This book is a nudge to put a date on the calendar. Make the trip, lose your voice and come home with a story.”
Buckets List brings together contributions from writers, broadcasters, basketball historians and former players whose personal connections to these experiences give the book its depth and authenticity.
Contributors include Will Leitch, Ryan Hammer, Kyle Whelliston, John Akers, Tate Frazier, Russell Steinberg, Corey Leff, Jeremy Bauman, Garen Vartanian, Eric Mika, Gregory Moore, Connor Nolte, John McCarthy, Jaden Daly, Max Mandel, Zach Bell, Joe Favorito, Archie L. Alston II and Sean D. Young.
The profiles are complemented by photography from Getty Images, college athletic departments and photographers across the country, along with original illustrations by Robb Harskamp.
SLAM Presents Buckets List: 64 Iconic College Basketball Experiences will be available for purchase beginning October 15 at https://slamgoods.com/
