NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College men's basketball team is headed to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands for the 2012 Paradise Jam. The athletic department invites all Gaels fans to save the dates for the tournament from Nov. 16-19, 2012.

The tournament field that Iona will compete with includes: Connecticut, George Mason, Mercer, New Mexico, Wake Forest, Illinois-Chicago and Quinnipiac in St. Thomas this fall.

The U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam basketball tournament offers NCAA Division I college basketball teams excellent early season competition in an exotic island setting. Since 2000, many of the nation’s finest teams and their fans have converged on St. Thomas to test their skills and enjoy some fun in the sun.

Fan travel packages will be available through Iona's offical travel partner All Sports International.

The Gaels last participated in the Paradise Jam in 2008, posting a 1-2 mark in the three games. Iona took the Big 10's Wisconsin to overtime in the opener, falling 60-58 to the Badgers before coming back a day later to defeat Valparaiso 75-55. In the fourth place game finale, Iona dropped a 64-62 decision to Conference USA's Southern Miss.

The Maroon & Gold returns to the Caribbean for the second straight season after a 2-1 performance at this season's Puerto Rico Tipoff in San Juan.