This past weekend, Walla Walla University celebrated the 35th anniversary of Friendship Tournament, a basketball event held each winter at the university.
Starting on Thursday, January 29, nearly 300 athletes from 14 schools played 50 games, culminating in championship wins by Upper Columbia Academy and Auburn Adventist Academy.
To celebrate the milestone, dozens of former participants participated in a three-point contest won by Gabrielle Hallowell, who played in the tournament for Walla Walla Valley Academy, and Dane Petersen, who played for Portland Adventist Academy.
A small start
In 1991, Portland Adventist Academy (PAA) Athletic Director Norm Ballou launched Friendship Tournament, helping to transform basketball for Adventist students across the North Pacific Union Conference.
In those days, most NPUC students played basketball informally, some in makeshift uniforms. Columbia Adventist Academy, Milo Adventist Academy, Walla Walla Valley Academy, and PAA participated in the first tournament.
“In those early years, some jerseys were just t-shirts with Magic Marker numbers because teams didn’t have budgets for uniforms,” Ballou recalls. “It was a real learning curve. People weren’t used to paid, state-certified referees. There was opposition to charging admission, but we needed it to pay officials.”
By 1994, eight boys and eight girls teams played in multiple gyms from Thursday through Sunday. “Crowds were big, standing room only and loud,” remembers Lance Judd, PAA’s current athletic director and one of the first tournament coaches. “By 1994, most of our academies had varsity teams. The students viewed the tournament as an opportunity to play more games, and it helped some schools grow their programs.”
As the tournament expanded, the round-robin format shifted to a four-game bracketed tournament. Teams from outside of the NPUC began attending. Then things changed when PAA was allowed to go to their state tournament in 1996.
“You couldn’t play a school if they weren’t members of their association,” Ballou explains. When PAA won the 1996 state tournament, their varsity team couldn’t participate in their own event.
Tim Windemuth, then athletic director at Walla Walla College proposed a solution. After spotting a recruiter from another college at the Portland tournament, he acted quickly.
“I thought, ‘This is not good, a tournament in our backyard and other colleges recruiting here,’” he says. “So, I went up to Norm, and I asked him, ‘how long do you want to keep running this tournament?’”
Ballou offered it to the college, and Windemuth convinced them to accept it. “I told them, ‘this could really benefit us, it’s a great marketing tool for athletics and for the college in general.’” Administration agreed, Friendship Tournament moved to WWU in 1997, and has flourished since.
Lasting impact
“I’m glad to see the tournament still going,” Ballou says. “It is encouraging to see these schools involved in their state associations and people clearly understanding the value of a controlled environment for athletic events. Teams now perform at a competitive level, that makes it more fun. Everything from uniforms to the bus trip, to well-organized activities adds to the tournament experience.”
“Adventist students can play without reservation because there are no Sabbath games,” Windemuth notes. “Many students who played in Friendship Tournament together then attend Walla Walla University together. It’s a stepping stone to help develop friendships from high school into college.”
“It is impressive to see how people have embraced Friendship Tournament over the years. It is almost like an alumni weekend now. For some former participants, their kids are now playing in the tournament,” Windemuth marvels. “It’s developed a life of its own.”
To learn more and see photos from this year's tournament, visit wallawalla.edu/tournament.
Posted Feb. 5, 2026
