The University of Dallas men’s and women’s basketball teams are facing uncertainty after bankruptcy at the travel company organizing their London tour left the trip in limbo. The planned summer visit, which was meant to give the teams a 10-day overseas experience, now depends on whether the school can find a way to cover the missing costs. University officials are exploring fundraising and other options as they try to decide whether the trip can still move forward.
Travel company collapse leaves London plans unsettled
The University of Dallas had booked the London basketball tour through a travel company that later filed for bankruptcy, putting the school’s plans in jeopardy. The trip had included several exhibition games against local clubs and cultural activities during the 10-day stay. The immediate issue is financial: the university must now determine whether it can afford to continue on its own or whether the trip has to be canceled.
The loss would be more than a scheduling problem. For the student-athletes, the London trip was presented as a chance to compete against international competition and experience a new culture. For the program, it was meant to be a development opportunity that would extend beyond the court.
What University officials are saying
Kathy Delaney-Smith, University of Dallas Athletic Director, said the program was eager for the opportunity before the travel company’s bankruptcy forced a rethink. “We were really looking forward to this trip and the opportunity it would provide our student-athletes. Now we’re in a difficult position trying to figure out how to make it happen, ” Delaney-Smith said.
The university is now looking at fundraising efforts to replace costs that had been handled by the travel company. The school’s challenge is not only to keep the trip alive, but to do so quickly enough to preserve the planned summer schedule. In the middle of the scramble, bankruptcy has become the word defining the entire situation.
Why the London trip mattered
The University of Dallas is a private Catholic university in Irving, Texas, with men’s and women’s basketball programs. The London trip was intended to give both teams a chance to travel abroad, play exhibition games, and take part in cultural activities. That combination of competition and exposure made the trip a notable part of the programs’ plans for the summer.
If the university cannot secure the needed funding, the trip may not happen at all. That would leave the teams without a long-anticipated international experience and force the school to reset its summer plans.
What happens next
For now, the university is still exploring ways to salvage the trip, including fundraising to cover the costs tied to the travel company’s bankruptcy. The next decision will likely center on whether enough money can be raised in time to keep the London plans intact. Until then, the University of Dallas basketball trip remains in question, with bankruptcy still hanging over every possible path forward.
