Seeing a Western European coastal nation and playing basketball.
What could be a better end to summer, and look ahead to next season, for the University of Northern Colorado men’s basketball team than a six-day trip to Portugal early next month?
The Bears, the defending regular-season co-champions of the Big Sky Conference, leave Aug. 3 for Lisbon where they’ll play three games against professionals, do a little sightseeing and maybe visit a beach.
Lisbon, a city of about 600,000, sits on the northern shore of the Tagus River with access to the Atlantic Ocean.
NCAA rules allow Division I basketball teams to take a foreign trip once every four years. In 2021, the program went to Costa Rica.
The Portugal trip will be the first for graduate student guard Quinn Denker as a college player. In this era of the transfer portal, Denker is playing for his third school at UNC. He started his college career with two years at California State University San Marcos. Denker then transferred to the University of Idaho for a season, and to UNC last year.
He called Portugal “a dream destination” based on social media videos.
“The Instagram reels and Tik Toks, stuff about the best destinations, Lisbon is always in the top five,” Denker said. “Man, I got to go.”
University of Northern Colorado guard Quinn Denker reacts after hitting a 3-point shot against Northern Arizona during a Big Sky Conference game in February 2025 at the Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)
The trip will be special for the players, who will be part of about two dozen people making the trip including coaches and a few support staff.
As much as Denker and fellow graduate student guard Zach Bloch are looking forward to the trip, there is another important opportunity in front of them: the chance to get a jump on the 2025-26 season with additional practice time.
Programs going abroad receive 10 days of practice ahead of the trip. Those practices may be up to two hours, which is longer than permitted for a regular summer workout.
The Bears started the pre-trip practices this week. Bears head coach Steve Smiley said the practices give UNC two weeks to be together and to build the team for the season. The players are engaging in other team activities such as community service.
“I think the two weeks before are just as important, if not more important than the six or seven days out there,” Smiley said.
Bloch is a fifth-year player, who started all 35 games last year. He was named to the All-Big Sky Conference Defensive Team at the end of the regular season.
“The opportunity is huge, and it’s a blessing to get this opportunity every four years,” said Bloch, who went to Costa Rica with UNC before his freshman year in 2021. “If you’re lucky enough to be a part of it, just take advantage of it.”
University of Northern Colorado’s Zach Bloch places the Bears into the championship round of the Big Sky Tournament bracket following a 72-45 semifinal win over Montana State in March 2025 at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho. (Courtesy/Big Sky Conference)
UNC will face European professional players in the three games. The athletes will be assembled from different teams — like an All-Star team, Smiley said. He said the teams will present different degrees of competition for the UNC players.
There are 16 guys on the UNC roster for the season. Eight of the guys are new players, and eight return from last season. Fifteen of the players are currently in town.
Junior transfer Ibu Yamazaki is working out in the Japanese National Team pool and is expected to join UNC for the Portugal trip.
Smiley said he’ll play his guys in two of the three games while in Portugal. The players won’t know which two games they’ll be in, requiring them to be ready for each game.
The game rosters will probably be a mix of returning guys and new players, allowing the coaching staff to see how the team functions in game action.
“We’ll be strategic about who’s playing and who’s not playing,” Smiley said. “When you can remove one or two of the old guys from the equation, and they don’t play, some (other) guys can emerge in leadership roles and being more vocal.”
University of Northern Colorado head mens basketball coach Steve Smiley directs his team during a Big Sky Conference game against Weber State in January 2025 at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)
These trips can cost anywhere from about $75,000 to $150,000, with most coming to about $100,000, Smiley said. The money for the trip was raised by the Roundball Club, the fundraising arm of the men’s basketball program.
The club started raising money for this trip about four years ago. The trip is arranged by a company that sets up tours for sports teams. Smiley said UNC tries to be economical with its trips, keeping the tour shorter than other teams.
The group flies Aug. 3 from Denver to Philadelphia to Lisbon. They return Aug. 9.
“I’m perfectly fine with that,” Smiley said. “Get there, get the one day of jet lag done and then we’ll play three games in three days with one more day where there are no games and then come home.”