The fifth annual Armed Forces Classic – a men’s college basketball doubleheader to be played Friday, Nov. 11 – will be staged at the Stan Sheriff Center on the University of Hawaii campus in Honolulu. The event was originally scheduled to take place at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, but has been relocated to provide basketball fans of both the military and the community an opportunity to see the games up close.
The Armed Forces Classic will be held on Veterans Day – just under a month from the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor – and will pit Arizona vs. Michigan State at 7 p.m. ET (2 p.m. HT) and Kansas vs. Indiana at 9 p.m. (4:30 p.m.) on ESPN.
“ESPN is honored to continue the tradition of the Armed Forces Classic,” said Clint Overby, vice president, ESPN Events. “We celebrate the men and women of the Navy in Hawaii as well as those who serve around the world. We are excited to stage the event in conjunction with the leadership at Pearl Harbor and feel that the basketball venue at the Stan Sheriff Center provides a great backdrop for these great teams.”
Previous Armed Forces Classic games have been played from Ramstein, Germany in 2012 (Connecticut vs. Michigan State), Pyongtaek, South Korea in 2013 (Georgetown vs. Oregon), Aguadilla, Puerto Rico in 2014 (Louisville vs. Minnesota) and Okinawa, Japan in 2015 (Gonzaga vs. Pittsburgh).
The games will be televised on ESPN as part of the network’s America’s Heroes: A Salute to Our Veterans initiative honoring the men and women who are serving and who have served in the United States military, both at home and abroad. The Armed Forces Classic is owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN.