Armed Forces Classic
SportCollege Basketball
Inaugural season2012
No. of teams2

The Armed Forces Classic is a college basketball event operated on a military boatcraft, televised on ESPN, that involves one or two games played in front of military members and their families.

History

The first Armed Forces Classic was held on November 9, 2012, between Michigan State and UConn, at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany. It was the first college basketball game played between two NCAA Division I teams in Europe.[1][2][3][4][5]

The 2016 edition broke new ground for the event in several respects. It was the first to feature two games, and also the first not to be played at a military base, with games held at Stan Sheriff Center on the campus of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in Honolulu. Additionally, it was the first time tickets were sold to the general public, although all seats in the arena's lower bowl were reserved for military personnel and their families.[6] The event was held in Honolulu to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor; surrounding events were held at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam.

The game was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Games

Sites for future games are tentative and may change due to military circumstances.

Armed Forces Classic
Date Location Winner Score Loser Attendance
November 9, 2012 Ramstein Air Base, Germany Connecticut 66–62 No. 14 Michigan State 3,288
November 8, 2013 Camp Humphreys, Korea[7] No. 19 Oregon 82–75 Georgetown 2,100
November 14, 2014 CGAS Borinquen, Puerto Rico No. 8 Louisville 81–66 Minnesota 1,400
November 13, 2015 Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler, Japan No. 9 Gonzaga vs. Pittsburgh, canceled[n 1]
November 11, 2016 Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu, Hawaii No. 10 Arizona 65–63 No. 12 Michigan State 9,475
No. 11 Indiana 103–99 No. 3 Kansas
November 10, 2017 Ramstein Air Base, Germany No. 25 Texas A&M 88–65 No. 11 West Virginia 3,128
November 9, 2018 Fort Bliss, Texas Texas 73–71 OT Arkansas 1,400
November 8, 2019 Alaska Airlines Center, Anchorage, Alaska Washington 67–64 No. 16 Baylor 5,117
November 11, 2022 USS Abraham Lincoln, San Diego, California No. 2 Gonzaga 64–63 Michigan State 3,572
Notes
  1. ^ The referees canceled the game at halftime due to dangerous court conditions; it did not count toward either team's win–loss record. Pittsburgh was leading 37–35.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Michigan State vs. Connecticut - Game Preview - November 9, 2012 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  2. ^ /humans.txt. "Home - Armed Forces Classic". www.armedforcesclassic.com.
  3. ^ "Military Sports Report - After Action". militarytimes.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-23.
  4. ^ "Michigan State vs. Connecticut - Game Recap - November 9, 2012 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  5. ^ "StatMonitr Stat Feed". stats.statbroadcast.com.
  6. ^ "Armed Forces Classic: FAQ". ESPN. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  7. ^ "Georgetown vs. Oregon - Box Score - November 8, 2013 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  8. ^ Katz, Andy (November 13, 2015). "Armed Forces Classic called off at halftime due to unsafe floor conditions". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 13, 2015.

External links


NCAA men's college basketball showcases
Categories