Armed Forces Classic moved to accommodate larger crowd

  • 09/08/2016 3:48 pm in

Indiana’s regular season opener against Kansas, which will be played in Honolulu, Hawaii, will not be played at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam as originally scheduled.

ESPN announced on Thursday afternoon that the Armed Forces Classic, which also includes Arizona vs. Michigan State, will be played at the Stan Sheriff Center on the campus of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

According to the announcement, the venue change is being made to “provide basketball fans of both the military and the community an opportunity to see the games up close.”

The Stan Sheriff Center is a 10,300 seat arena.

The Armed Forces Classic is taking place on Veterans Day, Friday, Nov. 11.

Arizona and Michigan State will tip at 7 p.m. ET (2 p.m. local time) followed by Indiana and Kansas at approximately 9 p.m. ET (4 p.m. local time).

Both games will be televised by ESPN. This is the first time the Armed Forces Classic will be played in Hawaii. Previous locations for the event have included 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).

“ESPN is honored to continue the tradition of the Armed Forces Classic,” Clint Overby, ESPN vice president of events, said in a release. “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.”



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