Stan Sheriff Center will host Armed Forces Classic on November 11
The Armed Forces Classic college basketball doubleheader will be played on November 11 (Veterans Day) at the Stan Sheriff Center, event officials announced on Thursday.
The University of Hawai’i basketball team is not a participant in this event. It should not be confused with the Pearl Harbor Invitational, which will feature the Warriors in games at Bloch Arena on December 6 and 7.
The Armed Forces Classic on November 11 will feature four traditional powerhouse programs of college basketball: Arizona vs. Michigan State at 2 p.m. (Hawai’i time), followed by Kansas vs. Indiana at 4:30 p.m. Both games will be televised on ESPN.
The date appears to conflict with the 2016-17 opener for the UH basketball team. The Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic is also scheduled for a doubleheader on November 11, with Hawai’i hosting SIU-Edwardsville in what is listed as the season opener for the Warriors.
More details should be forthcoming from UH Athletics.
Here is the official announcement of the Armed Forces Classic:
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 pm ET (2 pm HT) and Kansas vs. Indiana at 9:30 pm ET (4:30 pm HT) on ESPN.
“ESPN is honored to continue the tradition of the Armed Forces Classic,” said Clint Overby, ESPN vice president of 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.
Lower bowl seats in the Stan Sheriff Center are reserved for military personnel. Members of the University of Hawai‘i’s H-Club will have the chance to purchase select seats in the upper level through September 22. H-Club members may call (808) 956-4482 for more information, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you are not an H-Club member, you may join by calling ‘Ahahui Koa Ānuenue at (808) 956-6500.
Hopefully this generates some revenue for the AD for renting out the Stanley and gives UH some exposure. For a mid major program we have a very solid basketball facility.
http://hawaiiathletics.com/news/2016/8/23/flaisher-rounds-out-2016-17-mens-basketball-class.aspx
It feels really odd going to a game at the Stan Sheriff with Hawaii not playing. I think it’s going to be tough selling those games. Why ESPN would not include Hawaii is beyond me, especially after the year we had. But it’s their money. I think the network is banking on the tv sponsors and just want to break even on the gate. Maybe next year they could expand the Classic similar to the Maui Classic and have UH as the local representative. That might be reason to support this event.
It will be interesting to know how much money UH is getting for letting ESPN take over the Stanley for this games. It has to be a lot of money if UH willing to compromise their first game of the season! If you read between the lines, the UH season opener now either going be a morning game before these ESPN games or late at night.