2018 Armed Forces Classic to Feature Texas and Arkansas
February 3, 2018
2018 Armed Forces Classic to Feature Texas and Arkansas
The 2018 Armed Forces Classic, owned and operated by ESPN Events, will feature Texas and Arkansas, from Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, on Friday, Nov. 9.
“In the continued spirit of honoring our men and women in uniform and their families we are excited to bring the Armed Forces Classic to Fort Bliss in El Paso,” said Clint Overby, vice president of ESPN Events. “We are looking forward to being on the base and having an opportunity to say “thank you” in person and stage what should be an outstanding basketball game.”
The annual event, in its seventh year, will take place on the United States mainland for the first time since its inception in 2012.
Texas Head Coach Shaka Smart
“We’re really excited to be a part of the Armed Forces Classic in November. Our guys will get a phenomenal experience being around our troops and people who protect our country. It will be a very humbling and educational experience for our program. We have the opportunity to play a high-level opponent in Arkansas, and Mike Anderson is one of the best coaches around. Additionally, it’s a great thing for us at the University of Texas because it’s a game played at a military base in our state, in a part of the state that we don’t normally get to. We’re looking forward to spending time in El Paso.”
Arkansas Head Coach Mike Anderson
“We are honored to participate in the Armed Forces Classic next year at Fort Bliss. Any chance we get to honor our service men and women by playing at a military base is a great opportunity to give back to people that sacrifice so much for our freedom.”
The game 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.
Armed Forces Classic History
2017: The game took place at the Ramstein Air Base for the second time; Texas A&M defeated No. 15 West Virginia, which was the Mountaineers only loss until mid-January.
2016: The Navy hosted just outside Pearl Harbor, less than a month from the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The event saw its first doubleheader as Arizona defeated Michigan State and Indiana beat Kansas.
2015: The United States Marine Corps hosted the fourth annual Armed Forces Classic at Marine Corps Base Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan. The game featured the first meeting between 2014 NCAA tournament participants Gonzaga and Pittsburgh.
2014: The Coast Guard hosted at Air Station Borinquen in Puerto Rico, featuring 2013 NCAA Championship participant Louisville and NIT champion Minnesota.
2013: Army hosted at Camp Humphreys in Korea. Oregon defeated Georgetown and went on to advance to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
2012: Air Force hosted the game at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. UConn defeated Michigan State, but the Spartans went on to advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Men’s Championship.
For more information on the Armed Forces Classic, visit the official website, or follow on Facebook and Twitter.
ESPN Events
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of 31 collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; FCS opening-weekend game; 14 college bowl games, 11 college basketball events and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 300-plus hours of programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over 700,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in Albuquerque, Birmingham, Boca Raton, Boise, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Montgomery and St. Petersburg, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.
ESPN Events also manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.
Collegiate Football
Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl (Houston); AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl (Florida); Bahamas Bowl (Nassau); Birmingham Bowl (Alabama); Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl (Florida); Camping World Kickoff (Orlando, Fla.); Celebration Bowl (Atlanta); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); DXL Frisco Bowl (Frisco, Texas); Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff (Montgomery, Ala.); Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Las Vegas Bowl (Nevada); Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); MEAC/SWAC Challenge (Baton Rouge, La.); Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.); The Home Depot College Football Awards Presented by Gildan (Atlanta) and Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth)
Collegiate Basketball
AdvoCare Invitational (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Armed Forces Classic (Ramstein Air Base, Germany); College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy’s (Los Angeles); Gildan Charleston Classic (South Carolina); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Men’s Classic presented by Corona (New York City); Jimmy V Women’s Classic presented by Corona (Hartford, Conn.); NIT Season Tip-Off (Brooklyn, N.Y.); PK80 presented by State Farm (Portland, Ore.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off; State Farm Champions Classic (Chicago) and Wooden Legacy (Fullerton, Calif.)
For more information, visit the official website, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube pages.
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ESPN Media Contact: Anna Negron at 860-766-2233 or [email protected]; @Anna_ESPN