The Kentucky Wildcats, Michigan State Spartans, Duke Blue Devils and Kansas Jayhawks may still get to participate in the Champions Classic moving forward, but it may no longer carry the luster that it did for the past few seasons.
Why was it so unique and special? Well, it’s because it kicked off the NCAA men’s college basketball season.
ESPN, the company that schedules and puts on the event, is now pushing the double-header back a weekend to ensure there’s no conflict with Election Day. The game is now scheduled to be on November 15.
Stadium’s college basketball reporter Jeff Goodman also noted that this may not be just a one-year move for the season’s former opener, and that it could stay the second week of the season permanently.
BREAKING: Champions Classic will be pushed back a week next season to Nov. 15 due to Election Day, sources told @Stadium.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) February 23, 2022
There’s also a chance this could be more than a one-year switch and could stay the second week of the season instead of opening the college hoops campaign.
This season, Kentucky lost to Duke in the opening game of this season. The two blue bloods of college basketball put on a show, and both teams have continued to get better throughout this season.
Another thing to note is that Duke and Kentucky perennially have a few of the most-prolific recruits in the nation.
Hopefully, it’s not a one-year move. The Wildcats have just one win in the Champions Classic as the season-opener. That was vs. No. 1 Michigan State in 2019.
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