Gators on a gator: Florida faces Georgetown on the deck of the amphibious assault ship Bataan on Nov. 9, live on NBC Sports Network. (US Presswire photo by Christopher Hanewickel)
NBC Sports Network: Your home for basketball on ships.
The Navy/Marine Corps Classic, which will feature the Georgetown and Florida men’s basketball teams playing Nov. 9 on the deck of the amphibious assault ship Bataan at Naval Station Mayport, Fla., will air on NBCSN at 9 p.m., GatorSports.com and other Florida-centric websites reported Tuesday. That’ll put the game on the same network as the Carrier Classic doubleheader being held that same day on the decommissioned aircraft carrier Yorktown at Charleston, S.C.
In fact, if the network keeps to its Carrier Classic schedule, it’ll be a tripleheader of shipboard action — the Marquette-Ohio State men’s game live from Yorktown at 7 p.m., followed by the Hoyas and Gators live from Mayport, followed by the Ohio State-Notre Dame women’s game on tape-delay from Yorktown at 11.
Mayport fans will have more than just basketball for live entertainment — Jacksonville.com reports country music chart-toppers Little Big Town will perform at 6 p.m. “on a stage roughly 50 feet from the Bataan.” The concert will be available to those with base access and ticketholders to the sold-out contest, according to the report.
Traditionalists who prefer their carrier-based basketball ops on the West Coast (like last year’s inaugural event, from the carrier Carl Vinson) will have to switch stations midway through the Nov. 9 festivities — Syracuse will face San Diego State in the Battle on the Midway at 7 p.m. Eastern from the deck of the decommissioned aircraft carrier Midway in San Diego. Fox Sports Net will carry the game.
The Syracuse folks are calling it a “once in a lifetime event.” They must not get NBC Sports Network.
