Flattop fail? 'Battle on the Midway' hoops game could be canceled

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim’s trip to the West Coast could be in jeopardy. (US Presswire photo by Charles LeClaire)

The “Battle on the Midway” college basketball game set for Nov. 9 on a decommissioned aircraft carrier in San Diego was supposed to be the centerpiece of a Veterans Day weekend celebration, including a charity concert, a fan fest and a fancy dinner.

Now, all of the surrounding events have been canceled, according to a U-T San Diego report, and the game itself could vanish next.

The contest between Syracuse and San Diego State, to be held in a 4,000-seat temporary stadium aboard the Midway, is not sold out, according to the report. The U-T says the $1,000-a-seat tickets have yet to be made available to the public, but After Action shared this Syracuse link with readers last month.

No national sponsors have been announced, according to the report, though a deal with Fox Sports San Diego would give the game national television distribution. About a month from the tip, the event’s website hasn’t progressed beyond a splash page.

Other hoops-on-a-ship events set for Nov. 9 — a men’s game on the amphibious assault ship Bataan near Jacksonville, Fla., and a men’s-women’s doubleheader on the decommissioned carrier Yorktown organized by the same group behind the original Carrier Classic — are still on schedule. No word from the Russians on the whole hockey thing.