Navy/Marine Corps Classic

Carrier Classic collapse: Jacksonville event reportedly cost city $736,000

By Kevin Lilley on April 8, 2013 Basketball, Navy

The men’s college basketball season ends tonight. The two-year experiment of playing college basketball on warships may have ended over the weekend. A report published Saturday by The Florida Times-Union outlines how a mixture of unexpected insurance costs, the downsizing of the proposed host ship from a carrier to an amphib and the on-court condensation that canceled the game at halftime contributed to a $736,000 loss for the city of Jacksonville in staging the Navy/Marine Corps Classic at Naval Station Mayport, an game that was supposed to benefit military charities. In the report, Alan Verlander, Jacksonville’s executive director of sports…

Military hoops basics: Get set for 4 service-themed games Friday (w/uniform pics)

By Kevin Lilley on November 5, 2012 Basketball, Uncategorized

Are you a fan of early-season college basketball? Of camouflage-themed uniform designs? Of playing basketball on multiple warships, active and decommissioned? Or playing overseas, at odd times, to placate television audiences? If so, this is your lucky week. On Friday, five college hoops games with a military feel will be played in less than eight hours — four games on ships, one game on a base in Germany. Here’s a breakdown of who’s playing who where this Friday: (UPDATE: West Coast game moved to Sunday because of weather concerns) Armed Forces Classic Presented by: Sears Who: No. 14 Michigan State…

Time, TV home, country band announced for Navy/Marine Corps Classic

By Kevin Lilley on September 26, 2012 Basketball, Uncategorized

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 –…

Forget the carrier: Georgetown-Florida hoops game slated for amphib Bataan

By Kevin Lilley on July 25, 2012 Basketball, Navy, Uncategorized

Naval Station Mayport, Fla., has been without a carrier to call its own since 2007. Local leaders have asked the Navy repeatedly for another flattop, a move that would involve millions of dollars’ worth of construction to make Mayport capable of hosting a nuclear-powered vessel and would add millions more to the area economy. So far, they’ve had no luck. When the Navy and the city of Jacksonville announced last month that the Georgetown and Florida men’s basketball teams would square off on a ship for the inaugural Navy/Marine Corps Classic, it was assumed a carrier would be brought down…

Carrier cla$$ic: 2 tickets to Florida hoops-on-a-flattop event will run at least $1,000

By Kevin Lilley on July 12, 2012 Basketball, Uncategorized

What would you pay to see college basketball played on an aircraft carrier in Florida? To see two Division I powerhouse programs work out the kinks in their season-opener? To be part of a sporting event so unique … well, rare … well, different … well, look, it’s becoming a fad and we can’t stop it. At this rate, the UFC will hold a pay-per-view from the well deck of an amphib in six months (Free advice: Brian Stann should headline). We digress. How much would you pay? If you answered less than $500 a pop, you’re out of luck,…

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