Venue change on tap for KU-Indiana in Honolulu

By Matt Tait     Sep 8, 2016

The Associated Press
The Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii — shown here before a recent NBA exhibition game — will be the site of this year's Armed Forces Classic, in which Kansas and Indiana will face off on Nov. 11 following a game between Arizona and Michigan State.

The Kansas men’s basketball program, in conjunction with ESPN, on Thursday announced a venue change for the Jayhawks’ Nov. 11 showdown with Indiana in the Armed Forces Classic in Honolulu.

Originally schedule to be played at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, the game has been relocated to provide basketball fans of both the military and the community an opportunity to see the games up close.

The game, which is slated for Veterans Day, now will take place at Stan Sherrif Center on the campus of the University of Hawaii.

This year’s event — which will tip at 8 p.m. central and also will feature a game between Arizona and Michigan State in the earlier contest — will be played just under a month from the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“ESPN is honored to continue the tradition of the Armed Forces Classic,” said Clint Overby, vice president, ESPN Events. “We celebrate the men and women of the Navy in Hawaii as well as those who serve around the world. We are excited to stage the event in conjunction with the leadership at Pearl Harbor and feel that the basketball venue at the Stan Sheriff Center provides a great backdrop for these great teams.”

Previous Armed Forces Classic games have been played from Ramstein, Germany in 2012 (Connecticut vs. Michigan State), Pyongtaek, South Korea in 2013 (Georgetown vs. Oregon), Aguadilla, Puerto Rico in 2014 (Louisville vs. Minnesota) and Okinawa, Japan in 2015 (Gonzaga vs. Pittsburgh).

The games 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. The Armed Forces Classic is owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN.

As for the specific match-up between the Jayhawks and Hoosiers, Kansas has won six of the last seven meetings with Indiana but still trails the overall series 7-6.

KU and IU last met in 1995 in Kansas City with the Jayhawks claiming a 91-83 victory on Dec. 16. The series dates back to 1940 with the first two meetings, both IU wins, coming in the NCAA title game in 1940 and 1953.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.