UNC's involvement in this four team event was already known but now we have an official announcement of the CBS Sports Classic which will involve the Tar Heels, Kentucky, UCLA and Ohio State.
It's called the CBS Sports Classic, and it's going to be an annual event featuring four of the biggest programs in college hoops history: Kentucky, North Carolina, UCLA and Ohio State.
Four distinct, different regions of the country are covered by four programs which total 25 NCAA Tournament championships -- nearly a third of all title-winners. Pretty great. Kentucky is the only program of the four that will compete in both the Champions Classic (which also boasts Duke, Michigan State and Kansas) and the CBS Sports Classic.
"We're excited to bring these powerhouse programs together for a tremendous early season showcase," said Dan Weinberg, Senior Vice President, Programming, CBS Sports. "From its debut next season, the CBS Sports Classic will be a marquee event, adding to our already deep college basketball schedule."
The next three seasons worth of matchups and venues have already been set for this event. It will be a round-robin concept, with next season's games starting in Chicago at the United Center on Dec. 20. UCLA plays Kentucky; UNC gets Ohio State. On Dec. 19, 2015, UNC vs. UCLA and UK vs. OSU are the matchups at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The third stop will be in Las Vegas -- venue to be determined -- on Dec. 17, 2016. That round will feature Kentucky vs. North Carolina and UCLA vs. Ohio State.
Next season's games at the United Center will be played at 1 p.m. ET (UNC vs. Ohio State) and approximately 3:30 p.m. ET (UCLA vs. Kentucky) and broadcast on CBS.
Coupled with the annual ACC/B1G Challenge, this event locks UNC into playing at least two quality non-conference opponents over the next three seasons.
