ESPN Events Peraton Armed Forces Classic Tips Off Tuesday with No. 20 Louisville vs. No. 1 UConn in the Event’s First-Ever Women’s College Basketball Matchup
The 2025-26 women’s college basketball season tips off this week with the first-ever women’s matchup in the ESPN Events Peraton Armed Forces Classic as No. 20 Louisville faces No. 1 and defending National Champion UConn on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and the ESPN App.
The event was originally scheduled to take place at Ramstein Air Base in Germany but has been relocated to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
ESPN’s lead women’s basketball commentator team of Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe will be on the call from Alumni Hall.
The 12-time NCAA Champion Connecticut Huskies led by Coach Geno Auriemma, one of the winningest and most dominant programs in college sports history, will take on the Louisville Cardinals in the 10th edition of the Armed Forces Classic.
Owned and operated by ESPN Events, the Armed Forces Classic was created in 2012 as part of ESPN’s annual America’s Heroes: Salute to Veterans initiative, which dedicates a week of multiplatform programming for Veterans Day honoring those who served and do serve.
ESPN Events Armed Forces Classic History:
2012: Ramstein Air Base – Germany (UConn vs. Michigan State)
2013: Camp Humphreys Army Base – South Korea (Georgetown vs. Oregon)
2014: U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen – Puerto Rico (Minnesota vs. Louisville)
2015: U.S. Marine Corps Base Smedley D. Butler – Okinawa, Japan (Gonzaga vs. Pittsburgh)
2016: Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam – Honolulu, Hawaii (Arizona vs. Michigan State and Indiana vs. Kansas)
2017: Ramstein Air Base – Germany (Texas A&M vs. West Virginia)
2018: U.S. Army Fort Bliss – El Paso, Texas (Texas vs. Arkansas)
2019: Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson – Anchorage, Alaska (Baylor vs. Washington and Alaska Anchorage vs. Coast Guard Academy)
2022: USS Abraham Lincoln – San Diego, California (Gonzaga vs. Michigan State)
* The Armed Forces Classic did not take place in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid
About ESPN Events
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In the 2025-26 academic year, the 35-event schedule includes three early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, two college volleyball events, the premiere regular season college softball and gymnastics events, as well as the Band of the Year National Championship. Collectively, these events account for over 400 hours of live programming on ESPN platforms, reaching 60 million viewers and attracting more than 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With satellite offices in more than 10 cities across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.
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Media Contacts:
ESPN
Danny Chi | [email protected] | 213-405-4400
Andrea DiCristoforo | [email protected] | 213-405-4612
ESPN WCBB
Katie Callahan at [email protected] | 607-226-1438
