Syracuse/SDSU Push Back Carrier Game Due To Rain

UNC and Michigan State play in the first Carrier Classic last season on board the USS Carl Vinson. (nytimes.com)

The scene will be hard to recreate. North Carolina and Michigan State playing basketball for the first time ever on an aircraft carrier (the USS Carl Vinson) in front of more than 8,000 fans and military members on Veteran's Day with the background of a red and purple sunset.

The spectacle went so well that the Carrier Classic is not only coming back for a second season - where Ohio State will take on Marquette on the USS Yorktown in Charleston, SC - but two other carrier flight decks will host games this year. Syracuse and San Diego State will play on the flight deck of the USS Midway in San Diego, while Georgetown and Florida will play on the USS Bataan in Jacksonville, Fl.

Mother Nature was not as kind to San Diego this time around, as Syracuse and SDSU are pushing the game back from Friday night to 1 p.m. Sunday due to a high chance of rain and strong winds.

This is an issue college basketball has never had to deal with, but fans should be thankful the game wasn't immediately moved indoors. It would have been the easier solution, so credit those involved who took on the extra work to keep the game outside.

This is a special experience for the teams, military personnel lucky enough to attend the game and fans across the country watching on TV, and a budding tradition that is expanding and looks like it will see more years ahead. So it's smart one of the games was not given shelter as the event continues to take off.


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