LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In women’s basketball, there are no bigger names than Louisville, Connecticut, Iowa and Tennessee. These four teams make up the inaugural Women’s Champions Classic to be played in Brooklyn, New York on Dec. 7. The doubleheader will be shown in primetime on Fox. The match-ups will be announced later.H

What You Need To Know

  • Inaugural Women's Champions Classic will feature Louisville, UConn, Iowa and Tennessee

  • Louisville is familiar with each team having played each recently

  • The game takes place Dec. 7 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn

  • Each year the tournament will feature UConn and three other top teams in the country

“We are very excited and honored to take part in the inaugural Women’s Champion Classic next season,” said Louisville head coach Jeff Walz. “It will be a great showcase for our sport to have some of the best programs in college basketball compete on a national stage. Our team is looking forward to the opportunity the event will provide us next season.”

Louisville knows each of the other teams well, having played each of them in the past few years. UofL played UConn in Hartford last Dec. Iowa and Louisville played each other last March in the Elite Eight in Seattle. This was UofL’s fifth-straight Elite Eight. They are the only team in the country to make each of the last five Elite Eights. Tennessee and Louisville last played in 2022 in the Sweet Sixteen in Wichita, which eventually saw UofL make it to their fourth Final Four appearance.

“The Women’s Champions Classic is the next step in FOX Sports’ longstanding commitment to elevating women’s athletics, and we are eager to showcase these student-athletes at the highest level—in primetime on the FOX broadcast network,” said Jordan Bazant, Executive Vice President, Fox Sports. “Alongside our partners at HS&E (Horizon Sports & Experiences), the exceptional participating schools and their conferences, we could not be more excited to bring the Women’s Champions Classic to college hoops fans around the nation.”

The annual event will feature UConn and include a rotation of other top women’s teams in the country.

“We’re very excited to have the Women’s Champions Classic on our schedule for the foreseeable future,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “There’s never been a higher level of interest in women’s basketball. The Champions Classic will give fans exciting, marquee matchups early in the season.”

Men’s basketball has had a similar tournament since 2011 that features Kentucky, Duke, Michigan State and Tennessee while rotating venues each year.

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