LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The season-opening showdown between the Louisville and UConn women’s basketball teams will no longer take place in Germany.
ESPN Events announced Thursday night that the 2025 Peraton Armed Forces Classic will be relocated to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, due to the ongoing U.S. government shutdown. The game, originally scheduled for Ramstein Air Base in Germany, will still be played on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 5:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN.
“For more than a decade, this event has celebrated the lives and contributions of our military,” said Clint Overby, Vice President of ESPN Events. “We’re appreciative of the Naval Academy for helping provide a first-class venue for this first-ever women’s college basketball matchup that will showcase perennial powers Louisville and UConn.”
Louisville head coach Jeff Walz spoke Wednesday — prior to the official relocation — and acknowledged that the team was likely not going to Germany.
“Very encouraged and obviously looking forward to the opportunity, discouraged that our elected officials couldn’t figure out a way to … get our country back up and running,” Walz said.
Walz credited ESPN for its handling of the situation and expressed disappointment for director of basketball operations Cortnee Walton, who had helped organize much of the team’s travel experience in Germany.
“She had arranged some great things for us,” Walz said. “Not only a really, really good basketball game, but just a great experience overall. … So we will pivot, and just when they tell us where, we’ll make sure we’re all set to go.”
Copyright 2025 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
