Storyline

CBS Sports Classic Extended Through 2019

Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio State and UCLA to Square off over the Next Three Years

Perennial powers Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio State and UCLA will continue to compete in the CBS Sports Classic college basketball showcase, which has been renewed for the next three years.

The 2017 event will be held on Saturday, Dec. 23 at New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center. Dates and locations for the 2018 and 2019 doubleheaders will be announced at a later date. Over the duration of the extension, the programs will face each other in a round-robin format. Matchups for 2017 will feature Ohio State taking on North Carolina and UCLA facing Kentucky. Games in 2018 will include Kentucky-North Carolina and Ohio State-UCLA, while contests in 2019 will feature North Carolina-UCLA and Ohio State-Kentucky. The games will be televised by CBS Sports.

Now in its third edition, the 2016 CBS Sports Classic will be held this Saturday, Dec. 17 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.  CBS Sports is in its 36th consecutive season broadcasting college basketball featuring another schedule of elite teams and marquee match-ups this season. The road to the Final Four culminates on CBS with the national semifinals on Saturday, April 1 and national championship on Monday, April 3 from University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

New Orleans, also the site of 2022 Final Four, will host the CBS Sports Classic for the first time. Three of the four programs have enjoyed success in “The Big Easy” as both Kentucky and Ohio State advanced to the 2012 Final Four, with the Wildcats winning the national championship that year. North Carolina also has won two national titles in New Orleans (1982, 1993).

Together, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio State and UCLA have won 25 NCAA Championships and made 175 NCAA Tournament appearances. Since 2006, each team has appeared in at least two Final Fours, while each of the four has played in at least one national championship game, including North Carolina’s appearance in the final game last year. They are among college basketball’s all-time winningest programs, combining for more than 7,700 victories.

Media Contacts:

Dan Sabreen, CBS Sports dsabreen@cbs.com, 212-975-5936

Dan Mihalik, KemperLesnik, dan.mihalik@kemperlesnik.com, 312-888-2109