No. 1 UConn’s season opener against No. 20 Louisville that is supposed to be played at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Nov. 4 is in jeopardy of being moved because of the government shutdown.
A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Thursday that if the shutdown continues until Monday the game will be played at a neutral site in the U.S. on the same day. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made.
A Louisville spokesperson said the school is deferring to ESPN, which is putting on the game and would be the one to make the call. The network would need time to move its equipment to Germany and set up the aircraft hangar on the base to host the contest.
“While our goal is to host this year’s Armed Forces Classic as planned at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, we are exploring contingency plans due to the circumstances,” ESPN said in a statement.
This would be the third time that the Armed Forces Classic was played at Ramstein and the first that featured two women’s basketball teams. The UConn men’s team played in the inaugural one in 2012. Texas A&M and West Virginia also played there in 2017.
The government shutdown began on Oct. 1 when the Senate failed to advance a House-passed GOP government funding bill. The longest shutdown lasted 35 days in 2019. Military bases are operating at reduced levels with the shutdown.
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