UConn women’s basketball to play Louisville in 2020 Never Forget Tribute Classic

After one-year hiatus, UConn women’s basketball and Louisville will meet on the court once again in 2020 according to Cardinals head coach Jeff Walz. While no official announcement has been made yet, the coach spoke about it on a local radio show.

“We’re actually playing them (UConn) next year at the Barclays Center up in New York,” Walz said. “It’s a classic — ‘Never Forget’ I think is the name of it — a 9/11 tribute game. We’ll be playing them up there.”

While a contract has not yet been signed, it’s a safe bet to happen if Walz is discussing it on the air.

The Never Forget Tribute Classic raises money for the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund, which helps children of victims in the attack go to college. The Huskies’ men’s basketball team played in it last year against Florida State. The event is usually held in mid-December.

Louisville has established itself as one of the premier programs in college basketball but has only taken down UConn once under Walz, a 78-69 victory last season. However, the Huskies got the last laugh on that one by knocking the 1-seeded Louisville out in the Elite Eight. All-time, UConn holds a 17-2 edge over its former Big East rival, including twice in national title games.

By adding Louisville to its non-conference schedule, the Huskies now have 12 teams on the docket. However, with its move the Big East, UConn will play 20 conference games instead of 16 in the AAC, meaning it has 32 games on its 2020-21 schedule at the moment. The NCAA only allows schools to play a maximum of 29 games so the Huskies will need to either move or cut at least three non-conference opponents.

In addition to the matchup against Louisville, UConn is currently set to host Dayton, Little Rock, Maryland along with Texas and will hit the road to play Baylor, Cal, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia.