Cardinals WBB selected for 2025 Peraton Armed Forces Classic – Cardinal Sports Zone

PRESS RELEASE

BRISTOL, Conn. —
Fresh off their season opener in Paris last Monday, the Louisville women’s basketball team will once again head overseas to open the 2025-2026 season. The Cardinals have been selected for the Peraton Armed Forces Classic to be held in Ramstein
Air Base in Germany on Tuesday 4 Nov. 2025. The Cardinals will square off with UConn in the first-ever women’s basketball game in the event’s history, and it will be televised on ESPN.

“We are extremely grateful to be selected for the 2025 Armed Forces Classic,” said head coach Jeff Walz. “It will be an incredible experience
for our players and staff to play in front of some of our nation’s heroes overseas. We look forward to the opportunity to showcase women’s basketball on an international stage.”

Read more: Cardinals WBB selected for 2025 Peraton Armed Forces Classic

Ramstein – site of the inaugural Armed Forces Classic in 2012, which featured the UConn men vs. Michigan State – will host the event for
the third time. The air base also hosted the Texas A&M vs. West Virginia in the 2017 event.

This will be the third consecutive season that the Cardinals and Huskies will meet, and it will be in the third place. The two teams played
in Hartford in 2022 and will meet in Brooklyn in December as part of the Women’s Champions Classic. The Cards and Huskies are currently riding a four-year home-and-home series, and this will push the Louisville home game with UConn to the 2026-27 season.

Both teams have been some of the most consistent teams in all of college basketball in recent years. They are both two of only three teams
in the country for reaching five of the past six Elite Eights. Walz and UConn head coach Geno Auriemma are two of just four active head coaches who have been to four or more Final Fours. The Cardinals and Huskies are two of just six schools that have won
200 or more games since the start of the 2017–18 season.

ESPN events
ESPN
Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In 2024, the 34-event schedule includes four college football early-season games, 17 college
bowl games, 10 college basketball events, the premier regular-season college softball and gymnastics events, and this year’s band national championship. Combined, these events account for over 400 hours of live programming on ESPN platforms,
reached 60 million viewers and attracts more than 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With satellite offices in more than 10 cities
across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and communities, and provides unique experiences for teams and fans. Follow ESPN events on Facebook, Twitter/X and YouTube.

ESPN Events Armed Forces Classic Locations:

Year

Location

Matchups

2012

Ramstein Air Base (Germany)

UConn vs. Michigan State

2013

Camp Humphreys Army Base (South Korea)

Georgetown vs. Oregon

2014

US Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen (Puerto Rico)

Minnesota vs. Louisville

2015

US Marine Corps Base Smedley D. Butler (Okinawa, Japan)

Gonzaga vs. Pittsburgh

2016

Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (Honolulu, Hawaii)

Arizona vs Michigan State
Indiana vs. Kansas

2017

Ramstein Air Base (Germany)

Texas A&M vs. West Virginia

2018

US Army Fort Bliss (El Paso, Texas)

Texas vs. Arkansas

2019

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (Anchorage, Alaska)

Baylor vs. Washington
Alaska Anchorage vs. Coast Guard Academy

2022

USS Abraham Lincoln (San Diego)

Michigan State vs. Gonzaga