NEW YORK (June 25, 2024) – Madison Square Garden in New York will once again serve as the stage for the annual CBS Sports Classic college basketball doubleheader. The 2024 event is set for Dec. 21 and will feature UCLA taking on North Carolina at 3 p.m. ET and will be followed by Ohio State facing Kentucky. The event will be broadcast on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live on Paramount+.
Madison Square Garden hosted the 2022 CBS Sports Classic, where a sold-out crowd of more than 20,000 saw North Carolina defeat Ohio State, 89-84, in an overtime thriller and UCLA knock off Kentucky, 63-53.
“As we enter our 11th year of the CBS Sports Classic, we’re thrilled to return to the iconic venue at Madison Square Garden featuring some of the nation’s most elite men’s basketball programs,” said Dan Weinberg, EVP Programming, CBS Sports. “Throughout our more than four decades of college basketball coverage, we have showcased the game at the highest level, from the first tip of the season through the final buzzer in April, and the CBS Sports Classic is a prime example of our commitment to highlighting the best in college basketball.”
Fans will have the opportunity to purchase official travel packages for the CBS Sports Classic, which will include game tickets for both contests of the doubleheader and hotel accommodations near Madison Square Garden. Fan travel packages are set to go on sale in August, allowing fans exclusive early access to secure their seats for the event ahead of the launch of public ticket sales. Tickets for the general public will go on sale later in August.
Fans interested in attending the event can register to receive direct email alerts regarding ticket news and other event details at www.cbssportsclassic.com/tickets. Fans who register for these alerts will receive key information on travel package sales and will also be eligible for an exclusive ticket presale.
Madison Square Garden is the seventh different venue to play host to the CBS Sports Classic, having already done so in 2022. Throughout the 10-year history of the CBS Sports Classic, the United Center in Chicago (2014, 2018), Barclays Center in Brooklyn (2015), T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (2016, 2019, 2021), Smoothie King Center in New Orleans (2017), Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland (2020) and State Farm Arena in Atlanta (2023), have also hosted the event.
The CBS Sports Classic annually brings together four of the nation’s most successful college basketball programs. The quartet owns a combined 26 national championships, with UCLA (11), Kentucky (8) and North Carolina (6) ranking first, second and third, respectively, in NCAA history. Additionally, all four programs rank in the top six in all time Final Four berths, compiling 66 total appearances between them (North Carolina, 21; UCLA, 18; Kentucky, 17; Ohio State, 10). They are among college basketball’s all-time winningest programs, combining for more than 8,500 victories, while Kentucky (970), North Carolina (957) and UCLA (737), are ranked first, second and fifth, respectively, in all time AP Top-25 appearances, while all four programs rank in the top eight in all time AP Top-Five appearances (Kentucky, first; North Carolina, second; UCLA, fifth; Ohio State, eighth).
North Carolina is 6-4 in the CBS Sports Classic, Ohio State is 5-4, Kentucky is 5-5 and UCLA is 3-6.
UNC's Release Below...
The University of North Carolina men's basketball team will play UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Dec. 21, 2024.
The 2024 event is set for Dec. 21 and will feature UCLA taking on North Carolina at 3 p.m. and will be followed by Ohio State facing Kentucky. The event will be broadcast on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live on Paramount+.
Madison Square Garden hosted the 2022 CBS Sports Classic, where a sold-out crowd of more than 20,000 saw Carolina defeat Ohio State, 89-84, in an overtime thriller and UCLA knock off Kentucky, 63-53.
"As we enter our 11th year of the CBS Sports Classic, we're thrilled to return to the iconic venue at Madison Square Garden featuring some of the nation's most elite men's basketball programs," said Dan Weinberg, EVP Programming, CBS Sports. "Throughout our more than four decades of college basketball coverage, we have showcased the game at the highest level, from the first tip of the season through the final buzzer in April, and the CBS Sports Classic is a prime example of our commitment to highlighting the best in college basketball."
Fans will have the opportunity to purchase official travel packages for the CBS Sports Classic, which will include game tickets for both contests of the doubleheader and hotel accommodations near Madison Square Garden. Fan travel packages are set to go on sale in August, allowing fans exclusive early access to secure their seats for the event ahead of the launch of public ticket sales. Tickets for the general public will go on sale later in August.
Fans interested in attending the event can register to receive direct email alerts regarding ticket news and other event details at www.cbssportsclassic.com/tickets. Fans who register for these alerts will receive key information on travel package sales and will also be eligible for an exclusive ticket presale.
Madison Square Garden is the seventh different venue to play host to the CBS Sports Classic, having already done so in 2022. Throughout the 10-year history of the CBS Sports Classic, the United Center in Chicago (2014, 2018), Barclays Center in Brooklyn (2015), T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (2016, 2019, 2021), Smoothie King Center in New Orleans (2017), Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland (2020) and State Farm Arena in Atlanta (2023), have also hosted the event.
The CBS Sports Classic annually brings together four of the nation's most successful college basketball programs. The quartet owns a combined 26 national championships, with UCLA (11), Kentucky (8) and North Carolina (6) ranking first, second and third, respectively, in NCAA history. Additionally, all four programs rank in the top six in all time Final Four berths, compiling 66 total appearances between them (North Carolina, 21; UCLA, 18; Kentucky, 17; Ohio State, 10). They are among college basketball's all-time winningest programs, combining for more than 8,500 victories, while Kentucky (970), North Carolina (957) and UCLA (737), are ranked first, second and fifth, respectively, in all time AP Top-25 appearances, while all four programs rank in the top eight in all time AP Top-Five appearances (Kentucky, first; North Carolina, second; UCLA, fifth; Ohio State, eighth).
North Carolina is 6-4 in the CBS Sports Classic, Ohio State is 5-4, Kentucky is 5-5 and UCLA is 3-6.
