Aircraft Carrier games cancelled due to wet courts

By Kels Dayton
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Updated: November 10, 2012

By: Kels Dayton

It was a great idea, but flawed in its execution. And now it probably won’t happen again.

College basketball went a little crazy by scheduling several season-opening games on aircraft carriers in the middle of the ocean, and Mother Nature bit back in the way she often does when we humans take things a little too far.

The game between Marquette and Ohio State, which was to be played aboard the USS Yorktown in Mount Pleasant, S.C., was cancelled before it even started. Florida and Georgetown played one half of basketball on the USS Bataan in Jacksonville, Fla., before that game was called. Florida led, 27-23.

Both games were cancelled due to excessive condensation (as you can see in the video below). Neither will be made up.

The games were a nice idea and a wonderful way to honor military personnel, but like many things in college sports, it was getting a little bit out of control. The courts were like slip-and-slides, and it was too dangerous to allow either game to continue.

It’s a shame, because the games helped raise money for troops and veterans. They were scheduled as part of Veterans Day weekend.

North Carolina and Michigan State started the tradition last season with the Carrier Classic, which was played on an aircraft carrier off the coast of San Diego.

UConn and Michigan State played at an air force base in Germany Friday night. Syracuse and San Diego State were scheduled to play on an aircraft carrier in San Diego, but that game was postponed until Sunday, November 11.