BYU will join WCC stablemate Gonzaga, Texas Tech, San Francisco and hometown Arizona State and Grand Canyon for the third annual Jerry Colangelo Classic, to be played at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Dec. 19, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced Wednesday.
The single-day event will feature Gonzaga vs. Texas Tech, Arizona State vs. BYU, San Francisco vs. Grand Canyon and Northern Arizona vs. San Diego.
“This is going to be a great event for college basketball fans,” BYU coach Mark Pope said in a statement. “We’re really excited about the opportunity to play at a great venue against a great program in Arizona State. But we’re even more excited to play in an area that is a hotbed of BYU fans. We have great fans all over the country and we can’t wait to play in front of Cougar fans in Arizona.”
The Jerry Colangelo Classic is one event in the Hall of Fame's series of collegiate events.
BYU is coming off the best season in nearly a decade, having finished the 2019-20 season with 24 wins and a final AP Poll ranking of No. 18. Pope set a school record for wins by a coach in his first season and became the only BYU coach to finish his first season ranked in the top 25.
“We look forward to hosting a unique collegiate event in Phoenix, featuring three Arizona teams and honoring Jerry Colangelo, a man who has done so much for the game and the state he calls home,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “We think this will be a great opportunity for college basketball fans to come out and enjoy the wonderful desert climate this holiday season, while taking in four games at the freshly renovated Talking Stick Resort Arena."
Ticket information, game times and additional television broadcast details will be released at a later date. The Basketball Hall of Fame will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely in the coming months and provide updates as needed.
