Teams begin series Nov. 20 in Spokane, Wash., this season
The Kentucky men’s basketball program has agreed to a six-year series with Gonzaga, the programs announced on Thursday. The teams will play in each of the next six seasons beginning with their Nov. 20 matchup in Spokane, Washington, this season.
“I am so excited that we have finalized this series,” UK head coach John Calipari said. “Mark is a great friend and what he has done at Gonzaga to build them into one of the premier programs in our sport is incredible. The mindset I have when I put together our schedule here at Kentucky is that we want to always challenge ourselves by competing with the best teams we can find and generate some marquee home games for the best fans in the country. We have done that with Gonzaga and I look forward to competing with them the next six seasons.”
The series entails two games played in Spokane, two played inside of Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center, and two neutral site contests. A full breakdown of the series:
2022 – Spokane Arena
2023 – Rupp Arena
2024 – Seattle
2025 – Nashville
2026 – Rupp Arena
2027 – McCarthey Athletic Center
“This is something Coach Calipari and I have been working on for some time,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said. “It’s an exciting thing for both programs, both schools, both fan bases, and all of college basketball. Instead of a two-year thing, this gives everyone something to put on their calendar and look forward to over the next six seasons.”
The teams enter the 2022 matchup having only met once before on the hardwood. Kentucky captured an 80-72 victory in 2002 at the Maui Invitational.