Louisville Officially Named to 2023 Empire Classic Field

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program is officially heading to the Big Apple.

The Cardinals have known since last summer that they will be competing in the 2023 Empire Classic, and that news became official on Tuesday. Louisville will be heading up to Madison Square Garden in the heart of New York City on Nov. 19-20, 2023 to make their first ever appearance in one of the top multi-team events in college basketball.

It will be a loaded field for this year's Empire Classic, with UConn, Indiana and Texas also making the journey to MSG for the event. The Huskies are fresh off of winning their fifth NCAA championship, the Hoosiers went 23-12 with an appearance in the Round of 32, and the Longhorns made it to the Elite Eight to finish the 2022-23 season at 29-9.

Semifinal match-ups, television coverage, and the on-sale date for tickets will be announced in the future.

The Cardinals are a combined 24-18 against the 2023 Empire Classic field, with winning records against two of the programs. Louisville holds an 11-6 record over UConn with a five-game winning streak, a 4-1 record against Texas, and barely trail Indiana in their all-time series at 9-11.

The event will be a homecoming of sorts for UofL head coach Kenny Payne, who will be looking rebound after going just 4-28 in his first year at the helm. Prior to taking over the Cardinals, he spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the New York Knicks.

Louisville was originally supposed to participate in the 2021 iteration of the Empire Classic, but pulled out when the event had to be moved across the Hudson River from Madison Square Garden to the Prudential Center. It was later moved again to the T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas.

(Photo of Louie: Kirby Lee - USA TODAY Sports)

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