UConn’s Season Tipoff Finds New Home
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It was supposed to be a historic international opener for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team. Unfortunately, plans and circumstances have changed, and the Huskies will play closer to home on another military stage.
The No. 1-ranked Huskies’ anticipated matchup against No. 20 Louisville, originally set for Ramstein Air Base in Germany on November 4, will now be played at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
A U.S. government shutdown has temporarily halted operations at military bases abroad. The matchup status has been hanging by a thread for a few weeks now. ESPN’s Armed Forces Classic had planned to feature its first-ever women’s basketball game at Ramstein, marking a big step for the sport’s global visibility.
However, with the shutdown starting on October 1 and reducing operations across bases, it has become impossible to hold the event overseas. “For more than a decade, this event has celebrated the lives and contributions of our military,” said ESPN Events vice president Clint Overby. “We’re appreciative of the Naval Academy for helping provide a first-class venue for this first-ever women’s college basketball matchup.”
NEWS: The Huskies season opener vs. Louisville in the Armed Forces Classic will now be played at the U.S. Naval Academy. pic.twitter.com/gdFFu789bY
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) October 24, 2025
Louisville head coach Jeff Walz admitted his team was disappointed about missing out on the Germany experience, but is keeping spirits high.
“Everyone was excited about going to Germany and playing at Ramstein, but we will make the best of this,” Walz told the Associated Press. “We were going to have a scavenger hunt in a castle on Halloween. Now, we’ll explore the history at Annapolis instead.”
Their last foreign-style opener, technically not “foreign” under NCAA rules, was meant to be a symbolic start to a global season since Ramstein counts as U.S. soil. But as Auriemma has often said, the Huskies thrive under chaos. They’ve previously adjusted to injury crises, travel changes, and lineup shifts. This is just another twist before tipoff.
Can UConn Keep Its Winning Grip on Louisville Yet Again?
When UConn and Louisville meet, it is almost always a game to remember. The two programs have faced off 23 times since 1993, and the Huskies have taken 20 of those battles. They went up against each other in December 2024 as well. UConn won 85–52.
That night, freshman phenom Sarah Strong, whom Auriemma says, “There's just something about her right now,” scored 21 points. Meanwhile, senior guard Azzi Fudd, who is looking at her first injury-free season this year, made 18.
Even with Paige Bueckers making just eight points after a cold shooting night, the Huskies won. They led by 18 after the first quarter and 25 at halftime. Louisville’s defense simply couldn’t keep up with the Huskies’ inside-out attack. Now, a year later, the storylines have
Now, a year later, the storylines have flipped. Bueckers is out, Strong and Fudd are the faces of the new-look lineup, and Louisville will be looking for revenge. UConn’s average margin of victory over the Cardinals sits at 25 points, but history means little when there’s a fresh start and a top-20 team desperate to prove something.
-fd44250df32912986cc6690f0b8bfa32.png "Shivani Menon")
Shivani Menon is a sports journalist with a background in Mass Communication and a passion for storytelling. She has written for EssentiallySports, College Sports Network, and PFSN, covering Olympic sports like track and field, gymnastics, and alpine skiing, as well as college football, basketball, March Madness, and the NBL Draft. When she's not reporting, she's either on the road chasing sunsets or getting lost in the rhythms of electronic soundscapes.