Louisville, Indiana agree to a three-year series beginning in 2016
Two national powers separated by a mere 100 miles will renew their regional rivalry next year.
Indiana and Louisville jointly announced Friday that they’ve agreed to a three-year series that will begin with a neutral-court matchup on Dec. 31, 2016 at Banker’s Life FIeldhouse in Indianapolis. The Cardinals and Hoosiers will also play on one-another’s home floors the following two years, first on Dec. 9, 2017 in Louisville and then on Dec. 8, 2018 in Bloomington.
The two schools also announced they’ll begin a similar three-year football series in 2023 with the lone neutral-field game Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Indiana holds a 2-0 all-time lead in the football series and a 10-7 all-time edge in hoops.
The announcement from Indiana and Louisville comes about three years after the Hoosiers’ annual series with Kentucky fell apart because neither side could agree on the proper venue. Indiana wanted to continue it as a home-and-home series, while Kentucky preferred to play it every year on a neutral court such as Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Credit Indiana and Louisville for finding a palatable solution the way the Hoosiers and the Wildcats could not.
Too many regional rivalries have disappeared from college basketball in recent years. It’s nice to see this one resurfacing.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
