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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

GU game in Okinawa has been in works for nine months

Gonzaga will open the 2015-16 college basketball season with a road game like no other in program history. The Bulldogs will face Pittsburgh on Friday, Nov. 13, in the Armed Forces Classic at Camp Smedley D. Butler Marine Corps Base in Okinawa, Japan. ESPN, which will televise the contest as part of the network’s America’s Heroes: A Salute to Our Veterans, made the official announcement Friday. “We’re honored to be part of the Armed Forces Classic and in our own small way, support those who fight for our country,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “This is a special opportunity for our players and staff, one that I’m sure will be a great memory for all of us.” It won’t be the first time Gonzaga played outside the U.S. The Zags played Hawaii in Nov., 2011, in the B.C. Classic at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, roughly 10 miles from then-senior Robert Sacre’s prep playing days at Handsworth Secondary School. Gonzaga participated in a University of British Columbia tournament in 1966. The 2015-16 season opener in Okinawa will occur nearly 6,000 air miles from Spokane. It will be the first meeting between GU and Pitt. Louisville faced Minnesota on Friday in the 2014 Armed Forces Classic held at U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen in Puerto Rico. The process started roughly nine months ago when athletic director Mike Roth took a phone call from ESPN, gauging Gonzaga’s interest. “It didn’t take us long to consider it,” Roth said. “It’s a great opportunity for our program, our team and everyone involved to honor our veterans and also our men and women serving to protect our freedoms – a really big honor. And then, of course, getting to go to Okinawa, we’re going to be able to see history that shaped the world in World War II. “It’s one more confirmation that Gonzaga is a special place in the eyes of the basketball world.” ESPN covers expenses for both teams. The Zags were under consideration for the 2011 Carrier Classic, which was played aboard an aircraft carrier in San Diego, but the invitation went to North Carolina. The Tar Heels beat Michigan State 67-55.