Ohio State is looking to join Michigan State on the list of Big Ten programs to open their season on the deck of an aircraft carrier. The men's and women's basketball teams at Ohio State are getting closer to opening their respective 2012 seasons on the deck of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier in Charleston, South Carolina.
↵↵↵A contract has been signed for the women’s team to play Notre Dame on Nov. 9 in the Carrier Classic, according to Mike Whalen, founder and managing partner of the nonprofit Morale Entertainment Foundation, the event promoter.
↵An agreement to match the Ohio State men the same night against Marquette, also on the deck of the USS Yorktown, is close to being completed, said Miechelle Willis, an executive associate athletic director at Ohio State who oversees both basketball programs.
↵"Our legal counsel has the contract and is looking over it. I’m pretty confident it’s a go," she said.
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This would be the first time a women's game is played on deck of an aircraft carrier. Seating will be constructed on deck to allow about 4,000 fans and the games would be televised by ESPN networks.