Louisville has announced a 9-team MTE (multi-team event) to tip off the 2020-21 men’s basketball season.
The Cardinals will host 18 games in the KFC Yum! Center from a field of Louisville, Southern Illinois, Little Rock, UNC Greensboro, Winthrop, Seton Hall, Western Kentucky, Duquesne and Praire View A&M.
2020 Wade Houston Tipoff Classic and Other Men’s Basketball Games
All games will be played at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. Teams will stay at the adjoining Galt House Hotel.
Wednesday, Nov. 25
Southern Illinois vs. Louisville *
Little Rock vs. UNC Greensboro *
Winthrop vs. Seton Hall *
Friday, Nov. 27
Seton Hall vs. Louisville *
Southern Illinois vs. Prairie View A&M *
Winthrop vs. UNC Greensboro
Saturday, Nov. 28
Little Rock vs. Western Kentucky
Sunday, Nov. 29
Prairie View A&M vs. Louisville
Duquesne vs. UNC Greensboro *
Southern Illinois vs. Winthrop
Monday, Nov. 30
Little Rock vs. Prairie View A&M *
Tuesday, Dec. 1
Western Kentucky vs. Louisville
Duquesne vs. Winthrop *
Wednesday, Dec. 2
UNC Greensboro vs. Prairie View A&M
Thursday, Dec. 3
Duquesne vs. Little Rock
Prairie View A&M vs. Western Kentucky
Friday, Dec. 4
UNC Greensboro vs. Louisville
Little Rock vs. Winthrop
* Wade Houston Tipoff Classic games
Start investing for the future with one free share of stock from Robinhood
According to U of L:
The Wade Houston Tipoff Classic will be the designated multi-team event and will incorporate two games each from eight of the participants. Each of the remaining games in Louisville during the stretch will serve as regular, non-conference games on each team’s schedule. Western Kentucky is playing three games outside of the multi-team event.
The namesake for the event was one of the first three African American basketball players to sign with UofL, a group which included Houston, Sam Smith and Eddie Whitehead. It was the first instance in which a predominantly white college in the state of Kentucky had any African-Americans on its roster at the time. After playing on the freshman-only team in 1962-63, a rule mandated by the NCAA forbidding freshmen from playing varsity which was lifted in 1972, the trio moved up to the varsity team.
Houston, the first of the group to earn a scholarship to play at UofL, lettered from 1963-66 and twice participated in postseason competition. Following the Tennessee native’s career in which he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Houston went on to coach Male High in Louisville to the state tournament twice and the 1974-75 Kentucky state championship.
In 1975, Houston was hired at UofL as an assistant coach on Denny Crum’s staff and helped direct the Cardinals to a long tenure of success. During his time on the sidelines, Louisville made four Final Four appearances, with the 1980 and 1986 seasons culminating in NCAA Championships. Tennessee hired Houston in 1989 and he became the first African American head coach in the Southeastern Conference. He later left the coaching profession and became a highly successful businessman in Louisville.
