IU will not play in next season's Jimmy V Classic

BLOOMINGTON – IU basketball will not participate in next year’s Jimmy V Classic, as previously reported by IndyStar.

In September 2016, IndyStar reported as part of an open records request that the Hoosiers would face North Carolina in the annual showcase event. However, a more recent records request revealed that while Indiana and ESPN signed a contract setting up the game, UNC and ESPN never completed a corresponding contract. In effect, the game was never created.

Therefore, Indiana will not participate in next season’s Jimmy V Classic. It had been previously reported by FanRag Sports that IU would face West Virginia, but according to information obtained from IndyStar’s most recent records request, Indiana never agreed to that meeting.

The loss of the Jimmy V Classic game leaves the Hoosiers with options ahead of coach Archie Miller’s second season in charge.

IU is obliged to play an ACC opponent in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, likely on the road. And the Hoosiers will face Butler in the Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis in December. They could also be drawn against a Big East team in the Gavitt Games, the same series that sent Indiana to Seton Hall earlier this season.

IU will also play Louisville in Bloomington, in the third installment of a three-game series the schools began in 2015-16.

All Big Ten programs are also preparing for the arrival of the league’s first 20-game conference schedule, which will be introduced next season.

Indiana has not participated in the Jimmy V Classic since 2014, when the Hoosiers lost to Louisville.

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.