Louisville basketball won't play cross-state rival Cincinnati at Freedom Hall during the 2026-27 season.
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The neutral-site game between the Cardinals and the Bearcats — UofL's first at its old stomping grounds of more than five decades since 2010 — is off for Year 3 of the Pat Kelsey era, a source close to the program told The Courier Journal on Tuesday, confirming an initial report from Scott Springer of The Cincinnati Enquirer.
The source said the programs are working on moving the game to the 2027-28 season.
Louisville and UC entered an agreement last July with the Lexington-based bdG Sports, LLC for a multi-team event in 2025-26 and 2026-27. The event was dubbed "The Hoops Classic in partnership with CareSource."
Last season, the event comprised a Nov. 21 neutral-site matchup between the Cards and the Bearcats at Heritage Bank Center in downtown Cincinnati (UofL won, 74-64) and home games for both programs against Eastern Michigan and NJIT.
According to a copy of the agreement signed last summer, obtained by The Courier Journal via an open records request, the programs must pay bdG Sports a $500,000 termination fee to back out of the event.
Louisville has played UC 101 times — more than any opponent in its 112-year history. Last season's meeting was the first between the programs since 2022. Before that? You have to go all the way back to 2014, when they were members of the American Athletic Conference.
With the game against the Bearcats off the books, the Cards' 2026-27 nonconference schedule features only three opponents from Year 2 of the Kelsey era: Baylor, Kentucky and Memphis.
The game against the Bears will be held at a to-be-determined neutral site, while the games against the Wildcats (Dec. 12) and the Tigers will be true road tests.
UofL will tip off the season Nov. 2 against Chattanooga at the KFC Yum! Center, then host Morehead State on Nov. 7.
Later that month, Louisville will make its first appearance in the Players Era, a 16-team, Thanksgiving week tournament at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. It drew Texas Tech as its Round 1 opponent Nov. 24 and will face either Oregon or St. John's (and former coach Rick Pitino) in Round 2 on Nov. 26.
The Cards will play at least one more game, on Nov. 27, as part of the Players Era. If they go 3-0, they will compete for a tournament championship Nov. 28.
From there, UofL will host Texas on Dec. 1 in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
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Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at [email protected] and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball schedule drops Cincinnati game at Freedom Hall