The UConn, Tennessee, Iowa and Louisville women’s basketball teams once again will compete against one another in an early-season doubleheader at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
Fox Sports, in conjunction with Horizon Sports & Experiences, will air “The Shark Beauty Women’s Champions Classic” on Dec. 20, which is two weeks later than last year’s classic. This year, Iowa meets UConn in a 2024 Final Four rematch, while Tennessee faces Louisville. The event also is renewed for 2026.
The inaugural classic featured Iowa-Tennessee and Louisville-UConn, and the teams received $100,000 to participate, according to an open-records request. Despite competing against the SEC, Big Ten and ACC championship football games on other networks, the event peaked at 800,000 viewers on Fox and with more than 11,000 fans in attendance.
“We are thrilled to advance Fox Sports’ longstanding investment in women’s sports with the continuation of the Shark Beauty Women’s Champions Classic,” Fox Sports executive vice president Jordan Bazant said. “We are proud to shine a spotlight on the women’s game on television’s biggest platform, and following the success of the inaugural event, we can’t wait to welcome these storied programs back to Brooklyn in December.”
The event involves…
