College basketball fans know that the early part of the season is the best chance to travel with their favorite teams and see them take on strong opponents on a neutral floor. Sports media powerhouses like ESPN, CBS, and others have sponsored these competitions for years. Now Barstool Sports is joining them.
The inaugural Barstool Classic is set for November 11. The event will consist of two games played at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Barstool faced some serious pushback to sponsoring a bowl game during college football’s postseason. While Covid complications ended up cancelling the game, the company is the title sponsor of the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl in Tucson. It is expected to debut in December.
Four teams have already committed to be part of the first ever Barstool Classic. Mississippi State is the headliner. The Bulldogs will take on Akron in one game. UAB and Toledo will meet in the other.
Mississippi State fan blog Cowbell Corner speculates that the rise in popularity of Brandon Walker may have something to do with the Bulldogs’ inclusion. Walker is a devoted Mississippi State fan and has become one of Barstool’s more popular personalities in recent years.
Details of the Barstool Classic are yet to be announced. If the college basketball event follows a similar model that the company had planned for the Arizona Bowl, it will be streamed exclusively on Barstool’s website with some of the company’s more popular personalities providing play-by-play and commentary.
