When the Virginia and Vanderbilt basketball teams faced off last fall in a preseason exhibition game, the matchup featured some quirks. They played four 12-minute quarters like an NBA game and no players could foul out, for example. The teams announced a preseason rematch on Thursday, however, that will have an entirely different twist.
UVA and Vandy agreed to meet in a neutral site game this September and it will be held outdoors in Charleston, S.C. The Cavaliers and Commodores are part of the LinkU Invitational along with local teams the College of Charleston and The Citadel. Virginia's game is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27, while the next game will follow at 3 p.m. Credit One Stadium, host of tennis tournaments like The Charleston Open each year, is the venue and it can hold approximately 10,000 fans.
The LinkU and Beemok Sports & Entertainment are billing the matchup as a "weekend celebration of college basketball" with "access to the kind of up-close, behind-the-scenes experiences that a traditional game-day ticket simply does not offer." The concept includes open practice sessions with all four programs on Saturday and a Chalk Talk with coaches and players at The Riviera that same afternoon. Sunday's game at the stadium will include curated food and beverage options plus family-friendly entertainment.
Interestingly, this isn't the only outdoor tennis venue game announced this week. Xavier, Dayton, Ohio State, and Cincinnati will take part in a doubleheader on Wednesday, October 7 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. That's the home of the Cincinnati Open each year. Beemok Sports & Entertainment is also presenting that event.
Virginia coach Ryan Odom seems to like the opportunities to try different things like this. The setting in Charleston has both family and UVA ties. Dave Odom, Ryan's father, closed out his coaching career as the head coach at South Carolina from 2001-2008 and helped the program win back-to-back National Invitational Tournament Championships. He's still a respected figure in the state after that run, even being part of a gathering at Colonial Life Arena this past spring with some of his former players.
The host venue, meanwhile, carries the title sponsor of Credit One Bank. Ben Navarro owns the bank and his two daughters Emma and Meggie Navarro played tennis at Virginia. Emma Navarro has gone on to a professional tennis career, while Meggie Navarro was a senior on the team this past spring.
"We are so excited to be part of this unique event and really appreciate everyone involved in putting this together," Ryan Odom said in a news release. "This is an opportunity to create a memorable experience for our student-athletes while bringing together four fantastic programs in an incredible setting. Charleston is home to a great basketball community, and we're looking forward to competing against Vanderbilt in what should be a great atmosphere. We're grateful for the partnership with the College of Charleston, The Citadel and Vanderbilt, as well as The LinkU and Beemok Sports and Entertainment. We are confident that this weekend will be a special experience for our team and fans."
Of course, the teams will be focused on using these exhibitions as part of their preseason work. In last season's exhibition game in Nashville, Vanderbilt won the first half 44-41 and the second half 51-46, making it a final combined scored of 95-87. Still, Virginia coach Ryan Odom said the game was beneficial and revealed "certainly things that we'll need to really get back and work on." Those things included transition defense, turnovers, and foul problems.
Virginia played that game with an almost entirely new roster and a new coaching staff so this year's experience will be different regardless. The Hoos brought back all 10 players with eligibility from that team, including Thijs De Ridder, Sam Lewis, Johann Grünloh, and Chance Mallory that played big roles a year ago. Even with a roster with as many holdovers as Virginia, there are new faces too. The Hoos hit the transfer portal to add Christian Harmon, Jurian Dixon, Kalu Anya, and Jan Vide and they brought in high school recruit Favour Ibe and international recruit Nolan Adekunle as well.
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