Richmond will face Utah State as part of the 2021 Veterans Classic, the Naval Academy announced Thursday.
The event will take place on Friday, Nov. 12 in Annapolis, Md. Richmond and Utah State will tip off at 6 p.m., followed by Navy and Virginia Tech at 8:30 p.m.
Both games will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. Tickets are available now through Navy Athletics.
“We are very excited to be a part of this year’s Veterans Classic,” Richmond head coach Chris Mooney said. “In my five years at Air Force, I was honored to play a part in the critically important mission of our service academies: transforming young men and women into our nation’s next generation of leaders. Having the chance to be with our team at the Naval Academy on Veterans Day and to play an opponent as accomplished as Utah State the following day is a tremendous opportunity for our program and we’re looking forward to coming to Annapolis in November.”
The Veterans Classic, held annually around Veterans Day, honors our nation’s veterans and showcases the U.S. Naval Academy. Each visiting team immerses itself in the inner workings of the U.S. Naval Academy through guided tours held on the day before the games. 2021 will be the eighth edition of the Veterans Classic.
This will be the first meeting between Richmond and Utah State. The Aggies finished 20-9 last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. It would have been the third straight NCAA Tournament appearance for Utah State had the 2020 tournament not been canceled due to COVID-19.
Richmond will return 15 of its 16 players from the 2020-2021 season, when the Spiders went 14-9. Richmond’s roster includes four 1,000-point scorers who elected to use their additional year of COVID-19 eligibility to remain at Richmond: Nathan Cayo, Jacob Gilyard, Grant Golden, and Nick Sherod.