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The classic, which will be called the Zions Bank Beehive Classic, will be held annually and will feature in-state schools BYU, Utah, Utah State and Weber State. The classic will be hosted at the Vivint Smart Home Arena and will begin in the 2017 season.
The four in-state schools will compete in a doubleheader each December from 2017-19 and will rotate opponents in a round-robin format over the three-year scheduled classic.
Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017
- BYU vs. Weber State
- Utah State vs. Utah
Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018
- Utah State vs. Weber State
- Utah vs. BYU
Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019
- Weber State vs. Utah
- BYU vs. Utah State
“We are excited to announce the Zions Bank Beehive Classic — a celebration of community and basketball,” LHMSE president Steve Starks said in a prepared statement. “Our organization is thrilled to bring these four great schools, and their fans, together at Vivint Smart Home Arena for an annual one-day doubleheader.”
Utah State athletic director John Hartwell said he's "excited to participate" and that it will be a "tremendous way to promote college basketball in our basketball-crazed state." Utah athletic director Chris Hill added that he's "excited about bringing in four state teams to participate in this neutral site event. This will be a great event for the fans of our state."
“This is really exciting for us to be a part of the Beehive Classic,” Weber State athletics director Jerry Bovee said. “There is a rich history of college basketball in the state of Utah and our fans and alumni always look forward to playing teams from the state. This showcase will give college basketball fans a chance to see a doubleheader each season, plus we expect to continue a home-and-home series with BYU and Utah State, and we’ll get Utah back on the schedule through this showcase. This will be a great event for Weber State fans and fans of college basketball in the state.”
Each school will be given 4,500 tickets, which will provide access to both games. A portion of the ticket sales will be given to each schools' scholarship funds.
Following the University of Utah’s decision for a one-year hiatus against playing BYU earlier this year, Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said he was interested in working something out where all local schools would meet up in a similar tournament.
“We have talked about trying to do some type of tournament within the state — there’s some great basketball programs in the state — doing something at the Vivint Smart Home Arena,” Krystkowiak said at the time.
BYU and Utah agreed to a game in the 2017 season, but it will not be rolled into the classic and will be a stand alone game. Hill said in May that he was looking to a plan that includes "future matchups with other in-state schools."
Utah and Utah State haven't faced each other in a game since the 2010-11 season. Krystkowiak said back in January that he didn't schedule a game against the Aggies because he and then-head coach Stew Morrill chose not to.
"The reason we haven’t played Utah State is not because anybody’s running from it," Krystkowiak said. "Truth be known is because Stew Morrill and I are really good friends, and we didn’t want to play each other. Maybe it looked a little more political, but when we visit with each other Stew said, ‘I don’t want to play you,’ and I said, ‘I don’t want to play you.’ And through our athletic directors we managed to not play each other."
A press conference will take place on Thursday at 1 p.m. where more information will be released. Athletic directors from each of the school will be present, as well as Starks.
