Billy Minardi Classic

The Billy Minardi Classic is an annual college basketball event hosted by the University of Louisville. The event is named after Billy Minardi, Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino's brother-in-law. Minardi was killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The event has featured December doubleheader and single games at Freedom Hall and the KFC Yum! Center.^[1]^[2]^[3]

History[]

The Classic was founded in 2002 and named after Billy Minardi, Rick Pitino's deceased brother-in-law. The Classic features at least one game with Louisville each season. Typically the event features a doubleheader, but has also been a single-game event. Originally the game was played at Freedom Hall until Louisville moved its home games to the KFC Yum! Center. In 2015 the event featured a two-day, four-team tournament.

References[]

^ Rutherford, Mike (17 December 2016). "Louisville-EKU preview".
^ "UofL BASKETBALL - Cardinals Dominate Colonels in Billy Minardi Classic".
^ "Billy Minardi Classic Bracket, Scores, Stats, Schedule - RealGM".

[1] Rutherford, Mike (17 December 2016). "Louisville-EKU preview".

[2] "UofL BASKETBALL - Cardinals Dominate Colonels in Billy Minardi Classic".

[3] "Billy Minardi Classic Bracket, Scores, Stats, Schedule - RealGM".

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[2]

[3]

v t Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
Venues	Belknap Gymnasium (1933–1944) Jefferson County Armory (1945–1956) Freedom Hall (1956–2010) KFC Yum! Center (2010–present)
Rivalries	Cincinnati Kentucky Memphis
Culture & lore	Billy Minardi Classic Cardinal Bird The Rivalry: Red v. Blue
People	Statistical leaders
Seasons	1916–17 1922–23 1942–43 1958–59 1971–72 1974–75 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
NAIA and NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics