The BB&T Classic is a Washington, D.C.-based basketball event that has been held annually since 1995, when it was known as the Franklin National Bank Classic. It is staged at the Verizon Center on or around the first weekend in December. The event raises funds for the Children's Charities Foundation, a fund-raising organization that financially supports Washington, D.C.-area charities.
Played as a tournament with championship and consolation games from 1995 to 2004, the BB&T Classic has been a non-tournament event since 2005.
Format
Originally, the event lasted two days and featured four teams, highlighted by local mainstays Maryland and George Washington, accompanied by two nationally recognized programs. The first day would consist of a doubleheader pitting each of the local teams against each of the national teams. The following afternoon, a championship game would be held between the two opening-round winners. A consolation game between the two teams who lost in the opening round also took place.
In 2005, the BB&T Classic's format was altered due to its inability to attract nationally renowned programs, partly because participating teams had two fewer home games. The event transformed from a tournament into a tripleheader played as a single-evening weeknight event. In 2008 and 2009, it was played as a doubleheader. It returned to the tripleheader format in 2010, but from 2011 through 2014 it was a doubleheader. In 2015, the format again changed, with the Classic consisting of a single game. In 2016, the Classic again became a doubleheader.
The event has been broadcast both nationally on ABC and locally on Washington D.C.'s WDCA. The 2005 and 2006 editions were shown on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic; in recent years the BB&T Classic has been televised on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN). In 2014, Fox Sports 1 and ESPN3 each carried one game.
Maryland played in the first 19 BB&T Classic events, but has opted not to since 2014, leaving George Washington as the only team to play in all 20 BB&T Classics through 2014. However, George Washington did not participate in 2015, leaving Georgetown as the only local team in the 2015 field. George Washington returned to the Classic in 2016.