The Champions Classic is an event that tips off the NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It features four of the top programs in the United States. The venue changes from year to year, with Madison Square Garden being the first venue. The first Classic was held on November 15, 2011 with Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan State being the first participants. This would be the beginning of a three-year rotation, originally scheduled to end in 2013, where each of the teams would play each other once. The event is televised on ESPN.
Three of the four teams from the 2014 Champions Classic advanced to the 2015 Final Four (Duke, Kentucky, and Michigan State).
The series is currently set to run until 2019.
References
Champions Classic Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA