Michigan State is officially scheduled to play North Carolina on the USS Carl Vinson on Nov. 11, 2011. The United States Navy signed off on the game on Friday, making the first ever Carrier Classic official.
Rear Admiral Dennis Moynihan, the Navy's chief spokesman, and Mike Whalen, director of the Morale Entertainment Foundation, said the game on 11-11-11 on San Diego Bay will be played without cost to taxpayers and without operational issues that would adversely affect the Navy.
"We think that the game is going to be a celebration of service to all veterans. We're excited about that," Moynihan said Friday.
Contingency plans have been put together in case of any last-second issues, such as rain or the USS Carl Vinson needing to deploy. If it does rain, the game will be moved below deck to the hangar. If the Carl Vinson is needed elsewhere in the world, the game could be moved to the USS Midway or a college gym. Of course, the whole point of the game is to play it on an aircraft carrier, so let's hope both the weather and the schedule for the Carl Vinson cooperate.