Capital Hoops Classic
The Capital Hoops Classic is a Canadian rivalry basketball series between the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and Carleton University Ravens sponsored by bank holding company MBNA. The series, featuring both the men's and women's teams, has been held since 2007 at Canadian Tire Centre (known until 2013 as Scotiabank Place) and traditionally occurs on the first Friday in February. Both schools are located in the city of Ottawa; Ottawa is older of the two and is located in the downtown Sandy Hill neighbourhood of the city, while Carleton sits between Old Ottawa South and  Dow's Lake. Both teams compete in the East division of Ontario University Athletics in U Sports, and frequently finish near the top of the league table. History. On January 23, 2007, the two men's basketball teams faced off at Scotiabank Place in front of nearly 9,720 spectators, which was a record crowd for a regular season basketball game in U Sports (then known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport). The Ottawa Gee-Gees won the inaugural event 64–62. This event, now known as the Capital Hoops Classic, has been expanded to include the women's teams as well, with the  Classic featuring a doubleheader of both teams. The January 28, 2009 edition of the game broke the 2007 record with 10,523 fans attending the two games, with both of Carleton's teams posting victories over Ottawa. In the 2013–14 season the teams faced each other both in the provincial and national finals, with Ottawa winning the OUA championship and Carleton winning the national title. The 2015 matchup set a new record attendance at 10,780 and was the first time in the series where the Gee-Gees Men's team were the top-ranked team in the CIS, with the Ravens  holding second. The Gee-Gees defeated the Ravens in an earlier game; the inaugural "Bytown Battle" which took place at the U of O's Montpetit Hall. However, while their women won 46–40, the Gee-Gees men were unable to defeat the Ravens in the rivalry series, falling 79–66. The 2021 edition of the games were not played, and the 2022 games were played at Carleton University, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. See also. Panda Game