IU basketball will play Tennessee in exhibition for minority scholarship foundation

BLOOMINGTON – IU basketball will face Tennessee in a preseason exhibition game benefitting the John McLendon Minority Scholarship Foundation, the program announced Tuesday.

The game will be played Sunday, Oct. 27, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn. Time and television details will be announced at a later date. Tickets go on sale beginning Sept. 16.

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Charity benefit scrimmages have become more commonplace among high-major college basketball programs in recent years. NCAA rules only allow Division I programs to schedule other Division I opponents in preseason games if said games benefit some sort of charity, with the competitive benefits making the arrangement worthwhile. Purdue faced Arkansas under a similar arrangement last season, and is scheduled to play Creighton in October through the same process.

A rule change allowing these sorts of exhibitions at will was believed to be close to certification during the offseason before it was ultimately voted down. Discussions between IU and Tennessee predate that decision, but the two programs converted said plans to satisfy existing rules. Tennessee joins Marian among Indiana’s confirmed exhibition opponents for the coming season.

Named for former North Carolina Central, Hampton, Tennessee State, Kentucky State and Cleveland State coach John McLendon, the McLendon Foundation offers postgraduate scholarships to minority students who intend on pursuing an advanced degree in athletics administration. The Foundation offers eight postgraduate scholarships annually, each in the amount of $10,000.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IU Hoosiers basketball will play Tennessee in exhibition for charity