The New York Times has just reported that the Kentucky men’s basketball team will play the Michigan Wolverines in a game in London, England next year as part of a new three-year deal between both respective programs. 

Jon Rothstein of the Times reports that the deal will not only allow Kentucky to showcase itself internationally, but that it also gives Michigan the chance to participate in a multiyear series against the Cats. 

Next year’s game is expected to take place at London’s O2 Arena. The famed venue is known for hosting concerts of the world’s most popular artists, along with several NBA games. 

Rothstein also reports that part of the arrangements of this said deal is that both schools will square off against each other on one another’s campuses. This is referred to as a “home-and-home” series. That’s slated to take place in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.

“This series with Michigan checks off a lot of boxes when we’re looking at teams to schedule,” UK head coach John Calipari said in a recent Kentucky Athletics press release. “The first thing is, to add an opponent like Michigan and to do so at a point in the schedule where we’re beginning to find out who we are as a team will be important in our development.

According to Rothstein, the sources who spoke on the deal did so out of anonymity because they couldn’t release details of the deal that had not yet been made public.

Kentucky Athletics confirmed the details of the report in the press release.