A dream of MSU Athletics Director Mark Hollis, the event — the Quicken Loans Carrier Classic — took several detours and seven years to come to fruition.

“Anytime things are happening in your world, you ask yourself, ‘In the world that I’m in, what can you do?’ And that’s something (Izzo and I) both sort of looked at and asked what can we do?,” Hollis said.

“In 2004, we made a trip to the Pentagon and talked about the possibility of playing a game (on an aircraft carrier).”

That original idea was to be played in Jacksonville, Fla., on the USS John F. Kennedy, with MSU and UNC playing two service academies. That idea took a backseat for several years before a friend from CBS Sports introduced Hollis to Morale Entertainment Foundation Director Mike Whalen about two years ago.

The pair traded ideas and everything else virtually is history.

The idea
Whalen and Morale Entertainment have taken actors, athletes and astronauts to Baghdad to help improve troop morale.

The Carrier Classic falls right in line with those trips, Whalen said.

“We thought there was a need (to do something in the U.S.),” he said. “We’ve probably touched 90 to 100,000 troops. We’ve never had a single person make a complaint about their service. I think that’s really special.”

Hollis said there are two goals to the event: celebrate Veterans Day in a positive manner and support troops and their families.

And the event will be about the troops, with all but 1,300 of the 7,000 tickets going to military servicemen. Both teams will wear camouflage uniforms with USA nameplates. Tickets to the event are free, and any revenue goes to Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.

Both North Carolina and MSU gave up a home game on their schedules, but it was worth it for the cause, Hollis said.

“It’s about the troops,” he said. “It’s about those who protect us and we hope this game brings some national celebration to the individuals on a day that you’re supposed to thank those that have served, in a positive way.”

Although some students are a little upset they weren’t considered for the crowd, many, such as no-preference freshman Craig Judy, said it’s acceptable for this occasion.

“It’s different and it’s pretty awesome,” Judy said. “I don’t think it’s that big of a deal students weren’t really invited. It’s more for the sailors and military than anything else.”

Nuts and bolts
Thousands of man-hours from hundreds of volunteers have worked the past week to help construct the make-shift arena on the flight deck.

The court took about nine days to construct and will be torn down in four.

The event cost about $3 million and was funded by sponsors, and Morale will not make a profit, Whalen said.

Kevin Pauga, MSU director of basketball operations, said the Carrier Classic relied on many things coming together at the right time and for both schools, the Navy and Morale Entertainment to work hand-in-hand.

“Lots of unique deals come with something of this scale,” Pauga said. “There’s such a confluence of things that had to fall in place for this to happen. You have to be able to have the ship. Well, you can’t just call somebody up and say, ‘Hey we’re looking for an aircraft carrier,’ there’s a lot more steps to it. It’s taken this long to come to reality.”

Hollis kept a hand in the planning for most of the event, but said it posed a challenge at times.

”It’s the first time for something like this,” he said.

“(It’s) so unique, has so many challenges, it’s just trying to stay on the front end of it. For the last year we’ve been working on the operational setup to the logistics of it — from the event to how do you fund it to who goes to the event? It’s just been, quite frankly, an overwhelming process when you’re trying to do it with normal football and basketball games.”

The event
Administrators, coaches and players all said Friday is more than a basketball game, it’s about the troops and the country.

The crowd will be interlaced — one row MSU fans, one row military, one row UNC fans — to increase the interaction between the groups.

While the game is being played, more than half of the U.S. Navy already will be deployed, and Navy spokesman Dennis Moynihan said the game will be a great tribute to them.

“From the Navy’s perspective we just see this as a celebration of our service,” Moynihan said. “We just hope that (viewers) get a chance to see the Vinson sailors. Incredible ambassadors who make up the 284 ships that make up your Navy.”

Izzo said today a dream of his comes true.

“The people are what makes it,” Izzo said. “How about me? I get the unique deal of playing the No. 1 team in the country, but I’m at a place with the No. 1 team in the world — the military.”

The teams, coaches and school are proud to support the military, but the sailors are just as excited.

The sailors were all excited for the event when it was announced, said Mike Moeser, operations administrative director on the Carl Vinson and University of Michigan graduate. Moeser said he’ll be rooting for MSU and the Big Ten.

“It’s a major (morale) boost,” he said. “Sports is always good, it’s a major morale booster. That’s why we have ESPN when we’re underway.”

The spectacle surrounding the game has been a distraction, but senior forward Draymond Green said it’ll wear off come game time, but the smiles on all the faces will stay.

“Yes, but as it is getting closer and closer to the game, we get back into it’s just a game, time to play,” Green said. “(The sailors are) very thankful, but we’re also thankful for what they do for us everyday.”

Although it was quite a feat to overcome logistical challenges, in the end, everything was well worth it, Hollis said.

“All coming together in an amazing way to pay tribute to the veterans and those in service,” he said. “Whenever a question came up, we thought about those men and women who go overseas to protect our freedoms and those they left behind. That’s why we’re here, for them.”