No regrets on aircraft carrier hoops games despite issues

• Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said he'd schedule an aircraft carrier game again despite cancellation
• Smith pointed out Ohio State-Marquette and the also canceled Florida-Georgetown game were the first forays into east-coast aircraft carrier games
• The game was the least important part of the experience, as it was a tribute to armed forces

Despite the Ohio State-Marquette basketball game aboard the USS Yorktown being canceled due to condensation on the court, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith told USA TODAY Sports on Saturday morning he'd "definitely do it again."

"We'd work with the operators to see if we could do it in a way to ensure that we could avoid what we encountered this year," Smith said, suggesting that it might be better to try to play the games earlier in the day.

Mike Whalen, the promoter of the Carrier Classic, said his company still plans to hold the event next year in South Carolina and that he had received calls from interested schools as recently as Saturday morning.

"If things go the right way, maybe we'll just do a rematch," Whalen told USA TODAY Sports. "It's still too early to tell."

Smith pointed out that the Ohio State-Marquette game -- scheduled to be played off the coast of South Carolina -- and Florida-Georgetown, which was played off the coast of Jacksonville and made it through a half of basketball before cancellation because of moisture on the court, were the first foray into east coast aircraft carrier games.

"The weather differential is significantly different than San Diego, where (the Carrier Classic) was last year, so I think it was a different experience for the operators and us," Smith said. "None of us anticipated we'd have an inclement weather situation."

Though Whalen and everyone involved in planning the Ohio State-Marquette game were disappointed with the outcome, Whalen said the decision to cancel the game was easy.

"These are college guys, and many of them could potentially have a professional career," Whalen said. "I take a lot of risk doing these games, but if one of these guys gets hurt, it's not worth it.

"Trying to push to have a game would have been stupid. ... You can't really fight Mother Nature."

Whalen and Smith repeatedly emphasized one point: The game was the least important part of the experience, even though the fact that it didn't get played is receiving a great deal of attention. "What we're trying to do is a lot more than a basketball game," Whalen said.

"The real focus is being lost," Smith said."I wish every sportswriter could have the opportunity to see the engagement with the military that occurred. That's what it's all about. These people protect our freedom. The opportunity to generate some funds to help them and to have our student-athletes interact with them and bring joy to their lives is -- you know, the game is not the biggest benefit here.

"There's people who will say we shouldn't do it again, but I'd look at doing it again in a minute in the right situation."

Captain Greg Hicks, the deputy chief of Navy information, attended the Navy-Marine Corps Classic between Florida and Georgetown and said, "it was an absolutely incredible experience."

"All the sailors and Marines involved will be richer for the experience," Hicks told USA TODAY Sports, estimating that more than 1,000 members of the Navy and Marines attended or were involved in the game in Jacksonville.

So would the Navy get involved in something like this again?

"In the future, like any others outreach event, we would determine whether we could support it," Hicks said.