The Champions Classic is an event that tips off the NCAA Division I men's basketball season.

This would be the beginning of a three-year rotation, originally scheduled to end in 2013, where each of the teams would play each other once.

The 2019 games featured the schools ranked first, second, third, and fourth in both the AP and Coaches polls.

[5] From 2017 to 2021, all four teams were coached by members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame; Bill Self of Kansas was the last of the four coaches inducted in 2017, Mike Krzyzewski retired at the end of the 2021–22 season.

As of the conclusion of the 2024 games, Kansas has the best record in the Champions Classic at 9-5, followed by Duke at 8-6, Kentucky at 6-8, and Michigan State at 5-9.