OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma City University is set to host the three-day Abe Lemons Classic inside Abe Lemons Arena on Nov. 2-4 with schools coming from Texas, California, Florida, Missouri, and New Mexico to open up the the 2023-24 season. 

In 1955 Abe Lemons was brought on as the head coach of his alma mater at Oklahoma City University where coached OCU from 1955-1973. Lemons then moved on to coach Pan American University, better known as UT Rio Grande Valley from 1973-1976. From 1976-1982 Lemons found himself at the helm for the University of Texas where he served as president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 1977 and was named National Coach of the Year in 1978. In March 1978, Lemons led the University of Texas to the championship of the NIT with a victory over North Carolina State. 

In 1983 Lemons found himself back at Oklahoma City University in his second stint with his alma mater where he led the Chiefs (now known as Stars) to the NAIA Championship tournament once and to the District IX playoffs four times. Lemons was Sooner Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1985–1986. OCU had an undefeated season record and a trip to the NAIA tournament in 1986–1987. That year, they were ranked number one throughout the season. The season ended with a 34–1 record, Lemons was named District 9 Coach of the Year and Sooner Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. In 1987, he was named Basketball Times Coach of the Year. In 1989, he received the Jim Thorpe Lifetime Achievement Award. During his 25 years with OCU, Lemons posted a record of 432–264. 

OCU is set to host the classic in Abe's honor beginning on Thursday, Nov. 2, and will run through Saturday evening on Nov. 4. The field will be made up of seven schools coming from all different parts of the country. 

All games will be live-streamed on the SAC Sports Network which you can find on the OCU website. General admission tickets for each day will cost $10, Seniors (65+) will be $8 each day and Children (K-12) will be $7 for each day. There is also the option to purchase the full game pass giving you all eight games over three days for $20 as you can purchase all tickets through the ticket link on OCUsports.com. 

Classic Schedule