In conjunction with 313 Presents, the University of Michigan basketball team announced a charity exhibition game against Oakland University to benefit Forgotten Harvest at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday, October 20 at 5 p.m. The charity exhibition will be available on BTN Plus.
Forgotten Harvest is a non-profit food insecurity organization whose vision is to work with communities to end hunger and create individual, neighborhood, economic, and environmental health. Food insecurity is one’s inability to obtain sufficient food for their household’s needs.
Metro Detroit’s largest food rescue operation, Forgotten Harvest rescues surplus food produced, or ordered, in amounts greater than what can be sold from over 560 food donors and delivers it for free to over 220 community agency partners. Last fiscal year (2022-23) Forgotten Harvest distributed over 40 million pounds of food, or 33 million meals.
The exhibition not only marks the debut of U-M’s new head coach Dusty May, while Oakland’s legendary head coach Greg Kampe begins his 41st campaign with the Golden Grizzlies.
Michigan has had nine regular season matchups with Oakland, including the last in 2020 at Crisler Center. The charity exhibition marks the third time the Wolverines and Golden Grizzlies will have played at the home of the Detroit Pistons -- Little Caesars Arena (2024) and The Palace of Auburn Hills (2008 and 2011).
U-M makes its third appearance playing in Little Caesars Arena. U-M faced Detroit Mercy (W, 90-58) in the first collegiate basketball game (Dec. 16, 2017) in the new downtown arena. The Maize and Blue then hosted Eastern Michigan in a Battle of Washtenaw Country on Nov. 11, 2022 -- a thrilling 88-83 victory over the Eagles.
Oakland has made six trips to Little Caesars Arena, playing Michigan State on three occasions (2017, 2019 and 2021) in mid-December, while adding three games in the Horizon League Tournament (2018 and 2019). The Golden Grizzlies are 1-5 in downtown contests.