Fang's Bites

Breaking Out Some Thursday Linkage

Let’s do the Thursday linkage. We’re doing well so far this week, knock on wood.

Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal reports NBC’s overnight rating for Wednesday’s Olympic Primetime was up from Beijing.

Tripp Mickle of Sports Business Journal says YouTube is looking to further strengthen its live sports portfolio after streaming Olympic content in Africa and Asia.

Austin Karp of SBJ says NBC’s Olympic ratings remain ahead of Beijing’s pace.

Michael Katz of USA Today notes that USA gold medal-winning gymnast McKayla Maroney taught NBC’s Jenna Bush how to do the Dougie. Can’t wait for Colin Cowherd to criticize both for their upbringings.

Speaking of McKayla, Erin Carlson of the Hollywood Reporter notes that one of the funniest internet memes has come Maroney’s reaction to winning the silver medal last week in the individual vault event. Here is the site, “McKayla Maroney is not Impressed” which is being updated quite frequently.

Major League Baseball has released the 2012 Postseason schedule with networks.

John Eggerton at Broadcasting & Cable says Comcast is still fighting an FCC decision requiring the cable provider to make room for Tennis Channel.

Dan Alexander at Forbes writes that the U.S. Fierce Five gymnasts stand to make a lot of money in endorsements.

Brian Steinberg of Advertising Age says the 2012 Olympics may be winding down, but NBCUniversal has already sold a portion of its ad time for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life says NBC’s strategy to put the Olympics on NBC Sports Network is paying off.

Steve Lepore at SB Nation provides his rankings for NBC’s Olympic announcers.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report is surprised to learn that CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus and golf producer Lance Barrow aren’t concerned with slow play in golf.

Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times writing for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says critics of NBC’s tape delays should be focusing their anger at something else.

Steve Myers at the Poynter Institute says a new Gallup Poll finds viewers want their Olympics live in primetime.

Stephen Douglas at The Big Lead has video of Fox’s Erin Andrews and Eddie George dancing to “Call Me Maybe”.

NBC Sports provides a sneak peek at its new digs currently under construction in Connecticut.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group explores how the Olympics are being sent to Australia.

Bill Carter of the New York Times writes that female Olympic athletes are finding the spotlight and scrutiny rather harsh, especially Lolo Jones.

Arthur S. Brisbane, the Times’ public editor believes Jeré Longman’s article that began the public takedown of Jones was too harsh.

Sam Borden of the Times says viewers of women’s water polo are getting a bit more exposure than they anticipated.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette notes that ESPNU won’t airing any college hockey regular season games again.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record notes that local radio stations will be picking up national college and NFL broadcasts this fall.

In Press Box, Dave Hughes from DCRTV.com notes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic will be all over the Baltimore Ravens and DC NFL Team in the preseason.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun looks at a poll which shows a majority of Americans like how NBC is handling the Olympics.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says MLB Network’s Kevin Millar and ESPN’s Dick Vitale (?) are weighing in on the Nationals’ strategy to shut down pitcher Stephen Strasburg.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes that NBC is setting viewership records both online and on TV for the Olympics.

At the Bleacher Report, Jim looks at Telemundo’s coverage of the 2012 London Games.

Back to Eric Deggans, this time in his home newspaper the Tampa Bay Times, says NBC’s syndicated Olympic Zone program blurs the line between real news and advertising.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that the Reds’ hot July pumped Fox Sports Ohio’s ratings.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Big Ten Network’s college football announcers have some local ties.

Danny Ecker of Crain’s Chicago Business writes that local TV ratings for the Olympics are good, but not at the top of the country.

David Brauer of the Minnesota Post looks at Minneapolis-St. Paul’s radio ratings including the sports radio wars.

Scott D. Pierce from the Salt Lake Tribune says Salt Lake has the highest ratings in the nation for the Olympics once again.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says it’s about time for the annual Vin Scully announcement on whether he’ll return for another season.

Sports Media Watch has some of the bottom feeders among the local ratings for the Olympics.

Joe Favorito says the soccer exhibition “friendlies” may now be over in the U.S., but they helped to grow the game.

The latest Awful Announcing podcast has ESPN’s Darren Rovell as the guest.

Dave Kohl at the Broadcast Booth looks at some teams making flagship radio station moves.

And that’s going to finish us for today.

Samantha Steele To Replace Erin Andrews on College GameDay on ESPNU

Give props to The Big Lead for breaking this story last week. ESPN has announced that Samantha Steele, formerly of Fox College Sports, Fox Sports Net and the Longhorn Network, has been promoted to the Mothership. She’ll be the host of the first hour of College GameDay replacing Erin Andrews who as we all know went to Fox Sports.

Steele has been on the fast track at ESPN. She has received a few high profile assignments in her first year under the ESPN umbrella. Besides being buried on the Longhorn Network, Samantha worked some Friday Night College Football games for ESPN and ESPN2 last season and also was on the National Spelling Bee.

She’ll host the first hour of College GameDay mostly from the site of ESPN’s or ABC’s primetime game. Previously, she was announced as the ESPN Thursday Night Football sideline reporter.

Here’s the announcement from ESPN.

Samantha Steele Joins College GameDay on ESPNU

Samantha Steele will join the first hour (9 – 10 a.m. ET) of College GameDay on ESPNU each Saturday this college football season. In addition, she will provide features and updates for the 10 a.m. – noon hours of GameDay on ESPN.

Alongside host Chris Fowler and analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard and David Pollack, Steele will preview the week’s best matchups, teams and storylines from the site of that weekend’s biggest game. She will travel to GameDay at the conclusion of the ESPN Thursday Night Football game, where it was announced earlier this month she will serve as the sideline reporter with the booth of Rece Davis and analysts Jessie Palmer and Pollack, who will also be in his first year with the Thursday night crew.

“In a short time, Samantha has established herself as a credible host and reporter,” said Lee Fitting, ESPN senior coordinating producer. “Her enthusiasm, energy and connections within the college football landscape will be a great addition to our already deep and talented lineup.”

Prior to this role, Steele had been a reporter for Longhorn Network. Her LHN replacement will be announced in the coming weeks.

Back later.

ESPNU To Launch Its Own Late Night Entertainment/Talk Show

It’ll be called UNITE as in ESPNU Late Night. It will premiere on ESPNU at midnight ET on August 27. The show will have three hosts and will originate from the ESPN Bristol, CT studios. The hosts have yet to be named.

According to the press release, the show will intersperse sports, humor and social media. There will be guests and sometimes they’ll be hooked through Skype. ESPN says 35 journalism schools from around the country will be tapped to provide opinions and insights to the show live.

The show also plans to utilize Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. So the show plans to be on the forefront of social media. We’ll see how successful the show is in tapping the pulse of the younger generation.

Here’s the press release from ESPN.

ESPNU Enters Late Night with UNITE

ESPN will officially make its foray into the late-night television circuit on August 27. The network’s first late-night entertainment show, UNITE, will air daily on ESPNU at midnight ET providing a live late-night snack of sports, humor and social buzz Monday through Friday.

“An authentic late-night entertainment show for a new generation of sports fans is an idea we have been pursuing for several years” said Rosalyn Durant ESPNU vice president. “We want to connect with some of the most passionate college fans – college students – at the intersection of sports and pop culture.”

ESPN’s Yaron Deskalo, an Emmy Award-winning E:60 producer, is the show’s coordinating producer, planning and shaping the content and structure of UNITE.

“The way people consume entertainment has shifted dramatically, and continues to evolve by the day.  There is a unique opportunity to provide sports news and humor through new avenues,” said Deskalo. “Some things on UNITE you will recognize as late-night entertainment staples – a couch, guests and, of course, an in-studio musical act – will all be part of the show, but not necessarily in the way you’ve seen it done before.”

Live from the ESPN studios in Bristol, Conn., the show’s three hosts will push the envelope Monday – Friday with an often irreverent look at social media and video-driven sports of the day. Expect nightly guests, but not always on the couch. The show will use the latest technologies to connect with the world outside the studio walls, incorporating many guests and sports fans via Skype with a 103” monitor as a set centerpiece.

The heartbeat of the show will come from the nation at large. UNITE has already tapped more than 35 journalism schools, expanding  upon ESPNU’s existing Campus Connection program, as the show’s “School Board” to provide insights from around the quad on breaking news and trending topics. The voices of the student body, athletes and fans will be thread throughout with live tweeting, on-campus photos and videos nightly.

Sports and pop culture news will be discussed through the lens of social media, utilizing a specially designed aggregation tool to monitor social trends on the rise, track down tweets, Facebook posts, YouTube videos and photos.

“During the day, ESPN gives viewers a comprehensive overview of the world of sports:  Highlight reels, pundits, analysis, and breaking news,” said Deskalo. “At this hour, we are looking to loosen our ties, just like our audience. It’s still ESPN, but things will be different after dark.”

There you have it.

Let’s Do Some Wednesday Linkage

Time for the links on this Wednesday. Let’s check out what we have.

Marisa Guthrie of the Hollywood Reporter talks with NBC’s Bob Costas about the Olympics, Jerry Sandusky and being short. That’s right.

Daniel Kaplan from the Sports Business Journal writes that the NFL will not sign a telecommunications partner this season and will see how the Wi-Fi experience goes at five stadiums before deciding.

Owen Gibson of the London (UK) Guardian reports that BBC has scored the rights to the Olympics through 2020.

BBC Director-General Mark Thompson blogs about the Beeb keeping the UK rights to the Olympics.

I have the BBC press release on the new Olympics contract.

Jeff Labrecque of Entertainment Weekly says ESPNU will have its own late night entertainment/talk show premiering in late August.

Also from EW, Dan Snierson says disgraced former Cincinnati Reds star Pete Rose will get his own TLC reality show. The question is, who doesn’t have a TLC reality show?

Brian Moran at Broadcasting & Cable says World Team Tennis will get live national coverage this weekend on Tennis Channel and the Comcast SportsNet regional affiliates.

Toni Fitzgerald at Media Life writes that ratings for the Home Run Derby were up while the All-Star Game took a hit.

The SportsCasters speak with Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim about Joe Posnanski’s book on Joe Paterno.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report wonders why SI passed on printing an excerpt of Posnanski’s book.

Ed notices that the promotional video for the Paterno book has been removed from YouTube.

Ed talks with an ESPN executive on the network now using its own cameras instead of relying on the BBC to cover the Open Championship.

Reinhardt Krause of Investor’s Business Daily look at how cable providers are finding ways to drive up sports rights fees.

The Tampa Bay Times’ Eric Deggans in the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center talks with Real Sports’ Frank Deford about his updated piece on marching band hazing at historically black colleges.

SportsGrid’s Eric Goldschein has video of Los Angeles Dodgers voice Vin Scully scolding the team for its failure to execute a rundown play.

Patrick Burns at Deadspin says the Joe Paterno story dominated ESPN’s news coverage last week.

Deadspin’s John Koblin notes that Sports Illustrated is beginning to use the photo sharing site, Instagram.

The London (UK) Mirror provides 100 bizarre facts about the Olympics.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with ESPN’s Paul Azinger about the Open Championship.

Brandon Marcello of the Jackson (MS) Clarion-Ledger says the SEC Storied documentary series will produce a film on a former Mississippi State football coach.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman notes that with the Thunder’s Kevin Durant, USA basketball vs. Brazil on ESPN drew very well locally.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer wonders what exactly will the new TLC Pete Rose reality show be about?

John says a local internet service provider will add ESPN3 in August.

Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times looks at ESPN paying the Rose Bowl $80 million per year starting in 2015.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has a preview of tonight’s “The Franchise” episode on Showtime which will show the Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton going under the knife.

Joe Flint of the Times has Comcast appealing to the government to butt out of its programming decisions i.e., Tennis Channel.

Sports Media Watch notes that TNT’s NASCAR season finale saw increased ratings.

SMW has some ratings news and notes.

Chinwe Nwadike at Chinwe’s Corner wonders why some in the media are angry at Fox’s Erin Andrews.

Emmett Jones at Sports Business Digest says the WWE has established a social media hub for investors.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing has a screengrab of the Longhorn Network taking one final shot at Texas A&M before it leaves the Big 12 for good.

Jason Boog at Galleycat says an NBC Sports producer has published a children’s book on the Olympics.

That will do it for today.

Preliminary 2012 SEC Football TV Schedule

This comes from the SEC’s website via CBSSports.com. This is the TV schedule for the SEC football season to date. We know the games through September 15 and a few other selections after that. But as we go further into the season, CBS and ESPN will make their selections and then the rest of the games will fall to the SEC Network, Fox Sports Net, CSS and other partners.

That will do it.

ESPN Announces SEC Football Selections For 1st 3 Weeks of the 2012 Season

The SEC Football schedule is out and for the South, this is like Christmas Day when you get to finally open the presents. Fans of the 14 member schools have been looking forward to this since the end of the last college football season. ESPN has selected its games for the first three weeks of the 2012 season and the network has selected 33 games to air on its various networks and platforms including the Mothership, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and the SEC Network.

In addition, those games not selected either by CBS and ESPN have gone to the other conference partners, Fox Sports Net, CSS and local pay per view. Matt’s College Sports has that schedule through September 15.

For ESPN, it begins its SEC schedule on August 30 with South Carolina at Vanderbilt in primetime. On September 8, ESPN will have an SEC conference tripleheader starting at noon with Auburn at Mississippi State, then at 3:30 p.m. the network airs Florida at Texas A&M (that being the Aggies’ first SEC Conference game) and at 7 p.m., it will be Washington taking on LSU in the Bayou.

We have the SEC on ESPN schedule through September 15 below.

ESPN Outlets Cover 33 SEC College Football Games in First Three Weeks of Season

ESPN has selected the Southeastern Conference college football games for coverage across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and the SEC Network during the first three weeks of the 2012 season. Overall, 33 games involving SEC teams will be carried from the season opener on Thursday, Aug. 30 (South Carolina at Vanderbilt at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN) to Saturday, Sept. 15. Additional selections will be determined as the season progresses. Highlights:

• The first three weeks will include multiple games involving all six of the SEC teams ranked in the College Football Live preseason top 25 poll, highlighted by five of the top nine.
• On Saturday, Sept. 8, ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to televise the first conference games of new members Texas A&M and Missouri: No. 25 Florida at Texas A&M at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN and No. 6 Georgia at Missouri at 7:45 p.m. on ESPN2.
• Additional conference showdowns in the first three weeks include No. 8 South Carolina at Vanderbilt (Thursday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m. on ESPN); Auburn at Mississippi State (Saturday, Sept. 8, at noon on ESPN); and No. 25 Florida at Tennessee (Saturday, Sept. 15, at 6 p.m. on ESPN).
• ESPN will offer an SEC tripleheader on Saturday, Sept. 8 beginning with Auburn at Mississippi State at noon followed by No. 25 Florida at Texas A&M at 3:30 p.m. and Washington at No. 2 LSU at 7 p.m.
• The first three games for No. 2 LSU and first two for No. 3 Alabama, the competing teams in last season’s BCS National Championship Game, won by Alabama 21-0:
• No. 2 LSU against North Texas (Saturday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m. on ESPNU), against Washington (Saturday, Sept. 8, 7 p.m. on ESPN) and against Idaho (Saturday, Sept. 15 on ESPN3).
• No. 3 Alabama against No. 10 Michigan in the Cowboys Classic from Arlington (Saturday, Sept. 1, at 8 p.m. on ABC) and against Western Kentucky (Saturday, Sept. 8, at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN3 and the SEC Network).

2012 SEC Schedule for August 30 through September 15
(additional selections will be announced):

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Thu, Aug 30	7 p.m.	No. 8 South Carolina at Vanderbilt *	ESPN
	7:30 p.m.	Texas A&M vs. Louisiana Tech (Shreveport, La.) *	ESPNU
Fri, Aug 31	7:30 p.m.	Kickoff Game: NC State vs. Tennessee (Atlanta) *	ESPNU
Sat, Sep 1	Noon	Buffalo at No. 6 Georgia	ESPN3 *** & SEC Network
	3:30 p.m.	Bowling Green at No. 25 Florida	ESPN
	7 p.m.	Kickoff Game: No. 18 Clemson vs. Auburn (Atlanta) *	ESPN
	7 p.m.	North Texas at No. 2 LSU	ESPNU
	7 p.m.	Jackson State at Mississippi State	ESPN3 *** & RSN
	7 p.m.	Central Arkansas at Mississippi	ESPN3 *** & PPV
	8 p.m.	Cowboys Classic: No. 10 Michigan vs. No. 3 Alabama (Arlington) *	ABC
	TBA	Jacksonville State at No. 9 Arkansas	ESPN3 *** & PPV
	TBA	Southeastern Louisiana at Missouri	ESPN3 *** & PPV
Sun, Sep 2	3:30 p.m.	Kentucky at Louisville *	ESPN
Sat, Sep 8	Noon	Auburn at Mississippi State	ESPN
	Noon	East Carolina at No. 8 South Carolina	ESPN3 *** & SEC Network
	3:30 p.m.	No. 25 Florida at Texas A&M	ESPN
	3:30 p.m.	Western Kentucky at No. 3 Alabama	ESPN3 *** & SEC Network
	4 p.m.	Georgia State at Tennessee	ESPN3 *** & PPV
	7 p.m.	Washington at No. 2 LSU	ESPN
	7 p.m.	Louisiana-Monroe at No. 9 Arkansas (Little Rock, Ark.)	ESPNU
	7 p.m.	UTEP at Mississippi	ESPN3 *** & RSN
	7:30 p.m.	Kent State at Kentucky	ESPN3 *** & RSN
	7:45 p.m.	No. 6 Georgia at Missouri	ESPN2
Sat, Sep 15	Noon	Louisiana-Monroe at Auburn	ESPN3 *** & SEC Network
	12:30 p.m.	Presbyterian at Vanderbilt	ESPN3 *** & RSN
	6 p.m.	No. 25 Florida at Tennessee	ESPN
	7 p.m.	Arizona State at Missouri	ESPN2
	7 p.m.	Western Kentucky at Kentucky	ESPNU
	7 p.m.	Mississippi State at Troy *	ESPN3 **
	7 p.m.	UAB at No. 8 South Carolina	ESPN3 *** & RSN
	7:30 p.m.	Florida Atlantic at No. 6 Georgia	ESPN3 *** & RSN
	8 p.m.	Idaho at No. 2 LSU	ESPN3 *** & PPV
	9:15 p.m.	No. 22 Texas at Mississippi	ESPN

* Previously announced
** ESPN3 Exclusive
*** Local blackout may apply

More throughout the day. Keep it here.

Grinding Out Some Tuesday Links For You

Let’s do some links. Couldn’t get to them yesterday. Time to grind some out today.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says ESPN won’t be an oasis away from political advertising this fall.

Michael also has the ratings on Wimbledon and NASCAR.

Bill King of Sports Business Journal looks at NBC bringing back boxing to network television.

Sports Business Daily Global notes that the Wimbledon men’s final drew well in both the US and the UK.

SBD says the International Olympic Committee is under fire for renewing sponsorship deals with McDonald’s and Coke in the midst of an increasing obesity crisis.

And Eric Fisher of SBD notes that MLB will allow players to Tweet during tonight’s All-Star Game.

Jason Fry of the ESPN Ombudsman’s Poynter Review Project notes that the Alleged Worldwide Leader’s reporting has changed thanks to Twitter.

Alicia Jessop at Forbes writes that Kansas City expects a big financial windfall from the MLB All-Star Game.

Ken Kerschbaumer of Sports Video Group looks at Fox’s ever-changing production of tonight’s All-Star Game.

Chris Ariens of TVNewser has a clip of Erin Andrews’ interview with Fox News’ Shepard Smith in Kansas City.

Glenn Davis from SportsGrid notes that one cover of ESPN the Magazine’s Body issue will feature a nekkid Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots.

A rare link to Grantland finds a 15,612 word oral history of WFAN written by Alex French and Howie Kahn. It’s really good, but read it at your own pace and not all at once.

Tim Baysinger at Broadcasting & Cable says the Gentlemen’s Final at Wimbledon drew ESPN’s best tennis ratings ever.

Tim says NBA TV is all over Summer League games in the next two weeks.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News notes that the combined TNT/truTV effort for last Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race brought the highest ratings for the Daytona 400 in four years.

Ann Killion of Adweek says Olympic athletes are trying to get their piece of marketing gold in the midst of companies getting all of the sponsorship money.

Also from Adweek, Anthony Crupi writes that NBC and Turner Sports appear to be fighting for the main cable rights to MLB.

Lifestyle Mirror has a fantastic photo shoot with Fang’s Bites fave Charissa Thompson.

To The Sherman Report where Ed Sherman has Part 1 of a two part series with Fox Sports MLB analyst Tim McCarver. And here’s Part 2.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times is amused that SNY, the home of the Mets, has erected a billboard at the Yankee Stadium subway train stop.

Richard says Jerry Seinfeld, a big baseball fan, will break down the iconic Abbot & Costello comedy skit, “Who’s on First?” on MLB Network.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says a local TV station has hired a new sportscaster.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says WFAN and ESPN Radio NY will split Dial Global Radio’s Olympic coverage later this month.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that new DC NFL Team QB Robert Griffin III was asked on local sports radio if he’s already more popular than the Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin.

Dan says DC NFL Team radio analyst Sam Huff has worked so long on the game broadcasts that the network feels he can call his own shots now.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with Fox Sports’ Tim McCarver.

Tom Jones at the Tampa Bay Times writes that a local TV station has signed to air NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football Bucs-Vikings game.

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle says MLB Network airs a documentary on the life and death of former Astros pitcher Darryl Kile.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman says ESPNU will re-air four games involving Sooner State schools in its top college football games of the season.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that despite the U.S. Women’s Open being played locally, there wasn’t much interest either on ESPN2 or on NBC.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says Fox Sports Florida sideline reporter Laura McKeeman was crowned Miss Florida over the weekend.

SportsRantz also profiles Ms. McKeeman.

Sports Media Watch says last night’s MLB Home Run Derby had a slight ratings decline from last year.

SMW says Fox’s Baseball Night in America ended its 8 week run on a high note thanks to Yanks-Red Sox.

ESPN Announces Preliminary Pac-12 Football Schedule

Last week, Fox and ESPN held their first-ever Pac-12 “Draft”, picking games among the two networks that they wanted to air this season. This being the first year of a long-term agreement, ESPN chose 12 games that will air on its various networks.

Many of these games will be shown in the late Saturday or Thursday night window, either at 9 p.m. or 10:30 p.m. ET.

More games will be added later. We have the first Big Dozen of Pac-12 games that the ESPN Family of Networks will provide in the 2012 season. You’ll notice the annual late November Notre Dame at USC game is already slated for either ABC or ESPN

We have the schedule below. You can read it and plan your football viewing.

Twelve Pac-12 College Football Games Added to ESPN 2012 Schedule

ESPN – entering the first year of a new 12-year agreement with the Pac-12 Conference – has selected 12 Pac-12 college football games for telecasts across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2 and ESPNU. Combined with previously announced games, 10 of the 12 Pac-12 institutions are now represented in the schedule to date. Additional games will be announced as the season progresses. Highlights:

• The early selections include multiple games involving USC and Oregon, the No. 1 and No. 4 teams in a preseason College Football Live preseason top 25 poll, respectively:

• No. 1 USC twice: at Utah (Thursday, Oct. 4, at 9 p.m. on ESPN) and against No. 24 Notre Dame (Saturday, Nov. 24, on ABC or ESPN).

• No. 4 Oregon three times:  against Arkansas State (Saturday, Sept. 1, at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN), against Arizona (Saturday, Sept. 22, on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2) and at Arizona State (Thursday, Oct. 18, at 9 p.m. on ESPN).

• ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to televise six weeknight Pac-12 games:

• Four consecutive Thursday ESPN College Football Primetime telecasts, highlighted by three games involving a preseason ranked team and Arizona State making consecutive appearances.

• ESPN and ESPN2 will each air a Friday night telecast in November.

• The newly announced games include the debut of three head coaches on Saturday, Sept. 1:

• Arkansas State’s Gus Malzahn will open his coaching tenure with the Red Wolves, the defending Sun Belt Conference champions, at defending Pac-12 and Rose Bowl champion Oregon at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN. Malzahn was the offensive coordinator of the Auburn team that defeated Oregon in the 2011 Tostitos BCS National Championship.

• ESPNU will televise a showdown of new head coaches when Arizona and new head coach Rich Rodriguez hosts Toledo, now led by Matt Campbell, at 10:30 p.m.

• ABC or ESPN will televise Notre Dame at USC, one of sports’ greatest rivalries that started in 1926, on Saturday, Nov. 24. Other traditional rivalry games include the Holy War between BYU and Utah (Saturday, Sept. 15, at 10 p.m. on ESPN2) and the Territorial Cup matching Arizona State against Arizona (Friday, Nov. 23, at 10 p.m. on ESPN).

As part of the new 12-year agreement between ESPN and the Pac-12, ESPN will deliver more football games than the previous agreement, including more games in the late Saturday night window, plus the Pac-12 Football Championship Game every other year starting in 2013; the addition of an extensive schedule of men’s regular-season basketball games, as well as select Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament matchups and the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship every other year starting with the 2012-13 season; and for the first time rights to women’s college basketball and other sports content.

The 2012 Pac-12 schedule (additional selections to be announced):

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Sat, Sep 1	10:30 p.m.	Arkansas State at No. 4 Oregon	ESPN
Sat, Sep 1	10:30 p.m.	Toledo at Arizona	ESPNU
Sat, Sep 8	10:30 p.m.	Illinois at Arizona State	ESPN
Sat, Sep 15	10 p.m.	BYU at Utah	ESPN2
Sat, Sep 22	TBD	Arizona at No. 4 Oregon	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Thu, Sep 27	9 p.m.	No. 15 Stanford at Washington	ESPN
Thu, Oct 4	9 p.m.	No. 1 USC at Utah	ESPN
Thu, Oct 11	9 p.m.	Arizona State at Colorado	ESPN
Thu, Oct 18	9 p.m.	No. 4 Oregon at Arizona State	ESPN
Fri, Nov 2	9 p.m.	Washington at California	ESPN2
Fri, Nov 23	10 p.m.	Arizona State at Arizona	ESPN
Sat, Nov 24	TBD	No. 24 Notre Dame at No. 1 USC	ABC or ESPN

That will be it.

Networks of ESPN To Air 83 Games of NCAA Division I Baseball Championship

Starting this weekend, the ESPN Family of Networks will begin airing the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. In total, 83 games will be aired over ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3. It begins with the regionals this weekend, then the Super Regionals the following weekend and one of college sports’ greatest events, the College World Series in Omaha, NE to be played for the second time at TD Ameritrade Park.

This is a very long press release that will require a page break so get ready to scroll if you want to take a look at the entire NCAA Baseball Championship schedule.

We’ll begin with the text of the announcement, then do the jump break.

Record-Setting 83 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Games Scheduled

ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 will combine to provide a record schedule of up to 83 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship games from June 1 to June 26, culminating with the College World Series. The addition of up to 14 games from two more Regional series surpasses the previous high of a maximum 69 games set last year.

The schedule includes complete coverage of six Regionals (up to 42 games from June 1-4), two more than the previous two championships; all eight Super Regionals sites (up to 24 games from June 8-11); and every College World Series game (up to 17 games from June 15-26) from the TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.

ESPN3 will double its exclusive coverage from last year – its first for exclusive games – offering a possible 28 contests from five Regionals sites. ESPNU will televise up to 20 games from the Regionals and Super Regionals while ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to cover a maximum 35 games from all three rounds, including the entire NCAA Men’s College World Series for the 10th straight year.

Every game will also be available via WatchESPN, which delivers live access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 on PCs, smartphones and tablets to fans who receive ESPN’s linear networks as part of their video subscription from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks or Verizon FiOS TV.

Seven of the analysts have played in the College World Series: Chris Burke (Tennessee), Randy Flores (USC), Jay Payton (Georgia Tech), Kyle Peterson (Stanford), Nomar Garciaparra (Georgia Tech), Ben McDonald (LSU) and Paul Lo Duca (Arizona State).

Studio Coverage
Mike Rooney and Ben McDonald will provide analysis from the studio for the Regionals, Super Regionals and College World Series. Tennessee baseball coach Dave Serrano will serve as an ESPNU guest analyst during the Regionals on Friday, June 1 and Saturday, June. 2. In addition to providing pre- and post-game analysis, they will contribute on ESPNU’s SportsCenterU programs June 1 to June 3 at 3 p.m. ET, 10 p.m. and 2:30 a.m.

ESPNU will also provide extensive pre- and post-game studio reports during the College World Series as well as telecasts of the teams’ press conferences Thursday, June 14 at 3 p.m. and Saturday, June 23, at noon.

Regionals (June 1-4): ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 will offer complete and exclusive coverage of six Regionals sites.

• Each site will feature four teams competing in a double-elimination format and each site winner (a total of 16 sites) will advance to the Super Regionals. 
• Adam Amin, Joe Davis, Justin Kutcher, Clay Matvick, Mark Neely and Ducis Rodgers are scheduled to provide play-by-play while Nick Belmonte, Chris Burke, Randy Flores, Danny Kanell, Jay Payton and Kyle Peterson will provide analysis.

And the jump break here. Then the schedules for the Regionals, Super Regionals and College World Series.
(continue reading…)

ESPN Networks All Over The NCAA Division I Softball Championship

In its increased commitment to the NCAA, the ESPN Family of Networks will have extensive coverage of the NCAA Division I Softball Championship including every game of the Women’s College World Series.

There will be coverage of up to 62 games from the regionals to the Super Regional games, all the way to the Women’s College World Series held again at Oklahoma City, OK. This will be the 12th year that the ESPN Family will carry all of the games of the WCWS.

Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza will be the main team for the Softball Championship and they’ll be assigned to the Louisville, KY Super Regional and then go to the Women’s College World Series.

The whole enchilada begins this Friday with coverage of eight games on ESPN2, ESPN3 and the Longhorn Network (that’s right) and continuing throughout the weekend.

Here’s the ESPN press release.

ESPN Provides Extensive Coverage of NCAA Division I Softball Championship

Every Women’s College World Series Contest for 12^th Straight Year

ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 will combine as the coverage home to the NCAA Division I Softball Championship with up to 62 games Friday, May 18 to Wednesday, June 6. The lineup will include telecasts of every Women’s College World Series (WCWS) contest for the 12^th straight event and every game from all eight Super Regional sites for the fifth straight year. Coverage begins with games from three Regional sites.

As mentioned on ESPNU’s 2012 NCAA Division I Softball Championship Selection Show, action begins Friday, May 18 with six telecasts from three sites -– Louisville, Ky.; College Station, Texas; Tucson, Ariz. ESPN3 will simulcast every Regional, Super Regional and WCWS game aired on ESPN networks.

SEC teams earned the most bids this year by conference with nine, followed closely by the Pac-12 with eight. The Pac-12 has won 23 of 29 NCAA Division I Softball Championships. The last non-Pac-12 school to win a title was Michigan in 2005. This year’s No. 1 seed, California, has the most consecutive championship appearances with 26, behind only Fresno State with 30.

2012 ESPN Highlights:

• More than 125 hours of NCAA Division I Softball Championship game action as well as studio hours surrounding the games with highlights, expert analysis and press conferences after Super Regionals.
• For the first time, the Longhorn Network will also offer exclusive games from a Regionals series, televising all games involving No. 8 Texas from the Austin, Texas Regional site, beginning Friday, May 19 at 5:30 ET.
• Super Regionals and WCWS games will include the expert opinion and experience from six U.S. Olympic Gold Medalists, one of which was a three-time NCAA Champion. All 11 analysts are former All-Americans and six played for teams that were seeded in this year’s Championship:
  • ESPN Softball Analysts at Super Regionals: Leah Amico (Arizona), Garland Cooper (Northwestern), Jennie Finch (Arizona), Amanda Freed (UCLA), Cheri Kemp (Missouri Western), Jessica Mendoza (Stanford), Amanda Scarborough (Texas A&M) and Michele Smith (Oklahoma State)
  • ESPN Softball Analysts in Studio: Charlotte Morgan (Alabama) and Stacey Nuveman (UCLA)
  • As part of ESPN’s celebration of 40 years of Title IX, espnW.com will give fans inside access on a team’s road to the WCWS with features, photos and player blogs from six of the top-25 programs.
  • ESPN International will provide the WCWS in 178 countries and territories on ESPN Australia, ESPN Africa, ESPN Caribbean, ESPN Europe, ESPN Israel, ESPN Latin America, ESPN Middle East, ESPN Pacific Rim and ESPN Brazil.
  • In 2012, the ESPN networks will air over 400 hours of NCAA Spring Championships coverage, increasing more than 30 hours from 2011. As part of ESPN’s extended rights agreement with the NCAA, spring championship programming highlights seven sports over eight weeks: Men’s Lacrosse, Men’s Volleyball, Baseball and Softball. For the first time, ESPN networks will also air the Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field and Women’s Lacrosse Championships.

NCAA Division I Softball Championship – Regionals
(Schedule subject to change)

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup (location)	Regional Game	Network
Friday, May 18	4:30 p.m.	Kentucky vs. Michigan (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza	Game1	ESPN2/ESPN3
	5 p.m.	Texas State vs. LSU (College Station, TX) Cara Capuano and Cheri Kempf	Game 1	ESPN3
	5 p.m.	Northwestern vs. No. 6 Texas (Austin, TX) TBD	Game 2	Longhorn Network
	5:30 p.m.	Notre Dame vs. Hawaii (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith	Game 1	ESPNU/ESPN3
	7 p.m.	Valparaiso vs. No. 15 Louisville (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza	Game 2	ESPN2/ESPN3
	8 p.m.	Bethune-Cookman vs. No. 8 Texas A&M (College Station, TX) Cara Capuano and Cheri Kempf	Game 2	ESPN3
	8 p.m.	North Dakota State vs. No. 13 Arizona (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith	Game 2	ESPNU/ESPN3
Saturday, May 19	1 p.m.	Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza	Game 3	ESPN/ESPN3
	2 p.m.	Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner (College Station, TX)	Game 3	ESPN3
	3:30  p.m.	Game 1 loser vs. Game  2 loser (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza	Game 4	ESPN/ESPN3
	5 p.m.	Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser (College Station, TX) Cara Capuano and Cheri Kempf	Game 4	ESPN3
	6 p.m.	Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza	Game 5	ESPN/ESPN3
	6 p.m.	Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith	Game 3	ESPNU/ESPN3
	8 p.m.	Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser (College Station, TX)	Game 5	ESPN3
	8:30 p.m.	Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith	Game 4	ESPNU/ESPN3
	11 p.m.	Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith	Game 5	ESPNU/ESPN3
Sunday, May 20	1 p.m.	Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza	Game 6	ESPN2/ESPN3
	2 p.m.	Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner (College Station, TX) Cara Capuano and Cheri Kempf	Game 6	ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (Louisville, KY)* Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza	Game 7	ESPN2/ESPN3
	4:30 p.m.	Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (College Station, TX)* Cara Capuano and Cheri Kempf	Game 7	ESPN3
	5:30 p.m.	Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith	Game 6	ESPNU/ESPN3
	8 p.m.	Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (Tucson, AZ) * Pam Ward and Michele Smith	Game 7	ESPNU/ESPN3

NCAA Division I Softball Championship – Super Regionals

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup (Location)	Game	Network
Thu, May 24	8 p.m.	TBD (Site 1)	Game 1	ESPN2/ESPN3
	10 p.m.	TBD (Site 2)	Game 1	ESPN2/ESPN3
Fri, May 25	2 p.m.	TBD (Site 5)	Game 1	ESPNU/ESPN3
	4:30 p.m.	TBD (Site 1)	Game 2	ESPNU/ESPN3
	7 p.m.	TBD (Site 1) *	Game 3	ESPN or ESPN2/ESPN3
	7 p.m.	TBD (Site 3)	Game 1	ESPNU/ESPN3
	9 p.m.	TBD (Site 2)	Game 2	ESPN or ESPNU/ESPN3
	9 p.m.	TBD (Site 4)	Game 1	ESPNU/ESPN3
	11:30 p.m.	TBD (Site 2)*	Game 3	ESPNU/ESPN3
Sat, May 26	noon	TBD (Site 5)	Game 2	ESPN/ESPN3
	noon	TBD (Site 6)	Game 1	ESPNU/ESPN3
	2:30 PM	TBD (Site 5) *	Game 3	ESPN/ESPN3
	2:30 PM	TBD (Site 3)	Game 2	ESPNU/ESPN3
	5 p.m.	TBD (Site 4)	Game 2	ESPN/ESPN3
	5 p.m.	TBD (Site 3) *	Game 3	ESPNU/ESPN3
	7:30 PM	TBD (Site 4) *	Game 3	ESPN/ESPN3
	7:30 PM	TBD (Site 7)	Game 1	ESPNU/ESPN3
	10 p.m.	TBD (Site 8)	Game 1	ESPN2/ESPN3
Sun, May 27	1 p.m.	TBD (Site 6)	Game 2	ESPN/ESPN3
	3:30 PM	TBD (Site 6) *	Game 3	ESPN/ESPN3
	3:30 PM	TBD (Site 7)	Game 3	ESPNU/ESPN3
	6 p.m.	TBD (Site 7) *	Game 3	ESPNU/ESPN3
	7 p.m.	TBD (Site 8)	Game 2	ESPN2/ESPN3
	9:30 PM	TBD (Site 8) *	Game 3	ESPN2/ESPN3

NCAA Women’s College World Series, (Oklahoma City, Okla.)

Date	Time	Game	Network
Wed, May 30	2 p.m.	WCWS Press Conferences	ESPNU
	4 p.m.	WCWS Press Conferences	ESPNU
Thu, May 31	Noon	WCWS Pre-Game Show	ESPNU
	1 p.m.	Game 1	ESPN2/ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	Game 2	ESPN2/ESPN3
	7 p.m.	Game 3	ESPN2/ESPN3
	9:30 p.m.	Game 4	ESPN2/ESPN3
	11:30 p.m.	WCWS Post-Game Show	ESPNU
Fri, June 1	7 p.m.	Game 5	ESPN2/ESPN3
	9:30 p.m.	Game 6	ESPN2/ESPN3
Sat, June 2	noon	Game 7	ESPN2/ESPN3
	2:30 p.m.	Game 8	ESPN2/ESPN3
	7 p.m.	Game 9	ESPN/ESPN3
	9:30 p.m.	Game 10	ESPN/ESPN3
Sun, June 3	1 p.m.	Game 11	ESPN/ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	Game 12	ESPN/ESPN3
	7 p.m.	Game 13*	ESPNU/ESPN3
	9:30 p.m.	Game 14*	ESPNU/ESPN3
Mon, June 4	8 p.m.	Championship – Game 1	ESPN2/ESPN3
	10:30 p.m.	WCWS Post-Game Show	ESPNU
Tue, June 5	7:30 p.m.	WCWS Pre-Game Show	ESPNU
	8 p.m.	Championship – Game 2	ESPN2/ESPN3
	10:30 p.m.	WCWS Post-Game Show	ESPNU
Wed, June 6	7:30 p.m.	WCWS Pre-Game Show	ESPNU
	8 p.m.	Championship – Game 3*	ESPN/ESPN3
	10:30 p.m.	WCWS Post-Game Show	ESPNU

ESPN3 will carry every game; direct links to exclusive games included
* denotes “if necessary” game

That’s going to do it.

ESPN Films Premieres “SEC Storied: Lolo” on May 21

One of the more popular Olympic athletes on Twitter, Lolo Jones will be profiled on the next edition of ESPN Films’ “SEC Storied” series. You may remember back in 2008 as the heavy favorite for the women’s 100 meter hurdles, Lolo was on her way to win the gold medal when she hit hurdle 9 and stumbled to the ground losing her chance at glory.

Since then, Jones has battled injuries in her attempts to return to the Olympics in London.

But the documentary doesn’t just focus on her athletic struggles, it looks at some of the life struggles she’s had to endure including growing up homeless. We have the press release and a video preview of the documentary.

ESPN Films’ Lolo Jones documentary to Premiere on ESPNU on May 21

SEC “Storied” Film, Lolo, Chronicles the Track and Field Athlete’s Victories and Struggles

Olympic athlete Lori “Lolo” Jones is an expert at overcoming hurdles—both on the track and in life. ESPN Films’ Lolo, the latest installment in the new SEC “Storied” documentary series, will explore Jones’ trying journey thus far; rising from poverty and homelessness to be catapulted into world stardom, including a spot on the USA Olympic Track and Field team and celebrity status. Lolo will premiere on May 21 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

About Lolo

Lolo Jones began chasing her dream in high school. After years of living in poverty and an unstable home life she was determined to be the first in her family to go to college. Constantly looking to improve, Lolo earned a scholarship from the famed Louisiana State University Track and Field program and fought to become the best, among the best.

With the help of coach Dennis Shaver, Lolo became one of the most dominant athletes in the history of the LSU Women’s Track and Field dynasty, winning three NCAA Titles and 11 All-American honors, most notably in the hurdles. After failing to qualifying for the 2004 Olympics, Lolo turned again to Shaver for inspiration to continue fighting for her dream.

After four years of intense training, Lolo found herself right where she wanted to be—on the 2008 US Olympic team and favored to win gold in the 100 Meter Hurdles. But on the verge of reaching that dream, she suffered a heartbreaking stumble at the final hurdle, costing her the biggest race of her life.

Still determined to win an Olympic gold medal, Lolo went through with a risky spinal surgery and another four years of training to prepare for what is now her next hurdle – making the 2012 Olympic team and winning gold this time.

Directed by Rory Karpf with NASCAR Media Group, Lolo features personal interviews from Lolo Jones, her parents, siblings, coaches, teammates and Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee, along with never-before-seen footage of Lolo in high school and during her 2011 surgery.

Quotes from Lolo

Lolo’s mother, Lori Counter-Jones, on being homeless: “You end up staying with family or friends. At one time we even stayed at the Salvation Army shelter because I was riding around in the car with all 5 of my kids with nowhere to go and they thought we were just going to the park and just taking a ride… because I didn’t tell them that we really didn’t have anywhere to go.”

Lolo on how she started running: “I was running with my dad because we didn’t have a car. As my mom would shift from place to place or dad would be in and out of my life, running was like the friend that never left. It was just always there. I’d say it was the only constant thing in my life.”

Lolo’s sister, Angelia Jefferson, on how Lolo was after 2008 Olympics: “She looked as if she did not just lose the biggest race of her life. I knew that she maybe had 30 minutes of sleep but she looked as if she was OK. But I knew in her heart that she was broken, that her heart was broken and the defeat that she felt and the failure that she felt… I was like, ‘Oh gosh, another knock’.”

Lolo on her outlook for the future: “I feel as if I have so much that is in me and I need to just finally close this chapter. I have gone through so many battles to get there. I’m focused I’m ready to do the work… Really making a conscious effort to focus on every detail to perfection.”

Here’s the video preview.

ESPN Films’ “SEC Storied: Lolo” airs next Monday, May 21 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

ESPN Networks Will Really Be Into Softball This Weekend

Starting today and going into the Women’s College World Series, the ESPN Family will air extensive coverage of college softball. Today, ESPN and ESPNU will carry the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals from Tuscaloosa, AL.

In addition, the ACC, Big East and Big South Championships will be seen on TV. ESPN3 will have other conference championships online.

It all leads to the NCAA Softball Selection Show will ESPNU will air on Sunday night. Check out the announcement from ESPN below.

ESPN Increases Softball Coverage with Ten Conference Championship Matchups

NCAA Softball heads into a week of more championship coverage than ever before across ESPN networks with the addition of the two Conference Championships to ESPNU – the ACC and Big South – and five exclusively live on ESPN3 with the Atlantic Sun, Missouri Valley, Southern, SWAC and Sun Belt.

In addition to simulcasting the entire SEC Softball Tournament and the five Conference Championship games on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, ESPN3 will also show the ACC Softball Championship Quarterfinals and six championships exclusively. ESPN networks will air a combined 25 total softball tournament games over four days beginning Thursday, May 10.

ESPNU will close out the record week of championship coverage with the fifth annual NCAA Division I Softball Championship Selection Show on Sunday. May 13, at 10 p.m. and unveil the 64-team field for this season’s final matchups.

Date	Time	Championship	Network
Thu, May 10	Noon	SEC Softball Tournament Quarterfinal: LSU vs. Florida Cara Capuano and Michele Smith	ESPNU
	Noon	ACC Softball Championship Quarterfinal: Virginia vs. Georgia Tech	ESPN3
	2:30 p.m.	SEC Softball Tournament Quarterfinal: Auburn vs. Tennessee Cara Capuano and Michele Smith	ESPNU
	2:30 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Quarterfinal: North Carolina vs. Florida State	ESPN3
	5 p.m.	SEC Softball Tournament Quarterfinal: Kentucky vs. Georgia Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza	ESPNU
	5 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Quarterfinal: Boston College vs. North Carolina	ESPN3
	7:30 p.m.	SEC Softball Tournament Quarterfinal: Mississippi State vs. Alabama Beth Mowins, Michele Smith and Jessica Mendoza	ESPN
	8 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Quarterfinal: Maryland vs. Virginia Tech	ESPN3
Fri, May 11	3 p.m.	SEC Softball Tournament Semifinal Beth Mowins, Michele Smith and Jessica Mendoza	ESPNU
	1 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Semifinal	ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Semifinal	ESPN3
	5:30 p.m.	SEC Softball Tournament Semifinal Beth Mowins, Michele Smith and Jessica Mendoza	ESPNU
Sat, May 12	Noon	Atlantic Sun Softball Championship	ESPN3
	1:30 p.m.	Southern Softball Championship	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	Missouri Valley Softball Championship	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	Southland Softball Championship	ESPN3
	4 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Cara Capuano and Cheri Kemp	ESPN
	4 p.m.	Sun Belt Softball Championship	ESPN3
	6 p.m.	BIG EAST Softball Championship Pam Ward and Jennie Finch	ESPN2
	8 p.m.	SEC Softball Championship Beth Mowins and Michele Smith	ESPN
Sun, May 13	Noon	Big South Softball Championship Holly Rowe and Garland Cooper	ESPNU
	2 p.m.	SWAC Softball Championship Adam Amin and Amanda Scarborough	ESPN3
	10 p.m.	NCAA Division I Softball Championship Selection Show	ESPNU

*All games listed will also air on ESPN3; viewing links attached to game designation

There you have it.

ESPN Networks All Over NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championships

Starting this Saturday, the ESPN Family of Networks will air all 15 games of the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships. It starts with a quadrupleheader each on Saturday and Sunday including six games on ESPNU. It all culminates with the National Semifinals and Championship Game on Memorial Day Weekend at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA.

Eamon McAnaney moves from the sidelines in previous years to the broadcast booth to become part of the main announcing team along with Quint Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra.

We have the full press release from ESPN looking at the field and also providing the announcing teams for the entire 15 game NCAA Lacrosse Championships.

Coverage of the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship Begins Saturday with First-Round Action

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to air all 15 tournament games

The 16-team bracket for the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship was unveiled exclusively Sunday on ESPNU with Loyola (Md.) earning the top seed in the field. Tournament play begins with first-round action Saturday, May 12, featuring Syracuse at No. 3 Duke at noon ET on ESPN and ESPN3. The defending national champion, No. 5 Virginia will host Princeton in Sunday’s opening first-round game at 1 p.m., also on ESPN and ESPN3. The remaining first-round games will be shown on ESPNU and ESPN3, highlighted by a match-up between perennial contenders Denver and No. 8 North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 12.

ESPN networks will provide exclusive coverage of all 15 games of the NCAA Championship for the sixth straight year. Coverage will be in high definition across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 beginning Saturday, May 12, and concluding with the national title game on Monday, May 28.

ESPN has assembled some of the top lacrosse commentating teams for this year’s coverage of the NCAA Championship. ESPNU host Anish Shroff will be joined in studio throughout the Championship by analyst Quint Kessenich or Mark Dixon. Paul Rabil, former Johns Hopkins All-American who is widely known as one of the top players in the world, will be joining Shroff and Kessenich in studio on Sunday, May 13.

Early round announce teams include former Tewaaraton Award winner and Virginia attackman Matt Ward, former Brown All-American Jamie Munro, Johns Hopkins midfielder Mark Dixon and legendary former Army head coach Jack Emmer. ESPN newcomer this season, three-time Princeton All-American Ryan Boyle will also be part of the game action.

Veteran play-by-play voice Eamon McAnaney will be in the booth for his first championship weekend after spending several years as the sideline reporter. He will be joined by analysts Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra. Carcaterra will provide his analysis from the sidelines.

In 2012 the ESPN networks will air over 400 hours of NCAA Spring Championships coverage, increasing more than 30 hours from 2011. As part of ESPN’s extended rights agreement with the NCAA, spring championship programming highlights seven sports over eight weeks: Men’s Lacrosse, Men’s Volleyball, Baseball and Softball. For the first time, ESPN networks will also air the Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field and Women’s Lacrosse Championships.

ESPN’s Coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship
(Subject to change)

Date	Time (ET)	Game/Commentators	Network(s)
Sat, May 12	Noon	First Round (Koskinen Stadium, Durham, N.C.) Syracuse at No. 3 Duke Eamon McAnaney and Paul Carcaterra	ESPN/ESPN3
	2:30 p.m.	First Round (Garber Field, Amherst, Mass.) Colgate at No. 6 Massachusetts Joe Beninati and Jack Emmer	ESPNU/ESPN3
	5 p.m.	First Round (Ridley Athletic Complex, Baltimore, Md.)Canisius at No. 1 Loyola Mike Corey and Mark Dixon	ESPNU/ESPN3
	7:30 p.m.	First Round (Fetzer Field, Chapel Hill, N.C.) Denver at No. 8 North Carolina Eamon McAnaney and Matt Ward	ESPNU/ESPN3
Sun, May 13	1 p.m.	First Round (Klockner Stadium, Charlottesville, Va.) Princeton at No. 5 Virginia Eamon McAnaney and Paul Carcaterra	ESPN/ESPN3
	3 p.m.	First Round (Homewood Field, Baltimore, Md.) Stony Brook at No. 2 Johns Hopkins Mike Corey and Mark Dixon	ESPNU/ESPN3
	5:15 p.m.	First Round (Arlotta Stadium, Notre Dame, Ind.) Yale at No. 4 Notre Dame John Brickley and Jamie Munro	ESPNU/ESPN3
	7:30 p.m.	First Round (Ulrich Sports Complex, Bethlehem, Pa.) Maryland at No. 7 Lehigh Joe Beninati and Ryan Boyle	ESPNU/ESPN3
Sat, May 19	Noon	Quarterfinal Game #1(Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Md.) Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra	ESPN2/ESPN3
	2:30 p.m.	Quarterfinal Game #2(Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Md.) Eamon McAnaney. Quint Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra	ESPN2/ESPN3
Sun, May 20	Noon	Quarterfinal Game #3(PPL Park, Chester, Pa.) Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra	ESPNU/ESPN3
	2:30 p.m.	Quarterfinal Game #4(PPL Park, Chester, Pa.) Eamon McAnaney,Quint Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra	ESPNU/ESPN3
Sat, May 26	2:30 p.m.	Semifinal Game #1 (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich & Paul Carcaterra	ESPN2/ESPN3
	5 p.m.	Semifinal Game #2(Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich & Paul Carcaterra	ESPN2/ESPN3
Mon, May 28	1 p.m.	National Championship (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich & Paul Carcaterra	ESPN/ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	NCAA Lacrosse Championship Post Game Show Anish Shroff & Mark Dixon	ESPNU

That’s it for this post.

WNBA Draft Airs on ESPN2 & ESPNU Today

The WNBA Draft is being held at the ESPN World Headquarters in Bristol, CT today. The first round will air on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. ET followed by the second and third rounds on ESPNU at 3 p.m. All rounds will be simulcast on ESPN3.

Pam Ward will host and she’ll be joined by Rebecca Lobo and Carolyn Peck. Holly Rowe will be on hand to corral players for interviews and push ESPN personnel out of the way, if necessary. Actually, since this is ESPN’s event, I don’t think Holly will need to be overly aggressive as she was at the Sugar Bowl earlier this year.

Anyway, the whole thing starts on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. ET and we have the press release for you.

WNBA Draft Returns to ESPN Headquarters

Fifteen of the world’s top female college basketball seniors have been invited to the 2012 WNBA Draft, which will be held Monday, April 16 at ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Conn. Coverage and analysis of the first round will begin at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN2, followed by the second and third rounds televised on ESPNU and NBA TV from 3-4:30 p.m. The entire Draft – three rounds of 12 picks each – will be simulcast on ESPN3. Last year’s event marked the first professional sports league draft held at ESPN.

Additional content will be offered across multiple ESPN platforms, including SportsCenter, espnW, ESPN.com and ESPNEWS.

The telecast of the Draft will take place in Studio E – home to several ESPN shows including Mike & Mike in the Morning and Sunday NFL Countdown. Pam Ward will anchor the show alongside analysts Rebecca Lobo and Carolyn Peck. Holly Rowe will conduct interviews with the players.

The Los Angeles Sparks hold the No. 1 overall pick after winning the Draft Lottery for the first time since 2008. With the first selection last year, Minnesota chose University of Connecticut star Maya Moore, who helped propel the Lynx to its first WNBA championship in franchise history. In 2010, the Connecticut Sun, having acquired the No. 1 pick in an offseason deal with Minnesota, selected Connecticut’s Tina Charles.

Rounding out the top five picks are the Seattle Storm (second, via trade with Chicago), Minnesota (third, by virtue of a trade with Washington), the Tulsa Shock (fourth), and the San Antonio Silver Stars.

Among the top prospects invited to the WNBA Draft are seven players who earned All-America honors this year, either from the Associated Press or the State Farm Coaches’ Poll this season, including Stanford forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike, an All-America pick the past three years.  Also invited are three sets of teammates: Tennessee’s frontcourt trio of Glory Johnson, Shekinna Stricklen and Vicki Baugh; Miami (Fla.) guards Shenise Johnson and Riquna Williams; and guard Natalie Novosel and forward Devereaux Peters of Notre Dame. Connecticut’s Tiffany Hayes, who joined Ogwumike, Novosel and Peters as participants in the 2012 Women’s Final Four, will also be in attendance.

The WNBA and ESPN have been affiliated for 16 years, dating back to the league’s inaugural season in 1997.

Production Features & Storylines

• Satellite reports from the Los Angeles Sparks (Shelley Smith) and Minnesota Lynx (LaChina Robinson), which will include coverage of each team’s draft party and interviews with the head coach/general manager
• All-Access pieces with the 15 draftees throughout day
• Select college coaches will be at ESPN, including Geno Auriemma (Connecticut), MaChelle Joseph (Georgia Tech), Kelley Graves (Gonzaga), Muffet McGraw (Notre Dame) and Jim Foster (Ohio State)
• Live shots and reaction from the friends and family area on ESPN’s campus
• Virtual team and player specific banners will appear to be hanging above the studio audience
• Logos will be virtually shown around campus and used in and out of segments
• Use of Lady GaGa’s “The Edge of Glory” music video in montages

espnW/ESPN.com

• Draft preview content from veteran ESPN.com writer Mechelle Voepel
• Live online coverage through espnW’s DraftCast – giving up-to-minute picks, analysis on each selection and a chat area for fans to interact with experts
• Video interviews with the top five draft picks
• On-site and post-Draft coverage from Voepel and former Colorado basketball athlete and espnW writer Kate Fagan

SportsCenter and ESPNEWS

• WNBA Draft preview segment will run during the 1 p.m. SportsCenter
• WNBA Draft will be the “What to Watch For” during the 9 a.m.-noon editions of SportsCenter
• Interview with the No. 1 pick will air on the 3-6 p.m. and later SportsCenter shows

We have the list of players and WNBA Draft order coming up after a jump break.

(continue reading…)

ESPN Platforms To Celebrate Title IX’s 40th Anniversary on June 23

ESPN has begun its three month-long recognition of Title IX. It has already launched a dedicated microsite and begun some programming initiatives.

ESPN’s networks will be all over the 40th anniversary weekend in June with documentaries, espnW features and a whole host of women’s sports. Let’s see what ESPN has planned for June 23.

ESPN Networks to Offer a Variety of Women in Sports Programming Throughout Title IX Anniversary Weekend

ESPN Schedule on June 23 Includes WNBA, USA Softball and Several Studio Shows

ESPN will offer a weekend of events and studio shows June 22-24 featuring women in sports across its networks — ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and ESPN Classic – highlighted by a full day of programming Saturday, June 23. The offering is part of the network’s three-month companywide initiative, The Power of IX, recognizing the 40th anniversary of Title IX, signed June 23, 1972.

The June 23 multi-network programming will be tied together, beginning at 11 a.m. ET, through studio coverage from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., headquarters. ESPN soccer analyst Julie Foudy will host from a Title IX-themed set and welcome special guests who have impacted or been affected by the law throughout the day. ESPN will also report from Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J., where more than 30,000 Girl Scouts will be part of the B.I.G. Celebration (Believe in Girls) and the 100th anniversary of the organization.

“I am extremely proud of ESPN for recognizing and focusing on the 40th anniversary of this legislation,” said Carol Stiff, vice president, programming & acquisitions at ESPN. “The hours of programming multiple ESPN networks are dedicating on June 23 show the company’s ongoing commitment to increasing the coverage of women’s sports.”

ABC
SEC Storied: Lolo Jones — One of the brighter stars in the history of the LSU women’s track and field dynasty is Lori “Lolo” Jones. A standout hurdler, she won three NCAA titles and 11 All-American honors. But Jones had to overcome significant obstacles to get there. “Lolo” will explore her inspiring rise from an unstable home life to national stardom that included a spot on the 2008 United States Olympic team. The film will include her stunning disappointment in the 2008 Beijing Games and her journey to make it back to the Olympics this summer. This fourth installment of SEC Storied will run at 4 p.m., and also on ESPNU at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

ESPN Sports Saturday — A weekly look at the biggest stories in sports at 5 p.m., the show will include a discussion of Title IX. The show typically consists of informative debate from ESPN programs such as Pardon the Interruption, First Take, SportsNation, and Mike & Mike In the Morning, as well as game previews and predictions from NFL Live, College Gameday, NBA Countdown, Baseball Tonight and more.

ESPN
ESPN’s coverage will kick off with segments on SportsCenter at 11 a.m., with segments previewing the day’s events and sharing special Title IX vignettes and memories.

Two WNBA games will highlight ESPN’s day — Chicago Sky at Minnesota Lynx at 12:30 p.m. and Los Angeles Sparks at Phoenix Mercury at 9 p.m. The four teams include Olympic Gold Medalists; NCAA National Champions; NCAA Women of the Year; Naismith, John R. Wooden and State Farm Players of the Year; All-Americans; Conference Players of the Year and NCAA record holders.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series – Road America 200 from Elkhart Lake, Wis., at 3:30 p.m.features Danica Patrick, one of the most successful women in the history of American racing. She is the only woman to win in the IndyCar Series and she is the highest female finisher at the Indianapolis 500 (third).

USA Softball will take on the Canadian National Team at 7 p.m. from Oklahoma City in the Title IX 40th Anniversary Celebration Game. The teams include current and former student-athletes who are now playing at an elite level.

ESPN2
Sporting Chance is a Title IX documentary produced by the NCAA in conjunction with Creative Street Entertainment Group.

E:60 Women’s Special will take some of the top profiles, investigations and stories of the series that featured female athletes. The newsmagazine show will run at 1 p.m.

A U.S. Women’s Soccer Special will air at 5 p.m., a 30-minute program showcasing the 1999 U.S. Women’s World Cup gold-medal winning team in a feature, followed by a roundtable discussion about the impact of Title IX on the growth and success of women’s soccer in this country. The panel will include soccer and women’s sports notables.

ESPNU
Honda Sports Awards will showcase the Collegiate Women Sports Awards program that annually recognizes the accomplishments of top female athletes in NCAA-member colleges with a variety of prestigious awards. ESPN’s Sage Steele will host the live 60-minute special from ESPN’s Los Angeles Production Center at 3 p.m.

ESPN3
National Pro Fastpitch will stage a doubleheader between the Florida Pride and Carolina Diamonds, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

ESPN Classic will have more than 50 hours of women’s programming relating to Title IX beginning Friday and running through Sunday.

Additional details will be announced at a later date.

ESPN’s Title IX – June 23 Programming (subject to change)

11 a.m. — SportsCenter, ESPN

11:30 a.m. — Women’s Athletic Programming, ESPN Classic

Noon — Sporting Chance, ESPN

12:30 p.m. — WNBA Game: Chicago Sky at Minnesota Lynx, ESPN

1 p.m. — E:60 Women’s Special, ESPN2
1 p.m. — National Pro Fastpitch: Florida at Carolina (Charlotte), ESPN3

2 p.m. — SEC Storied: Lolo Jones, ESPNU<

3 p.m. — NASCAR Countdown, ESPN
3 p.m. — Honda Sports Awards (ESPN’s Los Angeles Production Center), ESPNU

3:30 p.m. — NASCAR Nationwide: Road America 200 (Elkhart Lake, Wis.), ESPN

4 p.m. — SEC Storied: Lolo Jones, ABC
4 p.m. — NCAA Women’s Championships Programming, ESPNU
4 p.m. — National Pro Fastpitch: Florida at Carolina (Charlotte), ESPN3

5 p.m. — Sports Saturday: Week in Review, ABC
5 p.m. — U.S. Women Soccer National Team Documentary, ESPN2

7 p.m. — USA National Softball vs. Canada (Oklahoma City),ESPN
7 p.m. — SEC Storied: Lolo Jones, ESPNU

8 p.m. — Sporting Chance, ESPNU

9 p.m. — WNBA Game: Los Angeles Sparks at Phoenix Mercury, ESPN
9 p.m. — NCAA Women’s Championships Programming, ESPNU
9 p.m. — Women’s Athletic Programming, ESPN Classic

There you have it.

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 03/17 & 03/18/12, All Times Eastern

Saturday, March 17

Men’s

National Invitational Tournament
Second Round
UMass at Seton Hall — ESPN,11 a.m.

NCAA Tournament
Third Round

East Region
Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller/Marty Snider (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Scott Graham/Kevin Grevey
#1 Syracuse vs. Kansas State — CBS, 12:15 p.m.
#2 Ohio State vs. #7 Gonzaga — CBS, 2:45 p.m.

The Pit, Albuquerque, NM
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel/Jamie Maggio (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Dave Sims/Michael Cage
#4 Wisconsin vs. #5 Vanderbilt — TNT, 6:10 p.m.

South Region
Rose Garden, Portland, OR
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner/Jenn Hildreth (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Kevin Calabro/Bill Frieder
#4 Indiana vs. #12 VCU — TBS, 7:10 p.m.

KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KY
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery/Lesley Visser (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Ted Robinson/Kyle Macy
#1 Kentucky vs. #8 Iowa State — CBS, 7:45 p.m.

The Pit, Albuquerque, NM
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel/Jamie Maggio (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Dave Sims/Michael Cage
#3 Baylor vs. #11 Colorado — TNT, 8:40 p.m.

West Region
KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KY
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery/Lesley Visser (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Ted Robinson/Kyle Macy
#3 Marquette vs. #6 Murray State — CBS, 5:15 p.m.

Rose Garden, Portland, OR
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner/Jenn Hildreth (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Kevin Calabro/Bill Frieder
#4 Louisville vs. #5 New Mexico — TBS, 9:40 p.m.

Full Court Press — CBS Sports Network, 2 p.m.
NCAA Tip-Off — TNT, 5 p.m.
College GameDay Scoreboard — ESPN2, midnight
Inside March Madness — TBS, midnight

Women’s
NCAA Tournament
First Round
All Games on ESPN2

Kingston, RI Region
Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard, Bridgeport, CT
Announcers: Pam Ward/Rebecca Lobo
#8 Kansas State vs. #9 Princeton — ESPN2, 11:20 a.m.
#1 UConn vs. #16 Prairie View A&M — ESPN2, 1:50 p.m.

McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, WA
Announcers: Dave Flemming/Sean Farnham
#6 Rutgers vs. #11 Gonzaga — ESPN2, 4:15 p.m.
#3 Miami (FL) vs. #14 Idaho State — ESPN2, 6:45 p.m.

Hilton Coliseum, Ames, IA
Announcers: Clay Matvick/Krista Blunk
#2 Kentucky vs. McNeese State — ESPN2, 4:20 p.m.
#7 Wisconsin-Green Bay vs. #10 Iowa State — ESPN2, 6:50 p.m.

Raleigh, NC Region
Comcast Center, College Park, MD
Announcers: Bob Wischusen/LaChina Robinson
#2 Maryland vs. #15 Navy — ESPN2, 11:15 a.m.
#7 Louisville vs. #10 Michigan State — ESPN, 1:45 p.m.

Reed Arena, College Station, TX
Announcers: Carter Blackburn/Tamika Raymond
#6 Arkansas vs. #11 Dayton — ESPN2, 4:05 p.m.
#3 Texas A&M vs. #14 Albany — ESPN2, 6:35 p.m.

Fresno, CA Region
Ted Constant Convocation Center, Norfolk, VA
Announcers: Mark Jones/Mary Murphy
#8 West Virginia vs. #9 Texas — ESPN2, 11:10 a.m.
#1 Stanford vs. #16 Hampton — ESPN2, 1:40 p.m.

Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, IN
Announcers: Brenda VanLengen/Stephen Bardo
#5 South Carolina vs. #12 Eastern Michigan — ESPN2, 11:05 a.m.
#4 Purdue vs. #13 South Dakota State — ESPN2, 1:45 p.m.

Des Moines, IA Region
Allstate Arena, Chicago, IL
Announcers: Jon Sciambi/Brooke Weisbrod
#2 Tennessee vs. #15 Tennessee-Martin — ESPN2, 4:10 p.m.
#7 DePaul vs. #10 BYU — ESPN2, 6:40 p.m.

Sunday, March 18

Men’s

National Invitation Tournament
2nd Round
Northern Iowa at Drexel — ESPN, 11 a.m.
Bucknell at Nevada — ESPNU, 3 p.m.
Iowa at Oregon — ESPNU, 5 p.m.

NCAA Tournament
Third Round

East Region
Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel/Lewis Johnson (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Brad Sham/Pete Gillen
#3 Florida State vs. #6 Cincinnati — TBS, 9:40 p.m.

Midwest Region
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Tim Brando/Mike Gminski/Otis Livingston (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Wayne Larrivee/John Thompson
#3 Georgetown vs. #11 North Carolina State — CBS, 12:15 p.m.

Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Tracy Wolfson (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Gary Cohen/Reid Gettys
#1 North Carolina vs. #8 Creighton — CBS, 5:15 p.m.

Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel/Lewis Johnson (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Brad Sham/Pete Gillen
#12 South Florida vs. #13 Ohio — TBS, 7:10 p.m.

CenturyLink Center, Omaha, NE
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Marv Albert/Steve Kerr/Craig Sager (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Kevin Kugler/Tom Brennan
#2 Kansas vs. #10 Purdue — TNT, 8:40 p.m.

South Region

Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Tracy Wolfson (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Gary Cohen/Reid Gettys
#10 Xavier vs. #15 Lehigh — truTV, 7:45 p.m.

Midwest Region
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Tim Brando/Mike Gminski/Otis Livingston (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Wayne Larrivee/John Thompson
#1 Michigan State vs. #9 Saint Louis — CBS, 2:45 p.m.

CenturyLink Center, Omaha, NE
Announcers: CBS/Turner — Marv Albert/Steve Kerr/Craig Sager (sidelines); Dial Global Radio — Kevin Kugler/Tom Brennan
#7 Florida vs. #15 Norfolk State — TNT, 6:10 p.m.

Full Court Press — CBS Sports Network, 4:30 p.m.
NCAA Tip-Off — TNT, 5 p.m.
Full Court Press — CBS Sports Network, 8 p.m.
College GameDay Scoreboard– ESPN2, midnight
Inside March Madness — TBS, midnight

Women’s

NCAA Tournament
First Round
All Games on ESPN2

Kingston, RI Region
Maravich Center, Baton Rouge, LA
Announcers: Bob Picozzi/Rosalyn Gold-Onwude
#4 Penn State vs. #13 UTEP — ESPN2, 5:15 p.m.
#5 LSU vs. #12 San Diego State — ESPN2, 7:45 p.m.

Raleigh, NC Region
Donald L. Tucker Center, Tallahassee, FL
Announcers: Justin Kutcher/Nell Fortner
#4 Georgia vs. #13 Marist — ESPN2, 12:05 p.m.
#5 St. Bonaventure vs. #12 Florida Gulf Coast — ESPN2, 2:45 p.m.

Purcell Pavilion, Notre Dame, IN
Announcers: Dave O’Brien/Doris Burke
#8 Cal vs. #9 Iowa — ESPN2, 12:10 p.m.
#1 Notre Dame vs. Liberty — ESPN2, 2:40 p.m.

Fresno, CA Region
Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, OK
Announcers: Marc Kestecher/Kayte Christensen
#3 St. John’s vs. #14 Creighton — ESPN2, 5:05 p.m.
#6 Oklahoma vs. #11 Michigan — ESPN2, 7:35 p.m.

Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, TN
Announcers: Dave Pasch/Debbie Antonelli
#7 Vanderbilt vs. #10 Middle Tennessee State — ESPN2, 5:10 p.m.
#2 Duke vs. #15 Samford — ESPN2, 7:40 p.m.

Des Moines, IA Region
Stroh Center, Bowling Green, OH
Announcers: Cara Capuano/Abby Waner
#8 Ohio State vs. #9 Florida State — ESPN2, 12:15 p.m.
#1 Baylor vs. #16 UC Santa Barbara — ESPN2, 2:45 p.m.

Carmichael Arena, Chapel Hill, NC
Announcers: Beth Mowins/Stephanie White
#5 Georgetown vs. #12 Fresno State — ESPN2, 12:20 p.m.
#4 Georgia Tech vs. #13 Sacred Heart — ESPN2, 2:50 p.m.

Jack Stephens Center, Little Rock, AR
Announcers: Holly Rowe/Fran Fraschilla
#3 Delaware vs. #14 Arkansas-Little Rock — ESPN2, 5:20 p.m.
#6 Nebraska vs. #11 Kansas — ESPN2, 7:50 p.m.

ESPN Networks All Over The NCAA Hockey Championship

Starting with the Selection Show this Sunday and then starting in earnest on Friday, March 23, the ESPN Family of Networks, mainly ESPN2 and ESPNU will cover the NCAA Division I Men’s Hockey Championships starting with the Regional Semifinals and heading to the Frozen Four in Tampa, FL.

All but two of the games will be shown on the combination of ESPNU/ESPN3. ESPN2 will air one Frozen Four semifinal and the Championship Game on April 5 and 7 respectively.

John Buccigross and Barry Melrose will be seen on the Selection Show and they’ll call the East Regional in Bridgeport, CT. Barry will then head to Tampa and be joined by Gary Thorne who will call the Frozen Four.

We have details of the coverage from ESPN.

New Replay Graphics Highlight ESPN’s Complete NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship Coverage

Sunday’s Selection Show to feature three-time Stanley Cup Champion Aaron Ward

For the eighth consecutive year, ESPN will present every glass-crushing moment of the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship starting with the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Selection Show on Sunday, March 18, and culminating with the Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla., April 5 and 7. All 15 games will air live on ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN3. Four regional games will be shown on ESPN3 with additional coverage on ESPNU in tape delay. For 2012, ESPN will debut its Advanced Replay Tool (ART) which allows graphics to be used in a replay, a first in the network’s coverage of NCAA hockey.

As in past years, the tournament brackets will be announced on the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Selection Show by SportsCenter anchor John Buccigross, analyst Barry Melrose and new to the selection show this year, three-time Stanley Cup champion Aaron Ward. Airing Sunday, March 18, at noon ET on ESPNU, Ward’s three-consecutive NCAA Championship appearances while playing at Michigan brings a second layer of expertise to the passion and enthusiasm Melrose infuses into the 30-minute special. The show will also include features from current NHL standouts reflecting on their own NCAA memories, including Tampa Bay’s Martin St. Louis, Buffalo’s Ryan Miller, New Jersey’s Zach Praise and Ottawa’s Matt Gilroy.

The ART, developed by ESPN Emerging Technology, allows graphics to be instantaneously embedded within a replay, providing commentators greater visual resources to communicate analysis to viewers.  It has seen previous success in ESPN’s coverage of basketball, football and golf telecasts.

Melrose, Gary Thorne and Clay Matvick will utilize the tool during ESPN’s Frozen Four telecasts. Former NCAA players Sean Ritchlin (Michigan), Dave Starman (Hartford) and Billy Jaffe (Michigan) will also contribute analysis throughout the two week coverage span. ESPN has aired games from the Championship since 1980 and recently extended its commitment to the NCAA, which includes airing the entire Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship through 2024.

Date	Time (ET)	Game/Commentators	Network (s)
Sunday, Mar 18	noon	NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Selection Show John Buccigross, Barry Melrose and Aaron Ward	ESPNU
Friday, Mar 23	3 p.m.	East Regional Semifinal 1 (Bridgeport, Conn.) John Buccigross and Barry Melrose	ESPNU/ESPN3
	5:30 p.m.	Midwest Regional Semifinal 1 (Green Bay, Wis.) Ben Holden and Sean Ritchlin	ESPN3
	6:30 p.m.	East Regional Semifinal 2 (Bridgeport, Conn.) John Buccigross and Barry Melrose	ESPNU/ESPN3
	9 p.m.	Midwest Regional Semifinal 2 (Green Bay, Wis.) Ben Holden and Sean Ritchlin	ESPNU/ESPN3
	11:30 p.m.	Midwest Regional Semifinal 1 (Green Bay, Wis.) Ben Holden and Sean Ritchlin	ESPNU*
Saturday, Mar 24	1:30 p.m.	West Regional Semifinal 1 (Saint Paul, Mass.) Clay Matvick and Dave Starman	ESPN3
	4 p.m.	Northeast Regional Semifinal 1 (Worcester, Mass.) Dan Parkhurst and Billy Jaffe	ESPNU/ESPN3
	5 p.m.	West Regional Semifinal 2  (Saint Paul, MN) Clay Matvick and Dave Starman	ESPN3
	6:30 p.m.	East Regional Final (Bridgeport, Conn.) John Buccigross and Barry Melrose	ESPNU/ESPN3
	7:30 p.m.	Northeast Regional Semifinal 2 (Worcester, Mass.) Dan Parkhurst and Billy Jaffe	ESPN3
	9 p.m.	Midwest Regional Final (Green Bay, Wis.) Ben Holden and Sean Ritchlin	ESPNU/ESPN3
	11:30 p.m.	Northeast Regional Semifinal 2 (Worcester, Mass.) Dan Parkhurst and Billy Jaffe	ESPNU**
Sunday, Mar 25	12:30 p.m.	West Regional Semifinal 1 (Saint Paul, Minn.) Clay Matvick and Dave Starman	ESPNU**
	3 p.m.	West Regional Semifinal 2 (Saint Paul, Minn) Clay Matvick and Dave Starman	ESPNU**
	5:30 p.m.	West Regional Final (Saint Paul, Minn.) Clay Matvick and Dave Starman	ESPNU/ESPN3
	8 p.m.	Northeast Regional Final (Worcester, Mass.) Dan Parkhurst and Billy Jaffe	ESPNU/ESPN3
Thursday, Apr 5	4:30 p.m.	Frozen Four Semifinal 1 (Tampa Bay, Fla.) Gary Thorne, Clay Matvick and Barry Melrose	ESPNU/ESPN3
	8 p.m.	Frozen Four Semifinal 2  (Tampa Bay, Fla.) Gary Thorne, Clay Matvick and Barry Melrose	ESPN2/ESPN3
Saturday, Apr 7	7 p.m.	NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship (Tampa Bay, Fla.) Gary Thorne, Clay Matvick and Barry Melrose	ESPN2/ESPN3

*Tape Delayed from earlier March 23 live game on ESPN3
**Tape Delayed from earlier March 24 live game on ESPN3

That will end our posts for the night.

Entire 2012 NIT First Round To Be Aired on ESPN Networks

Last night, the entire 32 team field for the 75th annual National Invitation Tournament was announced on ESPNU. The networks of ESPN will air all of the 16 first round games that will be held Tuesday and Wednesday.

The entire bracket can be seen here.

We have the schedules for Tuesday and Wednesday plus the networks that will air the games. Announcing assignments will be released later today.

Here is the schedule.

UPDATE — 2:45 p.m.: The announcing assignments and now the entire NIT schedule has been released so let’s provide that in the press release below.

Washington, Tennessee, Seton Hall and Arizona among Teams Slated for ESPN’s Exclusive Coverage of National Invitation Tournament

Exclusive coverage of the entire 75^th National Invitation Tournament begins on ESPN2, Tuesday March 13 at 7 p.m. ET, and continues across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 with coverage of all 31 games. In addition to five exclusive ESPN3 games during the first round, the broadband network will simulcast every first round, second round, quarterfinal, semifinal and final matchup. The semifinal on ESPN2 and the championship game on ESPN will also be simulcast in ESPN3D.

The 32-team field for the oldest tournament in college basketball was announced Sunday, March 11 during the ESPNU NIT Selection Show and includes teams representing 18 conferences, led by the Atlantic 10, Pac-12 and SEC with four selections each. Five teams in the 2012 field are previous NIT Champions: Dayton (1962, 1968, 2010), Minnesota (1993, 1998), La Salle (1952), Seton Hall (1953) and Stanford (1991).

Dayton is making its 24^th appearance in the NIT, the most among schools in this year’s tournament; the second highest in the tournament’s history, behind St. John’s (28). St. Joseph’s is making its 15^th NIT appearance and is currently tied for the fourth most NIT appearances without winning the title.

On Wednesday, March 14 during the 7 p.m. hour, Philadelphia will be the epicenter for college hoops when La Salle, Drexel and St. Joseph’s all host NIT games at home. Drexel, making its sixth appearance in the NIT, is tied with three other schools for the most NIT games without a win.

Bucknell, UCF, Northern Iowa and Savannah State are all making their first NIT appearance.

Schedule subject to change beyond first round: 

Date	Time (ET)	Game/Commentators	Network
Tue, Mar 13	7 p.m.	NIT First Round: Massachusetts at Mississippi State Brad Nessler and Jimmy Dykes	ESPN2
	7:15 p.m.	NIT First Round: Stony Brook at Seton Hall Mike Gleason and Tim O’Toole	ESPN3
	7:30 p.m.	NIT First Round: Dayton at Iowa Bob Wischusen and Dan Dakich	ESPN
	8 p.m.	NIT First Round: Savannah State at Tennessee Mike Crispino and Bob Valvano	ESPNU
	9 p.m.	NIT First Round: Akron at Northwestern Mike Patrick and Fran Fraschilla	ESPN2
	9:15 p.m.	NIT First Round: Marshall at Middle Tennessee State Adam Amin and Brooke Weisbrod	ESPN3
	9:30 p.m.	NIT First Round: LSU at Oregon Dave Flemming and Sean Farnham	ESPN
	10 p.m.	NIT First Round: UT Arlington at Washington Justin Kutcher and Tim McCormick	ESPNU
	11 p.m.	NIT First Round: Cleveland State at Stanford Roxy Bernstein and Mark Adams	ESPN2
Wed, Mar 14	7 p.m.	NIT First Round: Minnesota at La Salle John Saunders and Stephen Bardo	ESPN2
	7:15 p.m.	NIT First Round: UCF at Drexel Mike Gleason and Paul Biancardi	ESPN3
	7:15 p.m.	NIT First Round: Northern Iowa at St. Joseph’s Noah Coslov and Rob Kennedy	ESPN3
	7:30 p.m.	NIT First Round: Valparaiso at Miami Mark Jones and Tim Welsh	ESPNU
	9 p.m.	NIT First Round: Bucknell at Arizona Carter Blackburn and Miles Simon	ESPN2
	9:15 p.m.	NIT First Round: Nevada at Oral Roberts Mitch Holthus and Doc Sadler	ESPN3
	9:30 p.m.	NIT First Round: Illinois State at Ole Miss Clay Matvick and Joe Dean	ESPNU
Fri, Mar 16	9:30 p.m.	NIT Second Round: TBD	ESPNU
Sat, Mar 17	11 a.m.	NIT Second Round: TBD	ESPN
Sun, Mar 18	11 a.m.	NIT Second Round: TBD	ESPN
	3 p.m.	NIT Second Round: TBD	ESPNU
	5 p.m.	NIT Second Round: TBD	ESPNU
Mon, Mar 19	7 p.m.	NIT Second Round: TBD	ESPN2
	9 p.m.	NIT Second Round: TBD	ESPN2
	11 p.m.	NIT Second Round: TBD	ESPN2
Tue, Mar 20	7 p.m.	NIT Quarterfinal: TBD	ESPN2
	9 p.m.	NIT Quarterfinal: TBD	ESPN2
Wed, Mar 21	7 p.m.	NIT Quarterfinal: TBD	ESPN2
	9 p.m.	NIT Quarterfinal: TBD	ESPN2
Tue, Mar 27	7 p.m.	NIT SEMIFINAL: TBD Mike Patrick, Fran Fraschilla and Bill Raftery	ESPN2/ESPN3D
	9:30 p.m.	NIT SEMIFINAL: TBD Mike Patrick, Fran Fraschilla and Bill Raftery	ESPN2/ESPN3D
Thu, Mar 29	7 p.m.	NIT CHAMPIONSHIP: TBD Mike Patrick, Fran Fraschilla and Bill Raftery	ESPN/ESPN3D

*All games will be simulcast on ESPN3;

That is it.

College Basketball Viewing Picks for 03/10 & 03/11/12, All Times Eastern

Men’s schedule courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Saturday, March 10

College GameDay — ESPN, noon

Men’s

ACC Tournament, Atlanta, GA
Semifinals
North Carolina State vs. North Carolina — ACC Network/ESPN, 1 p.m.
Florida State vs. Duke — ACC Network/ESPN, 3:30 p.m.

America East Championship, Stony Brook, NY
Vermont at Stony Brook — ESPN, 11 a.m.

Atlantic 10 Tournament, Atlantic City, NJ
Semifinals
UMass vs. St. Bonaventure — CBS Sports Network, 1 p.m.
Dayton vs. St. Louis — CBS Sports Network, 3:30 p.m.

Big East Championship, New York, NY
Cincinnati vs. Louisville — ESPN/ESPN 3D, 9 p.m.

Big Ten Tournament, Indianapolis, IN
Semifinals
Michigan State vs. Wisconsin — CBS, 1 p.m.
Michigan vs. Ohio State — CBS, 3:30 p.m.

Big 12 Championship, Kansas City, MO
Baylor vs. Missouri — ESPN, 6 p.m.

Big West Championship, Anaheim, CA
Long Beach State vs. UC-Santa Barbara — ESPN2, 10 p.m.

Conference USA Championship, Memphis, TN
Marshall vs. Memphis — CBS, 11:30 a.m.

MAC Championship, Cleveland, OH
Akron vs. Ohio — ESPN2, 8 p.m.

MEAC Championship, Winston-Salem, NC
Bethune-Cookman vs. Norfolk State — ESPN2, 1 p.m.

Mountain West Championship, Las Vegas, NV
San Diego State vs. New Mexico — NBC Sports Network, 7 p.m.

Pac-12 Championship, Los Angeles, CA
Arizona vs. Colorado — CBS, 6 p.m.

SEC Tournament, New Orleans, LA
Semifinals
Kentucky vs. Florida — ABC, 1 p.m.
Vanderbilt vs. Mississippi — ABC, 3:30 p.m.

Southland Championship, Katy, TX
Lamar vs. McNeese State — ESPN2, 3 p.m.

SWAC Championship, Garland, TX
Mississippi Valley State vs. Texas Southern — ESPNU, 8 p.m.

WAC Championship, Las Vegas, NV
New Mexico State vs. Louisiana Tech — ESPN2, midnight

Women’s

Big South Tournament, High Point, NC
Liberty vs. Charleston Southern — SportSouth, 1:30 p.m.
High Point vs. Radford — SportSouth, 4 p.m.

Big 12 Championship, Kansas City, MO
Baylor vs. Texas A&M — Fox Sports Net, noon

CAA Tournament, Upper Marlboro, MD
Semifinals
Delaware vs. UNC-Wilmington — Comcast SportsNet (Mid-Atlantic Plus/New England), CSS, The Comcast Network, noon
James Madison vs. Drexel — Comcast SportsNet (Mid-Atlantic Plus/New England), CSS, The Comcast Network, 2:30 p.m.

Conference USA Championship, Memphis, TN
UTEP vs. Tulane — CBS Sports Network, 8 p.m.

MAC Championship, Cleveland, OH
Central Michigan vs Eastern Michigan — STO, 1 p.m.

MEAC Championship, Winston-Salem, NC
Howard vs. Hampton — ESPNU, 4 p.m.

Missouri Valley Tournament, St. Charles, MO
Semifinals
Missouri State vs. Creighton — Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports Midwest, 2:30 p.m.
Drake vs. Wichita State — Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports Midwest, 5 p.m.

Mountain West Championship, Las Vegas, NV
San Diego State vs. New Mexico — NBC Sports Network, 4 p.m.

Pac-12 Championship, Los Angeles, CA
Stanford vs. Cal — Fox Sports Net, 2:30 p.m.

WAC Championship, Las Vegas, NV
Louisiana Tech vs. Fresno State WAC Sports Network, 6 p.m.

Sunday, March 11

Men’s

College GameDay — ESPN2, 11 a.m./ESPN, noon
Bracketology — ESPN, 3 p.m.

ACC Championship, Atlanta, GA
North Carolina vs. Florida State — ACC Network/ESPN, 1 p.m.

Atlantic 10 Championship, Atlantic City, NJ
St. Bonaventure vs. Xavier — CBS, 1 p.m.

Big Ten Championship, Indianapolis, IN
Michigan State vs. Ohio State — CBS, 3:30 p.m.

SEC Championship, New Orleans, LA
Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt — ABC, 1 p.m.

NCAA Basketball Championship Selection Show — CBS, 6 p.m.
Bracketology — ESPN, 7 p.m.
NCAA Hardcore Brackets — truTV, 7 p.m.
Bracket Breakdown — CBS Sports Network, 8 p.m.
Crunch Time — ESPNU, 8 p.m.
Duke ’91 & ’92: Back to Back — truTV, 8 p.m.
Bracketology — ESPN2, 9 p.m.
NIT Selection Show — ESPNU, 9 p.m.
Tournament Countdown: The Experts — ESPNU, 9:30 p.m.

Women’s

Big South Championship, High Point, NC
Liberty vs. High Point — SportSouth, 4 p.m.

CAA Championship, Upper Marlboro, MD
Delaware vs. Drexel — Comcast SportsNet (Mid-Atlantic/New England/Philadelphia)/CSS, 12:30 p.m.

Horizon League Championship
Green Bay vs. Detroit — ESPNU, 1 p.m.

Missouri Valley Championship, St. Charles, MO
Creighton vs. Drake — Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports Midwest, 3 p.m.

Northeast Championship, Fairfield, CT
Monmouth at Sacred Heart — ESPNU, 3 p.m.

ESPN All Over the NCAA Tournament Selections

On Sunday, ESPN will have 13 hours of coverage devoted to college basketball. It will air the ACC Championship at 1 p.m. ET as well as produce the SEC Championship for ABC at the same time. Before and after the games, ESPN will have plenty of discussion over the NCAA Tournament Selections through a special Sunday morning edition of College GameDay on ESPN2 starting on 11 a.m. ET and continuing on ESPN at noon ET.

ESPN will have the Selections on SportsCenter just seconds after CBS makes them official, then a complete Bracketology show will air at 7 p.m. ET. In addition, ESPNU will have the NIT Selections at 9 p.m. ET and plenty of discussion about the NCAA Tournament leading up to the first games on Tuesday.

Here’s the ESPN press release.

More than 13 Hours of Hoops Coverage for Selection Sunday

Top experts: Bilas, Dakich, Davis, Fraschilla, Gottlieb, Lunardi, Phelps, Vitale and more; Magic Johnson Documentary The Announcement Debuts

ESPN’s extensive multiplatform coverage of Selection Sunday, March 11 – the day the 68-team field for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament is announced – will be highlighted by more than 13 hours of television programming across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2 and ESPNU.

Many of the top men’s college basketball experts will contribute throughout the day, including Jay Bilas, Adrian Branch, Dan Dakich, LaPhonso Ellis, Hubert Davis, Jimmy Dykes, Fran Fraschilla, Dino Gaudio, Doug Gottlieb, Andy Katz, Joe Lunardi, Digger Phelps, Miles Simon, Bob Valvano, Dick Vitale, Tim Welsh and Jay Williams.

The day will tip off with a two-hour College GameDay beginning at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN2 and continuing on ESPN at noon. The show will review Championship Week action and provide a preview of the ACC and SEC championship games at 1 p.m. on ESPN and ABC, respectively.

ESPN’s studio coverage will include two Bracketology programs – a three-hour edition at 3 p.m. and a two-hour show at 7 p.m. – as well as a special SportsCenter at 6 p.m. that will give a thorough preview and review of all Tournament-bound teams. ESPNU’s lineup will include a one-hour Crunch Time: Championship Week Special at 8 p.m. followed by the NIT Selection Show at 9 p.m. and a three-hour special Tournament Countdown: The Experts at 9:30 p.m.

Overall, ESPNU will provide more than 60-hours of Tournament Countdown studio programming extending past the last dribble of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship on Monday, April 2. The network will interview all 68 men’s head coaches, in addition to hosting multiple expert panels, regular SportsCenterU highlight packages and 30-minute features on each final four team. A release with information on every ESPNU Selection Sunday show and the ESPNU Tournament Countdown schedule is posted below.

Details of Selection Sunday studio programming:

Bracketology at 3 p.m. on ESPN
ESPN will provide extensive, in-depth analysis with a three-hour Bracketology at 3 p.m. Host Ryan Burr, analysts Dakich, Fraschilla, Gottlieb and Williams, Lunardi, and reporter Andy Katz will discuss their predictions for No. 1 seeds, the last teams in and out, interview coaches of teams on the bubble and more. In addition, the GameDay crew of host Rece Davis and analysts Bilas, Hubert Davis and Phelps will provide insights from the “war room” where monitors show feeds from all concluding conference championships.

The program will include interviews with coaches and players throughout the three hours.

SportsCenter at 6 p.m. on ESPN
In addition to reporting on the latest sports news, the 6 p.m. SportsCenter will provide up-to-the-minute updates of the Tournament selections with GameDay host Rece Davis and analysts Bilas, Hubert Davis and Phelps evaluating the brackets shortly after they are announced.

Bracketology at 7 p.m. on ESPN
The two-hour special will include extensive, in-depth analysis of the bracket in each region. Host Rece Davis will be joined by Bilas, Hubert Davis, Gottlieb and Phelps in studio with Vitale (via satellite) to discuss multiple Tournament topics and reveal their Elite Eight, Final Four and Championship teams.

A new interactive element to the show will offer fans an opportunity to ask questions that could be answered on air by the analysts. Twitter users can tweet a question or express their bracket concerns with the #ASKBILAS and select posts will be answered or weaved into the discussion.

Tournament Countdown: The Experts
After the selections are announced, ESPNU’s panel of experts will breakdown each first and second round game, providing viewers insight into filling out their own brackets. Anish Shroff will host with analysts Dino Gaudio, Adrian Branch, LaPhonso Ellis, Tim Welsh, Miles Simon and Bob Valvano.

ESPN, ESPNU and ESPN2’s Selection Sunday and Tournament Countdown Schedule

Date	Time (ET)	Show	Network
Sunday, Mar 11	11 a.m.	College GameDay	ESPN2
	noon	College GameDay	ESPN
	1 p.m.	ACC Championship	ESPN
	1 p.m.	SEC Championship	ABC
	3 p.m.	Bracketology	ESPN
	6 p.m.	SportsCenter	ESPN
	7 p.m.	Bracketology	ESPN
	8 p.m.	Crunch Time: Championship Week Special	ESPNU
	9 p.m.	NIT Selection Show	ESPNU
	9:30 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: The Experts	ESPNU

The Announcement
On November 7, 1991, Earvin “Magic” Johnson stunned the world by announcing that he was HIV-Positive. Now, more than 20 years later, acclaimed filmmaker Nelson George gets to the core of Magic’s incredible emotional journey in the new ESPN Films documentary, The Announcement, airing Sunday, March 11, at 9 pm ET on ESPN.

Narrated by Magic himself, The Announcement tells Magic’s story in his own words along with insights from the people closest to him including his wife Cookie, his son Andre, longtime rival and friend Larry Bird, former coach Pat Riley, Los Angeles Lakers teammates James Worthy and Kurt Rambis, former NBA star Karl Malone and close friends Chris Rock and Arsenio Hall.

And ESPNU will have plenty of NCAA Tournament Selection talk over both the men’s and women’s tournament from Sunday leading up to the first games on Tuesday. Then ESPNU gears up for the Tournament with all types of studio programming surrounding the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament.

60 Hours of Tournament Countdown Coverage Surrounding NCAA Basketball Championships on ESPNU

Your homecourt for college hoops, ESPNU will televise more than 60 hours of comprehensive Tournament Countdown studio programming beginning Selection Sunday, March 11 at 8 p.m. and extending past the last dribble of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships on Tuesday, April 3.

On March 11, ESPN platforms will offer more than 13 hours of Selection Sunday programming.

2012 ESPNU Tournament Countdown programming highlights:

• Tournament Countdown: College Basketball Live Special – Seasoned basketball reporter Andy Katz will once again preview the upcoming madness by interviewing all 68 men’s coaches in a five-hour special to tip off the basketball post-season.
• Tournament Countdown: The Experts – After selections are made on Sunday, ESPNU’s panel of experts will breakdown each first and second round game, providing viewers insight into filling out their own brackets. They will also educate fans on the sleepers and the names you need to know. On Monday The Experts will walk through each round of the tournament and explain who viewers should expect to be cutting down the nets in New Orleans.
• Tournament Countdown: Road to the Championship – A look back in separate 30-minute specials at the journey each final four team took to reach the top tier of the national bracket with features and analysis.
• Tournament Countdown: ESPNU College Basketball WhipAround – ESPNU host Dari Nowkhah takes viewers around the country and into the press room to preview and review every second round game of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.
• SportsCenterU – Gets extra playing time at the end of the night to breakdown all of the college basketball action around the county during ESPNU Tournament Countdown coverage.
• Crunch Time: Champ Week Edition – Captures every crucial moment from ESPN’s 137 Championship Week games.
• Tournament Countdown: ESPNU Film Room – ESPNU’s roster of former coaches single out the X’s & O’s viewers need to understand when their team takes to the court in the final four matchups.
• 2012 NIT Selection Show – In advance of the network’s coverage the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), the nation’s oldest post-season college basketball tournament, Nowkhah and analyst Dino Gaudio will announce the 32-team field live on ESPNU.
• Tournament Countdown will once again include extensive NCAA women’s basketball coverage from the court and in the studio. Full details to be released later this week. (ESPNU studio elements included in the schedule below).

Date	Time (ET)	Program
Sunday, Mar 11	8 p.m.	Crunch Time: Champ Week Edition
	9 p.m.	2012 NIT Selection Show
	9:30 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: The Experts
Monday, Mar 12	1 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: College Basketball Live Special
	6 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: College Basketball Live
	8 p.m.	NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Show Extended Coverage
	9 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: The Experts
Tuesday, Mar 13	1 p.m.	College Basketball Live: NCAA Women’s Special
	5 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: College Basketball Live
	11 p.m.	SportsCenterU
Wednesday, Mar 14	1 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: ESPNU College Basketball WhipAround
	11:59 p.m.	SportsCenterU
Thursday, Mar 15	1 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: ESPNU College Basketball WhipAround
	11:59 p.m.	SportsCenterU
Friday, Mar 16	2 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: ESPNU College Basketball WhipAround
	11:59 p.m.	SportsCenterU
Saturday, Mar 17	11:59 p.m.	SportsCenterU
Sunday, Mar 18	11:59 p.m.	SportsCenterU
Monday, Mar 29	1 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: The Experts
Monday, Mar 26	1 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: The Experts
Thursday, Mar 19	11 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: ESPNU Film Room
Friday, Mar 30	11 a.m.	Tournament Countdown: Road to the Championship
	11:30 a.m.	Tournament Countdown: Road to the Championship
	Noon	Tournament Countdown: Road to the Championship
	12:30 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: Road to the Championship
	1 p.m.	SportsCenterU
Saturday, Mar 31	11 p.m.	SportsCenterU
Monday, Apr 2	1 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: The Experts
	4 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: Road to the Championship
	4:30 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: Road to the Championship
	5 p.m.	Tournament Countdown: College Basketball Live
	11:59 p.m.	SportsCenterU
Tuesday, Apr 3	1 p.m.	The Experts
	3 p.m.	Crunch Time: NCAA Women’s Tournament
	5 p.m.	The Experts: NCAA Women’s Championship
	6 p.m.	College Basketball Live: NCAA Women’s Championship

That’s it.

Championship Week Conference Tournament TV Schedules

Ok, let’s provide the college basketball tournament conference tournament schedules plus TV networks that will air the games.

You’ll see each of the games included in the Primetime & Late Night Viewing Picks, but this is also a one stop shopping post for you as well.

Bookmark this and I’ll also update this as the days progress. All times are Eastern.

ACC TOURNAMENT, PHILIPS ARENA, ATLANTA, GA

First Round — Thursday, March 8

#8 Maryland vs. #9 Wake Forest– ACC Network/ESPNU, noon
#5 North Carolina State vs. #12 Boston College — ACC Network/ESPNU, 2:30 p.m.
#7 Clemson vs. #10 Virginia Tech — ACC Network/ESPNU, 7 p.m.
#6 Miami (FL) vs. #11 Georgia Tech — ACC Network/ESPNU, 9:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Friday, March 9

#1 North Carolina vs. #8 Maryland — ACC Network/ESPN2, noon
#4 Virginia vs. #5 North Carolina State — ACC Network/ESPN2, 2:30 p.m.
#2 Duke vs. # 10 Virginia Tech — ACC Network/ESPN2, 7 p.m.
#3 Florida State vs. #6 Miami (FL) — ACC Network/ESPN2, 9:30 p.m.

Semifinals — Saturday, March 10

#1 North Carolina vs. #5 North Carolina State — ACC Network/ESPN, 1 p.m.
#2 Duke vs #3 Florida State — ACC Network/ESPN, 3:30 p.m.

Championship — Sunday, March 11

#1 North Carolina vs. #3 Florida State — ACC Network/ESPN, 1 p.m.

AMERICA EAST CHAMPIONSHIP, STONY BROOK ARENA, STONY BROOK, NY

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#2 Vermont at #1 Stony Brook — ESPN2, 11 a.m.

ATLANTIC 10 TOURNAMENT, BOARDWALK HALL, ATLANTIC CITY, NJ

First Round — Tuesday, March 6

#9 Duquense at #8 UMass– Atlantic10.com, 7 p.m.
#12 Charlotte at #5 St. Joseph’s — Atlantic10.com, 7 p.m.
#10 Richmond at #7 LaSalle — Atlantic10.com, 7 p.m.
#11 George Washington at #6 Dayton — Atlantic10.com, 7 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Friday, March 9

#1 Temple vs. #8 UMass — A10 Network, noon
#4 St. Bonaventure vs. #5 St. Joseph’s– A10 Network, 2:30 p.m.
#2 St. Louis vs. #7 LaSalle — A10 Network, 6:30 p.m.
#3 Xavier vs. #6 Dayton — A10 Network, 9 p.m.

Semifinals — Saturday, March 10

#8 UMass vs. #4 St. Bonaventure — CBS Sports Network, 1 p.m.
#2 St. Louis vs. #3 Dayton — CBS Sports Network, 3:30 p.m.

Championship — Sunday, March 11

#3 Xavier vs. #4 St. Bonaventure — CBS, 1 p.m.

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT, MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NEW YORK, NY

First Round — Tuesday, March 6

#16 DePaul vs. #9 UConn — ESPN2, noon
#13 Pittsburgh vs. #12 St. John — ESPN2, 2:30 p.m.
#15 Providence vs. #10 Seton Hall — ESPNU, 7 p.m.
#14 Villanova vs. #11 Rutgers — ESPNU, 9:30 p.m.

Second Round — Wednesday, March 7

#8 West Virginia vs. #9 UConn — ESPN, noon
#5 Georgetown vs. #13 Pittsburgh — ESPN, 2:30 p.m.
#7 Louisville vs. #10 Seton Hall — ESPN, 7 p.m.
#6 South Florida vs. #14 Villanova — ESPN, 9:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 8

#1 Syracuse vs. #9 UConn — ESPN, noon
#4 Cincinnati vs. #5 Georgetown — ESPN, 2:30 p.m.
#2 Marquette vs. #7 Louisville — ESPN, 7 p.m.
#3 Notre Dame vs. #6 South Florida — ESPN, 9:30 p.m.

Semifinals — Friday, March 9

#1 Syracuse vs. #4 Cincinnati — ESPN, 7 p.m.
#7 Louisville vs. #3 Notre Dame — ESPN, 9:30 p.m.

Championship, Saturday, March 10

#4 Cincinnati vs. #7 Louisville — ESPN, 9 p.m.

BIG SKY TOURNAMENT, DAHLBERG ARENA, MISSOULA, MONTANA

Semifinals — Tuesday, March 6

#2 Weber State vs. #3 Portland State — Altitude, 7:30 p.m.
#1 Montana vs. #4 Eastern Washington — Altitude, 10 p.m.

Championship — Wednesday, March 7

#2 Weber State vs. #1 Montana — ESPN2, 9 p.m.

BIG TEN TOURNAMENT, BANKERS LIFE FIELDHOUSE, INDIANAPOLIS, IN

First Round — Thursday, March 8

#8 Iowa vs. #9 Illinois — Big Ten Network, 11:30 a.m.
#5 Indiana vs. #12 Penn State — Big Ten Network, 2 p.m.
#7 Northwestern vs. #10 Minnesota — ESPN2, 7 p.m.
#6 Purdue vs. #11 Nebraska — ESPN2, 9:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Friday, March 9

#1 Michigan State vs. #8 Iowa — ESPN, noon
#4 Wisconsin vs. #5 Indiana — ESPN, 2:30 p.m.
#2 Michigan vs. #10 Minnesota — Big Ten Network, 7 p.m.
#3 Ohio State vs. #6 Purdue — Big Ten Network, 9:30 p.m.

Semifinals — Saturday, March 10

#1Michigan State vs. #4 Wisconsin — CBS, 1:30 p.m.
#2 Michigan vs. #3 Ohio State — CBS, 4 p.m.

Championship — Sunday, March 11

#1 Michigan State vs. #3 Ohio State — CBS, 3:30 p.m.

BIG 12 TOURNAMENT, SPRINT CENTER, KANSAS CITY, MO

First Round — Wednesday, March 7

#8 Oklahoma vs. #9 Texas A&M — Big 12 Network, 7 p.m.
#7 Oklahoma State vs. #10 Texas Tech — Big 12 Network, 9:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 8

#4 Baylor vs. #5 Kansas State — ESPN2, 12:30 p.m.
#1 Kansas vs. #9 Texas A&M — ESPN2, 3 p.m.
#2 Missouri vs. #7 Oklahoma State– Big 12 Network, 7 p.m.
#3 Iowa State vs. #6 Texas — Big 12 Network, 9:30 p.m.

Semifinals — Friday, March 9

#4 Baylor vs. #1 Kansas — Big 12 Network/ESPNU, 7:30 p.m.
#2 Missouri vs. #6 Texas — Big 12 Network/ESPNU, 10 p.m.

Championship, Saturday, March 10

#4 Baylor vs. #2 Missouri — ESPN, 6 p.m.

BIG WEST TOURNAMENT, HONDA CENTER, ANAHEIM, CA

Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 8

#3 UC-Santa Barbara vs. #6 Pacific — Big West.TV, 3 p.m.
#2 Cal State Fullerton vs. #7 UC-Irvine — Big West.TV, 5:30 p.m.
#1 Long Beach State vs. #8 UC-Davis — Big West.TV, 9 p.m.
#4 Cal Poly vs. No. 5 UC-Riverside — Big West.TV, 11:30 p.m.

Semifinals — Friday, March 9

#1 Long Beach State vs. #7 UC-Irvine — ESPN3.com, 9:30 p.m.
#3 UC-Santa Barbara vs. #4 Cal Poly — ESPNU, midnight

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#1 Long Beach State vs. #3 UC-Santa Barbara — ESPN2, 10 p.m.

COLONIAL ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP, RICHMOND COLISEUM, RICHMOND, VA

Championship — Monday, March 5

Drexel vs. VCU — ESPN, 7 p.m.

CONFERENCE USA TOURNAMENT, FEDEX FORUM, MEMPHIS, TN

First Round — Wednesday, March 7

#7 Rice vs. #10 East Carolina — CSS, 1 p.m.
#6 Marshall vs. #11 SMU — CSS, 3:30 p.m.
#8 UTEP vs. #9 Houston — CSS, 7:30 p.m.
#5 UAB vs. #12 Tulane – CSS, 10 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 8

#2 Southern Mississippi vs. #10 East Carolina — CBS Sports Network, 1 p.m.
#3 Tulsa vs. #6 Marshall– CBS Sports Network, 3:30 p.m.
#1 Memphis vs. #8 UTEP– CBS Sports Network, 7:30 p.m.
#4 Central Florida vs. #5 UAB– CBS Sports Network, 10 p.m.

Semifinals — Friday, March 9

#2 Southern Mississippi vs. #6 Marshall — CBS Sports Network, 4 p.m.
#1 Memphis vs. #4 Central Florida — CBS Sports Network, 6:30 p.m.

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#6 Marshall vs. #1 Memphis — CBS, 11:30 a.m.

HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP, ATHLETICS-RECREATION CENTER, VALPARAISO, IN

Championship — Tuesday, March 6

Detroit at Valparaiso — ESPN, 9 p.m.

METRO ATLANTIC ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP, MASSMUTUAL CENTER, SPRINGFIELD, MA

Championship — Monday, March 5

#2 Fairfield vs. #4 Loyola (MD) — ESPN2, 7 p.m.

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, QUICKEN LOANS ARENA, CLEVELAND, OH

Second Round — Wednesday, March 7

#12 Northern Illinois vs. #8 Western Michigan — STO, 7 p.m.
#11 Central Michigan vs. #7 Toledo — STO, 9:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 8

#4 Kent State vs. #8 Western Michigan — STO, 7 p.m.
#3 Ohio vs. #11 Central Michigan — STO, 9:30 p.m.

Semifinals — Friday, March 9

#1 Akron vs. #4 Kent State — STO, 7 p.m.
#2 Buffalo vs. #3 Ohio — STO, 9:30 p.m.

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#1 Akron vs. #3 Ohio — ESPN2, 8 p.m.

MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP, JOEL COLISEUM, WINSTON-SALEM, NC

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#4 Bethune-Cookman vs. #2 Norfolk State — ESPNU, 1 p.m.

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, THOMAS & MACK CENTER, LAS VEGAS, NV

Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 8

#1 San Diego State vs. Boise State — the mtn., 3 p.m.
#4 Colorado State vs. #5 TCU — the mtn., 5:30 p.m.
#2 New Mexico vs. #7 Air Force — the mtn., 9 p.m.
#3 UNLV vs. #6 Wyoming — the mtn., 11:30 p.m.

Semifinals — Friday, March 9

#1 San Diego State vs. #4 Colorado State — CBS Sports Network, 9 p.m.
#2 New Mexico vs. #3 UNLV — CBS Sports Network, 11:30 p.m.

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#1 San Diego State vs. #2 New Mexico — NBC Sports Network, 7 p.m.

NORTHEAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP, WELLNESS CENTER, BROOKLYN, NY

Championship — Wednesday, March 7

#3 Robert Morris vs. #1 LIU — ESPN2, 7 p.m.

PAC-12 TOURNAMENT, STAPLES CENTER, LOS ANGELES, CA

First Round — Wednesday, March 7

#8 Washington State vs. #9 Oregon State — Fox Sports Net, 3 p.m.
#5 UCLA vs. #12 USC — Fox Sports Net, 5:30 p.m.
#7 Stanford vs. #10 Arizona State — Fox Sports Net, 9 p.m.
#6 Colorado vs. #11 Utah — Fox Sports Net, 11:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 8

#1 Washington vs. #9 Oregon State — Fox Sports Net, 3 p.m.
#4 Arizona vs. #12 UCLA — Fox Sports Net, 5:30 p.m.
#2 Cal vs. #7 Stanford — Fox Sports Net, 9 p.m.
#3 Oregon vs. #6 Colorado — Fox Sports Net, 11:30 p.m.

Semifinals — Friday, March 9

#9 Oregon State vs. #4 Arizona — Fox Sports Net, 9 p.m.
#2 Cal vs. #6 Colorado — Fox Sports Net, 11:30 p.m.

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#4 Arizona vs. #6 Colorado — CBS, 6 p.m.

PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP, SOJKA PAVILION, LEWISBERG, PA

Championship — Wednesday, March 7

#1 Bucknell vs. #2 Lehigh — CBS Sports Network, 7 p.m.

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, NEW ORLEANS ARENA, NEW ORLEANS, LA

First Round — Thursday, March 8

#8 LSU vs. #9 Arkansas — SEC Network, 1 p.m.
#5 Alabama vs. #12 South Carolina — SEC Network, 3:30 p.m.
#7 Mississippi vs. #10 Auburn — SEC Network, 7:30 p.m.
#6 Mississippi State vs. #11 Georgia — SEC Network, 10 p.m.

Quarterfinals — Friday, March 9

#1 Kentucky vs. #8 LSU — SEC Network, 1 p.m.
#4 Florida vs. #5 Alabama — SEC Network, 3:30 p.m.
#2 Tennessee vs. #7 Mississippi — SEC Network, 7:30 p.m.
#3 Vanderbilt vs. #11 Georgia — SEC Network, 10 p.m.

Semifinals — Saturday, March 10

#1 Kentucky vs. #4 Florida — ABC, 1 p.m.
#7 Mississippi vs. #3 Vanderbilt — ABC, 3:30 p.m.

Championship — Sunday, March 11

#1 Kentucky vs. #3 Vanderbilt — ABC, 1 p.m.

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP, U.S. CELLULAR CENTER, ASHEVILLE, NC

Championship — Monday, March 5

Davidson vs. Western Carolina — ESPN2, 9 p.m.

SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, LEONARD E. MERRILL CENTER, KATY, TX

Semifinals — Thursday, March 8

#2 Stephen F. Austin vs. #3 Lamar — Southland TV, 7 p.m.
#1 Texas-Arlington vs. #4 McNeese State — Southland TV, 9:30 p.m.

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#3 Lamar vs. #4 McNeese State — ESPN2, 3 p.m.

SOUTHWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP, THE SPECIAL EVENTS CENTER, GARLAND, TX

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#1 Mississippi Valley State vs. #2 Texas Southern — ESPNU, 8 p.m.

SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT, SIOUX FALLS ARENA, SIOUX FALLS, SD

Semifinals — Monday, March 5

#1 Oral Roberts vs. #4 Western Illinois — Fox College Sports Central/Fox Sports Detroit, 7 p.m.
#2 South Dakota State vs. #6 Southern Utah — Fox College Sports Central/Fox Sports Detroit, 9:30 p.m

Championship — Tuesday, March 6

#4 Western Illinois vs. #2 South Dakota State — ESPN2, 9 p.m.

SUN BELT CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, THE SUMMIT ARENA, HOT SPRINGS, AR

Semifinals — Monday, March 5

#5 North Texas State vs. #9 Arkansas State — CSS/Cox Sports Television, 7 p.m.
#3 Denver vs. #7 Western Kentucky — CSS, 9:30 p.m.

Championship — Tuesday, March 6

#5 North Texas State vs. #7 Western Kentucky — ESPN2, 7 p.m.

WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, ORLEANS ARENA, LAS VEGAS, NV

Semifinals — Friday, March 9

#6 Hawaii vs. #2 New Mexico State — WAC Sports Network, 9 p.m.
#1 Nevada vs. #5 Louisiana Tech — WAC Sports Network, 11:30 p.m.

Championship — Saturday, March 10

#2 New Mexico State vs. #5 Louisiana Tech — ESPN2, 11:59 p.m.

WEST COAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP, ORLEANS ARENA, LAS VEGAS, NV

Championship — Monday, March 5

#1 St. Mary’s vs. #2 Gonzaga — ESPN, 9 p.m.

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 03/03 & 03/04/12, All Times Eastern

Men’s Schedule courtesy of Matt’s College Sports

Saturday, March 3

Men’s Schedule

College GameDay live from Durham, NC — ESPNU, 10 a.m./ESPN, 11 a.m. & 6 p.m.

Atlantic Sun Championship, Macon, GA
Belmont vs. Florida Gulf Coast — ESPN2, 7 p.m.

Big South Championship, Asheville, NC
VMI vs. UNC-Asheville — ESPN, noon

Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, Richmond, VA
Quarterfinals
Drexel vs. UNC-Wilmington — Comcast SportsNet (Mid-Atlantic & New England)/The Comcast Network, noon
Old Dominion vs. Delaware — Comcast SportsNet (Mid-Atlantic Plus & New England)/The Comcast Network, 2:30 p.m.
VCU vs. William & Mary — Comcast SportsNet (Mid-Atlantic Plus & New England)/CSS/The Comcast Network, 6 p.m.
George Mason vs. Georgia State — Comcast SportsNet (Mid-Atlantic Plus & New England)/The Comcast Network, 8:30 p.m.

Horizon League Tournament, Valparaiso, IN
Semifinals
Detroit vs. Cleveland State — ESPN3, 6 p.m.
Butler vs. Valparaiso — ESPNU, 8:30 p.m.

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, St. Louis, MO
Semifinals
Wichita State vs. Illinois State — Fox College Sports Central/Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports Midwest, 2:30 p.m.
Creighton vs. Evansville — Fox College Sports Central/Comcast SportsNet Chicago/Fox Sports Midwest, 5 p.m.

Ohio Valley Conference Championship, Nashville, TN
Murray State vs. Tennessee State — ESPN2, 2 p.m.

Patriot League Tournament (Home Sites)
Semifinals
Lafayette at Bucknell — CBS Sports Network, 2 p.m.
American at Lehigh — CBS Sports Network, 4:30 p.m.

Summit League Tournament, Sioux Falls, SD
Quarterfinals
Oral Roberts vs. IPFW — Fox College Sports Central, 7 p.m.
South Dakota State vs. IUPUI — Fox College Sports Central, 9:30 p.m.

West Coast Conference Tournament, Las Vegas, NV
Semifinals
San Francisco vs. St. Mary’s — ESPN2, 9 p.m.
BYU vs. Gonzaga — ESPN2, 11:30 p.m.

noon
Wake Forest at Georgia Tech — ACC Network
West Virginia at South Florida — Big East Network: Bright House/MASN/MSG Network/Root Sports Pittsburgh
Memphis at Tulsa — CBS
George Washington at Dayton — CBS Sports Network
Pittsburgh at UConn — ESPN

12:30 p.m.
Nebraska at Minnesota — Big Ten Network

1:30 p.m.
Oklahoma State at Kansas State — Big 12 Network
South Carolina at Georgia — SEC Network

2 p.m. 
Charlotte at Xavier — A-10 Network: Fox Sports Ohio
Georgetown at Marquette — Big East Network: MASN/SNY
LSU at Auburn — CBS
Washington at UCLA — CBS
Cincinnati at Villanova — ESPN
Southern Mississippi at Marshall — Fox Sports Net (national)

2:30 p.m.
Boston College at Miami — ACC Network
Northwestern at Iowa — Big Ten Network

4 p.m.
URI at UMass — A-10 Network: Comcast SportsNet (New England & Philadelphia)/CSS
Missouri at Texas Tech — Big 12 Network
Texas A&M at Oklahoma — Big 12 Network
Louisville at Syracuse — CBS
Vanderbilt at Tennessee — ESPN
Colorado at Oregon State — Fox Sports Net (national)
Boise State at New Mexico — NBC Sports Network
Alabama at Mississippi — SEC Network
Colorado State at Air Force — the mtn.

5 p.m.
Arkansas at Mississippi State — Fox Sports Net (regional): Fox Sports South/Sun Sports

6 p.m.
Seton Hall at DePaul — Big East Network: Altitude/MASN/MSG Network

7 p.m.
North Carolina at Duke — ESPN
San Diego State at TCU — the mtn.

8 p.m.
St. John’s at Rutgers — Big East Network: MASN/MSG Network

9 p.m.
Texas at Kansas — ESPN

10 p.m.
Wyoming at UNLV

Women’s Schedule

ACC Tournament, Greensboro, NC
Semifinals
Georgia Tech vs. North Carolina State — ESPNU, 11 a.m.
Maryland vs. Wake Forest — ESPNU, 1:30 p.m.

Big Ten Tournament, Indianapolis, IN
Semifinals
Ohio State vs. Nebraska — Big Ten Network, 5 p.m.
Penn State vs. Purdue — Big Ten Network, 7:30 p.m.

SEC Tournament, Nashville, TN
Semifinals
Kentucky vs. LSU — ESPNU, 4 p.m.
Tennessee vs. South Carolina — ESPNU, 6:30 p.m.

noon
Iowa State at Baylor — Fox Sports Net (national)

Sunday, March 4

Men’s Schedule

Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, Richmond, VA
Semifinals
Drexel vs. Old Dominion — Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus/CSS/The Comcast Network, 2 p.m.
VCU vs. George Mason — Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus/CSS/The Comcast Network, 4:30 p.m.

Missouri Valley Championship, St. Louis, MO
Creighton vs. Illinois State — CBS, 2 p.m.

Northeast Conference Tournament (Home Sites)
Semifinals
Robert Morris vs. Wagner — Fox College Sports Atlantic/MSG Network, noon
Quinnipiac vs LIU — Fox College Sports Atlantic/MSG Network, 6 p.m.

Summit League Tournament, Sioux Falls, SD
Quarterfinals
Western Illinois vs. North Dakota State — Fox College Sports Central/Fox Sports Detroit, 7 p.m.
Oakland vs. Southern Utah — Fox College Sports Central/Fox Sports Detroit, 9:30 p.m.

noon
Kentucky at Florida — CBS
Clemson at Florida State — ESPN2

1 p.m.
Illinois at Wisconsin — Big Ten Network
Michigan at Penn State — ESPN

2 p.m.
Virginia at Maryland — ACC Network

3:30 p.m.
Arizona at Arizona State — Fox Sports Net (national)

4 p.m.
Ohio State at Michigan State — CBS

5:30 p.m.
Cal at Stanford — Fox Sports Net (national)

6 p.m.
Purdue at Michigan — Big Ten Network
North Carolina State at Virginia Tech — ESPNU

Women’s Schedule

ACC Championship, Greensboro, NC
Maryland vs. Georgia Tech — ESPN2, 2 p.m.

Atlantic 10 Tournament, Philadelphia, PA
Semifinals
St. Bonaventure vs. St. Joseph’s — CBS Sports Network, noon
Temple vs. Dayton — CBS Sports Network, 2:30 p.m.

Big East Tournament, Hartford, CT
Quarterfinals
Georgetown vs. West Virginia — ESPNU, noon
Notre Dame vs. DePaul — ESPNU, 2:30 p.m.
St. John’s vs. Louisville — Big East Network: SNY, 6 p.m.
UConn vs. Rutgers — ESPNU, 8:30 p.m.

Big Ten Championship, Indianapolis, IN
Nebraska vs. Purdue — ESPN2, 4 p.m.

SEC Championship, Nashville, TN
LSU vs. Tennessee — ESPN2, 6 p.m.

1 p.m.
Texas A&M at Texas — Fox Sports Net (national)

ESPN’s College Basketball Schedule is Highlighted With North Carolina-Duke

This week wraps up the regular season for college basketball. Some conferences are starting their tournaments this week as well, so it’s an eclectic mix of games as we get ready for one of the best parts of sports calendar, March Madness. For me, my three favorite months of the sports calendar are January for the NFL playoffs, March for the conference tournaments and NCAA Tournament and October for the MLB Postseason and World Series.

So we have the beginning of what should be an exciting month of college basketball and it begins with this weekend’s mid-major conference tournaments and the jockeying for positioning for seeding in the “BCS” conferences and we have the 2nd North Carolina-Duke game on Saturday which ESPN will carry.

We have the schedule of games for the ESPN family of networks coming up, but first, ESPN tells us that College GameDay will be live in Durham, NC for Carolina-Duke and for the first time, the show will have a special Friday night presentation on ESPNU.

College GameDay Returns to Duke-UNC Rivalry on Saturday

ESPN’s College GameDay returns to Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke University on Saturday, March 3 (10 a.m., ESPNU & ESPN 3D; 11 a.m. & 6 p.m., ESPN & ESPN 3D). Rece Davis serves as the College GameDay host, and is joined by analysts Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps and Hubert Davis.

The weekly show originates from the site of ESPN’s Saturday Primetime telecast – this week, pitting the top two teams in the ACC – No. 6 North Carolina at No. 3 Duke (7 p.m. on ESPN, ESPN3 & ESPN 3D). Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale and Erin Andrews will call the telecast. GameDay is at the site of the Duke-UNC rivalry for the fourth time since the show’s debut in 2005.

Coverage will begin with a special first-time Friday edition of College GameDay, March 2, at 11 p.m.  The following day, ESPNU will dedicate eight hours of Duke vs. UNC programming, including the recent thriller from February 8 when the Blue Devils stunned the Tar Heels with a last second, three-pointer from freshman Austin Rivers.

Date	Time (ET)	Program	Network
Fri, March 2	11 p.m.	College GameDay: North Carolina vs. Duke Special (Durham, N.C.)	ESPNU
Sat, March 3	3:30 a.m.	Re-air: College GameDay: North Carolina vs. Duke Special (Durham, N.C.)	ESPNU
	4 a.m.	Duke vs. North Carolina (Feb. 5, 1992)	ESPNU
	6 a.m.	North Carolina vs. Duke (Feb. 9, 2005)	ESPNU
	7:30 a.m.	Duke vs. North Carolina (Feb. 8, 2012)	ESPNU
	9 a.m.	Re-air: College GameDay: North Carolina vs. Duke Special (Durham, N.C.)	ESPNU
	9:30 a.m.	First Take: College Basketball	ESPNU
	10 a.m.	College GameDay (Durham, N.C.) Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps & Hubert Davis	ESPNU/ESPN 3D
	11 a.m. & 6 p.m.	College GameDay (Durham, N.C.) Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps & Hubert Davis	ESPN/ESPN 3D
	7 p.m.	Saturday Primetime: No. 6 North Carolina at No. 3 Duke Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale & Erin Andrews	ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN 3D

And here’s that ESPN schedule for the rest of the week.

Men’s College Basketball: No. 6 North Carolina at No. 3 Duke Showdown

ESPN’s men’s college basketball schedule will be highlighted by No. 6 North Carolina at No. 3 Duke in a showdown between the ACC rivals, which have identical 12-2 records in the conference. Duke defeated North Carolina in a thrilling 85-84 last-second victory on February 8.

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup	Network
Wed, Feb 29	7 p.m.	Maryland at No. 6 North Carolina John Saunders & Dick Vitale	ESPN/ESPN3
		No. 7 Marquette at Cincinnati Bob Wischusen & Bob Knight	ESPN2/ESPN3
		St. John’s at Pittsburgh Adam Amin & Bob Valvano	ESPNU
	9 p.m.	Oklahoma at Texas Jon Sciambi & Fran Fraschilla	ESPN2/ESPN3
		Iowa at Nebraska Mitch Holthus & Miles Simon	ESPNU
Thu, March 1	7 p.m.	No. 16 Michigan at Illinois Dave O’Brien, Stephen Bardo & Jalen Rose	ESPN/ESPN3
		No. 22 Florida State at Virginia Mike Patrick, Len Elmore & Jeannine Edwards	ESPN2/ESPN3
	9 p.m.	Georgia at No. 1 Kentucky Rece Davis & Hubert Davis	ESPN/ESPN3
		Villanova at Rutgers John Saunders & Tim Welsh	ESPN2/ESPN3
	11 p.m.	New Mexico State at Nevada Dave Flemming & Miles Simon	ESPN2/ESPN3
Fri, March 2	7 p.m.	Akron at Kent State TBD & Dan Dakich	ESPN2/ESPN3
Sat, March 3	Noon	Pittsburgh at Connecticut Dave Pasch & Doris Burke	ESPN/ESPN3
	2 p.m.	Cincinnati at Villanova TBD & TBD	ESPN/ESPN3
	4 p.m.	Vanderbilt at Tennessee Brad Nessler & Jimmy Dykesw	ESPN/ESPN3
	7 p.m.	No. 6 North Carolina at No. 3 Duke Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale & Erin Andrews	ESPN/ESPN3
	9 p.m.	Texas at No. 4 Kansas Brent Musburger & Bob Knight	ESPN/ESPN3
Sun, March 4	Noon	Clemson at No. 22 Florida State Mike Patrick & Len Elmore	ESPN2/ESPN3
	1 p.m.	No. 16 Michigan at Penn State TBD & Dan Dakich	ESPN/ESPN3
	6 p.m.	ACC Sunday Night Basketball: N.C. State at Virginia Tech Jon Sciambi, Hubert Davis & Jeannine Edwards	ESPNU

That will do it.

ESPN’s Championship Week Offers 88 Women’s Games Starting March 1

Early this morning, I posted the schedule for the men’s portion of ESPN’s Championship Week. Now, we give the women their turn. Overall, 88 games will offered from the various women’s basketball tournaments. Many will be presented on ESPN’s online service, ESPN3, but a good portion of games will be shown through ESPN2 and ESPNU.

We have the schedule below in an 1,858-word press release.

Championship Week: Women’s Basketball Coverage Begins Thursday, March 1

ESPN’s 2012 Championship Week will present a record 88 women’s college basketball conference tournament games from Thursday, March 1 to Sunday, March 11 across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3. The networks will combine to offer game action from 21 Division I conferences championship games and action from 25 conferences overall, including the Division II CIAA Tournament and Gulf South final.

The exclusive national coverage of 28 women’s games includes action from 15 different conferences and 13 NCAA Championship berths will be secured on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. ESPN3 will show another 60 contests available in local markets via syndication.

Championship Week Coverage

• ACC and SEC Tournaments include semifinal rounds Saturday, March 3 on ESPNU and championship games the following day on ESPN2 and ESPN3
• Games from the last three rounds of the BIG EAST Championship, starting Sunday, March 4, with three quarterfinal and both semifinal games on ESPNU, and again, the only women’s title game to be televised on ESPN
• ESPN3 has six exclusive games, including two quarterfinals games from the Atlantic Sun, and the America East and MAAC semifinals
• Additional championship games on ESPN2 or ESPNU from the Atlantic 10, Big Ten, Horizon, MEAC, NEC, Sun Belt, Summit League, SWAC and West Coast Conference

The Championship Week schedule includes a total of 114 total men’s and women’s basketball games across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU & exclusively on ESPN3 from 25 conferences, plus a total of 225 national and syndicated games on ESPN3.

Studio Coverage
Cindy Brunson, along with analyst Kara Lawson, will be in the studio Saturday-Tuesday, March 3-6 on ESPN and ESPN2 to preview the conference tournaments and recap the biggest storylines of Championship Week.

Abby Waner will provide expert analysis from the ESPNU studio Saturday, March 3 during the ACC and SEC semifinal rounds and also Saturday, March 10 during the MEAC and SWAC finals.

ESPN.com/espnW
Top writers from espn.com and espnW, including Mechelle Voepel, Kate Fagan, Michelle Smith and Graham Hays, will provide online pieces for all the top conferences, and keep a close watch on upset-minded teams throughout the nation. Charlie Creme will provide daily Bracketology updates leading up to Selection Monday.

WatchESPN
Viewers can also watch live ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 game action online at WatchESPN.com or on smart phones or tablets through the WatchESPN app. The service – available to video subscribers of Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Verizon FiOS TV – gives fans the ability to watch ESPN’s live networks, no matter where they are.

Championship Week Schedule (Subject to change)

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network(s)
Thu, Mar 1	noon	Atlantic Sun Championship (Macon, Ga.): Quarterfinal 3	ESPN3
	6 p.m.	Atlantic Sun Championship (Macon, Ga.): Quarterfinal 4	ESPN3
Sat, Mar 3	9:30 a.m.	MAAC Championship (Springfield, Mass.): Semifinal 1 Dean Darling & Debbie Ryan	ESPN3
	11 a.m.	ACC Tournament (Greensboro, N.C.): Semifinal 1 Pam Ward & Debbie Antonelli	ESPNU/ESPN3
	noon	MAAC Championship (Springfield, Mass.): Semifinal 2 Dean Darling & Debbie Ryan	ESPN3
	1:30 p.m.	ACC Tournament (Greensboro, N.C.): Semifinal 2 Pam Ward & Debbie Antonelli	ESPNU/ESPN3
	4 p.m.	SEC Tournament (Nashville, Tenn.): Semifinal 1 Cara Capuano & Carolyn Peck	ESPNU/ESPN3
	6 p.m.	SEC Tournament (Nashville, Tenn.): Semifinal 2 Cara Capuano & Carolyn Peck	ESPNU/ESPN3
Sun, Mar 4	11 a.m.	America East Championship (West Hartford, Conn.): Semifinal 1 Eric Frede & Leah Secondo	ESPN3
	noon	BIG EAST Championship (Hartford, Conn.): Quarterfinal 1 Beth Mowins, Brooke Weisbrod & Allison Williams	ESPNU/ESPN3
	1:30 p.m.	America East Championship (West Hartford, Conn.): Semifinal 2 Eric Frede & Leah Secondo	ESPN3
	2 p.m.	ACC Tournament (Greensboro, N.C.): Final Pam Ward & Debbie Antonelli	ESPN2/ESPN3
	2 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship (Hartford, Conn.): Quarterfinal 2 Beth Mowins, Brooke Weisbrod & Allison Williams	ESPNU/ESPN3
	4 p.m.	Big Ten Tournament (Indianapolis, Ind.): Final Dave O’Brien & Stephanie White	ESPN2/ESPN3
	6 p.m.	SEC Tournament (Nashville, Tenn.): Final Cara Capuano & Carolyn Peck	ESPN2/ESPN3
	8:30 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship (Hartford, Conn.): Quarterfinal 4 Bob Picozzi, LaChina Robinson & Allison Williams	ESPNU/ESPN3
Mon, Mar 5	noon	MAAC Championship (Springfield, Mass.): Final Doug Sherman & Julianne Viani	ESPNU/ESPN3
	3 p.m.	West Coast Conference Championship (Las Vegas): Final Dave Flemming & Kayte Christensen	ESPNU/ESPN3
	5 p.m.	Atlantic 10 Championship (Philadelphia): Final Pam Ward & Debbie Antonelli	ESPN2/ESPN3
	6 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship (Hartford, Conn.): Semifinal 1 Beth Mowins, Brooke Weisbrod & Allison Williams	ESPNU/ESPN3
	8 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship (Hartford, Conn.): Semifinal 2 Beth Mowins, Brooke Weisbrod & Allison Williams	ESPNU/ESPN3
Tue, Mar 6	2 p.m.	Sun Belt Championship (Hot Springs, Ark.): Final Adam Amin & Tamika Raymond	ESPNU/ESPN3
	4 p.m.	Summit League Championship (Sioux Falls, S.D.): Final Clay Matvick & Abby Waner	ESPNU/ESPN3
	7 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship (Hartford, Conn.): Final Beth Mowins, Rebecca Lobo & Allison Williams	ESPN/ESPN3
Sat, Mar 10	4 p.m.	MEAC Tournament (Winston-Salem, N.C.): Final TBD & Rosalyn Gold-Onwude	ESPNU/ESPN3
	6 p.m.	SWAC Championship (Garland, Texas): Final Adam Amin & Tamika Raymond	ESPNU/ESPN3
Sun, Mar 11	1 p.m.	Horizon League Championship: Final (campus of higher seed after quarterfinal) Jim Barbar & Julianne Viani	ESPNU/ESPN3
	3 p.m.	NEC Tournament: Final (campus of higher seed) Bob Picozzi & Christy Winters Scott	ESPNU/ESPN3

* – tape delay

Championship Week Syndicated-Game Schedule (Subject to change)

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network(s)
Thu, Mar 1	11 a.m.	ACC Tournament (Greensboro, N.C.): Opening Round Game 1 Tom Werme, Stephanie Ready & Christy Winters Scott	ESPN3
	1 p.m.	SEC Tournament (Nashville, Tenn.): First Round Game 1 Dave Neal & LaChina Robinson	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	West Coast Conference Championship (Las Vegas): Second Round Game 1	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	ACC Tournament (Greensboro, N.C.): Opening Round Game 2 Tom Werme, Stephanie Ready & Christy Winters Scott	ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	SEC Tournament (Nashville, Tenn.): First Round Game 2 Dave Neal & LaChina Robinson	ESPN3
	5:30 p.m.	West Coast Conference Championship (Las Vegas): Second Round Game 2	ESPN3
	6 p.m.	ACC Tournament (Greensboro, N.C.): Opening Round Game 3 Mike Hogewood, Debbie Antonelli & Christy Winters Scott	ESPN3
	7:30 p.m.	SEC Tournament (Nashville, Tenn.): First Round Game 3 Dave Baker & Van Chancellor	ESPN3
	8 p.m.	ACC Tournament (Greensboro, N.C.): Opening Round Game 4 Mike Hogewood, Debbie Antonelli & Christy Winters Scott	ESPN3
	10 p.m.	SEC Tournament (Nashville, Tenn.): First Round Game 4 Dave Baker & Van Chancellor	ESPN3
Fri, Mar 2	11 a.m.	ACC Tournament (Greensboro, N.C.): Quarterfinal 1 Tom Werme, Stephanie Ready & Christy Winters Scott	ESPN3
	Noon	Atlantic Sun Championship (Macon, Ga.): Semifinal 1	ESPN3
	1 p.m.	SEC Tournament (Nashville, Tenn.): Second Round Game 1 Dave Neal & LaChina Robinson	ESPN3
	1 p.m.	Ohio Valley Championship (Nashville, Tenn.): Semifinal 1	ESPN3
	2:30 p.m.	Atlantic Sun Championship (Macon, Ga.): Semifinal 2	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	West Coast Conference Championship (Las Vegas): Quarterfinal 1	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	Ohio Valley Championship (Nashville, Tenn.): Semifinal 2	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	ACC Tournament (Greensboro, N.C.):Quarterfinal 2 Tom Werme, Stephanie Ready & Christy Winters Scott	ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	SEC Tournament (Nashville, Tenn.): Second Round Game 2 Dave Neal & LaChina Robinson	ESPN3
	5:30 p.m.	West Coast Conference Championship (Las Vegas): Quarterfinal 2	ESPN3
	6 p.m.	ACC Tournament (Greensboro, N.C.):Quarterfinal 3 Mike Hogewood, Debbie Antonelli & Christy Winters Scott	ESPN3
	7:30 p.m.	SEC Tournament (Nashville, Tenn.): Second Round Game 3 Dave Baker & Van Chancellor	ESPN3
	8 p.m.	ACC Tournament (Greensboro, N.C.):Quarterfinal 4 Mike Hogewood, Debbie Antonelli & Christy Winters Scott	ESPN3
	10 p.m.	SEC Tournament (Nashville, Tenn.): Second Round Game 4 Dave Baker & Van Chancellor	ESPN3
Sat, Mar 3	Noon	BIG EAST Championship (Hartford, Conn.): Second Round Game 1 Beth Mowins, Brooke Weisbrod & Allison Williams	ESPN3
	Noon	Atlantic Sun Championship (Macon, Ga.): Final	ESPN3
	2 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship (Hartford, Conn.): Second Round Game 2 Beth Mowins, Brooke Weisbrod & Allison Williams	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	West Coast Conference Championship (Las Vegas): Semifinal 1	ESPN3
	5 p.m.	CIAA Tournament (Charlotte, N.C.): Final	ESPN3
	5:30 p.m.	West Coast Conference Championship (Las Vegas): Semifinal 2	ESPN3
	5:30 p.m.	Ohio Valley Championship (Nashville, Tenn.): Final	ESPN3
	6 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship (Hartford, Conn.): Second Round Game 3 Bob Picozzi, LaChina Robinson & Allison Williams	ESPN3
	8 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship (Hartford, Conn.): Second Round Game 4 Bob Picozzi, LaChina Robinson & Allison Williams	ESPN3
Sun, Mar 4	11 a.m.	Gulf South Championship (Niceville, Fla.): Final	ESPN3
	noon	Southern Conference Championship (Asheville, N.C.): Semifinal 1	ESPN3
	1 p.m.	Sun Belt Championship (Hot Springs, Ark.): Quarterfinal 1	ESPN3
	2 p.m.	Southern Conference Championship (Asheville, N.C.): Semifinal 2	ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	Sun Belt Championship (Hot Springs, Ark.): Quarterfinal 2	ESPN3
	6 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship (Hartford, Conn.): Quarterfinal 3 Bob Picozzi, LaChina Robinson & Allison Williams	ESPN3
Mon, Mar 5	1 p.m.	Sun Belt Championship (Hot Springs, Ark.): Semifinal 1	ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	Sun Belt Championship (Hot Springs, Ark.): Semifinal 2	ESPN3
	5 p.m.	Southern Conference Championship (Asheville, N.C.): Final	ESPN3
Thu, Mar 8	1 p.m.	Southland Conference Tournament (Katy, Texas): Semifinal 1	ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	Southland Conference Tournament (Katy, Texas): Semifinal 2	ESPN3
Fri, Mar 9	noon	Mid-American Tournament (Cleveland, Ohio): Semifinal 1	ESPN3
	2 p.m.	Mid-American Tournament (Cleveland, Ohio): Semifinal 2	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	WAC Tournament (Las Vegas, Nev.): Semifinal 1	ESPN3
	5:30 p.m.	WAC Tournament (Las Vegas, Nev.): Semifinal 2	ESPN3
	8 p.m.	Southland Conference Tournament (Katy, Texas): Final	ESPN3
Sat, Mar 10	noon	CAA Championship (Upper Marlboro, Md.): Semifinal 1	ESPN3
	1 p.m.	Mid-American Tournament (Cleveland, Ohio): Final	ESPN3
	1:30 p.m.	Big South Championship (High Point, N.C.): Semifinal 1	ESPN3
	2:30 p.m.	Missouri Valley Championship (St. Charles, Mo.): Semifinal 1	ESPN3
	2:30 p.m.	CAA Championship (Upper Marlboro, Md.): Semifinal 2	ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	Big South Championship (High Point, N.C.): Semifinal 2	ESPN3
	5 p.m.	Missouri Valley Championship (St. Charles, Mo.): Semifinal 2	ESPN3
	6 p.m.	WAC Tournament (Las Vegas, Nev.): Final	ESPN3
Sun, Mar 11	12:30 p.m.	CAA Championship (Upper Marlboro, Md.): Final	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	Missouri Valley Championship (St. Charles, Mo.): Final	ESPN3
	4 p.m.	Big South Championship (High Point, N.C.): Final	ESPN3

ESPN will present the exclusive live announcement of the 64-team NCAA Championship field as part of Selection Monday on March 12, at 7 p.m., with ESPNU offering a bonus hour of coverage on the NCAA Women’s’ Basketball Selection Special: Extended Coverage at 8 p.m. All 63 games of the 2012 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship will air on ESPN networks for the eighth consecutive year. ESPN and ESPN2 will present its telecasts in a whip-around format with home market protection through the first two rounds. ESPN FULL COURT, the pay-per-view package, will offer first- and second-round games in its entirety as a supplement to ESPN and ESPN2’s coverage. ESPN3 will offer complete telecasts of all 63 games, while ESPNU will offer select ESPN and ESPN2 early-round games in their entirety. The final 15 games, beginning with the Regional Semifinals, will have national telecast windows on ESPN or ESPN2. The complete schedule will be announced at a later date.

That will do it.

ESPN’s Championship Week To Air 137 Men’s Games Starting March 1

ESPN’s Championship Week which actually lasts more than seven days starts March 1 and lasts until March 11. It begins with the Atlantic Sun and Big South Tournaments on ESPNU and ESPN3 on Thursday and then will end on Sunday, March 11 with the ACC and SEC Championships on ESPN and ABC respectively.

ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 will combine for 86 games exclusively. ESPN3 will simulcast another 51 games that are aired in local markets via syndication.

Overall, a this is a 3,265-word press release so I’ll stop writing and let you read.

Championship Week: Coverage of a Record 137 Men’s Games Begins March 1

Record-setting Schedule includes Entire ACC Tournament for First Time Ever and Crowning of 23 Champions

ESPN’s 2012 Championship Week will showcase a record 137 men’s college basketball conference tournament games from Thursday, March 1 to Sunday, March 11, surpassing last year’s record-setting 126 contests. Coverage highlights:

• Overall, ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 will combine to offer exclusive coverage of 86 games, while ESPN3 will simulcast another 51 matchups available in the local markets via syndication.
• The networks will combine to offer coverage of 23 Division I conference title games and action from 25 conferences overall, plus the Division II CIAA tournament.
• For the first time, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will televise the entire ACC Tournament, including no local market blackouts on any of the 11 games.
• This season will mark ESPN’s 27th, ESPN2’s 18th and ESPNU’s seventh year of comprehensive coverage. ESPN will televise 20 games, ESPN2 27, ESPNU 22 and ABC three games, while ESPN3 will offer 14 exclusive contests.
• In addition to all 15 BIG EAST games and the entire ACC Tournament, ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 will combine to provide action of multiple men’s games from several top conferences, including all 11 of the SEC, all nine from the Big 12 and four from the Big Ten.

ESPNU and ESPN3 will tip off Championship Week with two exclusive games each on Thursday, March 1: Atlantic Sun quarterfinals on ESPN3 at 2:30 and 8:30 p.m. ET and Big South semifinals on ESPNU at 6 and 8 p.m. Championship Week will conclude on Sunday, March 11 with the ACC (ESPN) and SEC (ABC) title games at 1 p.m. Additional platform coverage:

• ESPN Buzzer Beater – available to Time Warner Cable Sports Tier, Bright House Networks Customers and Verizon FiOS TV Ultimate HD and Extreme HD Customers – will provide live cut-ins, highlights and up-to-the-minute commentary from numerous Championship Week games from across the ESPN networks Thursday, March 8 and Friday, March 9.
• The entire Championship Week coverage will also be available via WatchESPN, which delivers live access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and ESPN Buzzer Beater/Goal Line on PCs, smartphones and tablets to fans who receive ESPN’s linear networks as part of their video subscription from Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks or Verizon FiOS TV. WatchESPN is available free for Android devices from the Android Market and for Apple devices from the App Store, as well as online via WatchESPN.com.
• ESPN 3D will offer coverage of every BIG EAST Conference tournament matchup.
• ESPN International will offer extensive coverage, reaching 208 million households in 224 countries and territories on ESPN America – Great Britain (25 games), ESPN America – Europe (25 games), ESPN America -Middle East (23 games), ESPN2 Caribbean (23 games), ESPN Pac Rim (11 games), ESPN2 Australia (23 games), ESPN Atlantic (15 games), ESPN Middle East (16 games), ESPN Dos Venezuela (four games), ESPN Dos Mexico (four games), and on ESPN China, ESPN Hong Kong, ESPN India, ESPN Malaysia, ESPN Philippines, ESPN Asia and ESPN Taiwan.

Week Concludes with Extensive Day-Long Coverage
The final day of Championship Week –- Selection Sunday, March 11 — will begin at noon with College GameDay on ESPN, followed by the ACC Championship (on ESPN) and SEC Championship (on ABC), both at 1 p.m. Extensive coverage of the men’s NCAA Championship selection will include a three-hour Bracketology at 3 p.m. and a two-hour edition at 7 p.m., both on ESPN. ESPN will also offer selection coverage during SportsCenter at 6 p.m.ESPNU will televise an hour look at the final moments of some of the best games during Championship Week with Crunch Time: Championship Week Special at 8 p.m., followed by the sixth annual NIT Selection Show at 9 p.m. and a three-hour Tournament Countdown edition of The Experts at 9:30 p.m.

Commentator Notes

• BIG EAST: Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas and Bill Raftery, who will pair up to call nine BIG EAST games, will work the semifinals and championship with Doris Burke reporting from the sidelines. Burke will also serve as an analyst on six BIG EAST games with commentator Dave Pasch. Beth Mowins will report on eight of the telecasts and Andy Katz will report from four.
• ACC: Dan Shulman will call seven of the ACC games, including the semifinals and championship. He will work four games with analyst Fran Fraschilla, a semifinal with Len Elmore and a semifinal and championship with Dick Vitale. Mike Patrick and Elmore will pair up on four games. Jeannine Edwards will report on eight while Erin Andrews will work the semifinals and championship.
• Big 12 & SEC: Brad Nessler, Jimmy Dykes and Shannon Spake will call nine SEC games including semifinals and title game on ABC, while Brent Musburger, Bob Knight and Holly Rowe will work five Big 12 telecasts.
• Six Games & Two Titles: Dave Flemming and Sean Farnham will pair up to work six games together: five from the West Coast Conference and the WAC championship.
• In addition to…: In addition to his four ACC games, Fraschilla will work the Ohio Valley Conference semifinals and championship with Bob Wischusen. Wischusen will also work the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and Mid-American Conference title games.
• Big Ten: Dave O’Brien and Dan Dakich will call the four Big Ten telecasts.
• Multiple Titles: Several analysts will work multiple championships, including LaPhonso Ellis on the Big South, Southern and America East; Stephen Bardo on the Horizon League and Mid-American Conference; and Miles Simon on the Big West and Big Sky.

ESPN.com
ESPN.com’s Championship Week index page will feature news, analysis, information and results for every conference tournament as well as previews, in-depth expert examination and key storylines for select conferences. ESPN.com’s Bubble Watch with writer Eamonn Brennan will give fans an in-depth look at teams on the bubble and the latest developments on NCAA tournament selection status. In addition, writers will file stories from several tournament sites, including the ACC, Big 12, BIG EAST, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC. ESPN.com’s Bracketologist Joe Lunardi will also update and adjust his Bracketology projections and outlook daily.

ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio will present comprehensive Championship Week coverage with updates, guests, and reports from the sites of key matchups, as well as projecting the field of 68. Play-by-play coverage will include the Big 12 Semifinals and Championship for the third straight season (March 9-10), and for the first time every game of the ACC Tournament (March 8-11). Additionally, regularly scheduled ESPN Radio programming will include previews and reviews of key games, analysis by ESPN experts, and interviews with coaches and players preparing for the NCAA Tournament.

Championship Week Schedule

Date	Network	Time (ET)	Game/Commentators	Site
Thursday, 3/1	ESPN3	2:30 p.m.	Atlantic Sun Tournament: Quarterfinal	Macon, GA
	ESPNU/ESPN3	6 p.m.	Big South Tournament: Semifinal #1 Justin Kutcher & LaPhonso Ellis	Asheville, NC
	ESPNU/ESPN3	8 p.m.	Big South Tournament: Semifinal #2 Justin Kutcher & LaPhonso Ellis	Asheville, NC
	ESPN3	8:30 p.m.	Atlantic Sun Tournament: Quarterfinal	Macon, GA
Friday, 3/2	ESPNU/ESPN3	7 p.m.	Ohio Valley Conference Tournament: Semifinal #1 Bob Wischusen & Fran Fraschilla	Nashville, TN
	ESPNU/ESPN3	9 p.m.	West Coast Tournament: Quarterfinal #1 Dave Flemming & Sean Farnham	Las Vegas, NV
	ESPN3/ESPNU*	9 p.m.	Ohio Valley Conference Tournament: Semifinal #2 Bob Wischusen & Fran Fraschilla	Nashville, TN
	ESPNU/ESPN3	11 p.m.	West Coast Tournament: Quarterfinal #2 Dave Flemming & Sean Farnham	Las Vegas, NV
Saturday, 3/3	ESPN2/ESPN3	Noon	Big South Tournament: Championship Justin Kutcher & LaPhonso Ellis	TBD
	ESPN3	Noon	Southern Conference Tournament: Quarterfinal	Asheville, NC
	ESPN2/ESPN3	2 p.m.	Ohio Valley Conference Tournament: Championship Bob Wischusen & Fran Fraschilla	Nashville, TN
	ESPN3	2 p.m.	Southern Conference Tournament: Quarterfinal	Asheville, NC
	ESPN3	2:30 p.m.	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament: Quarterfinal	Springfield, MA
	ESPN3	4:30 p.m.	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament: Quarterfinal	Springfield, MA
	ESPN3	6 p.m.	Southern Conference Tournament: Quarterfinal	Asheville, NC
	ESPN3/ESPNU**	6 p.m.	Horizon League Tournament: Semifinal #1 Mark Jones & Stephen Bardo	TBD
	ESPN2/ESPN3	7 p.m.	Atlantic Sun Tournament: Championship	Macon, GA
	ESPN3	7:30 p.m.	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament: Quarterfinal	Springfield, MA
	ESPN3	8 p.m.	Southern Conference Tournament: Quarterfinal	Asheville, NC
	ESPN3/ESPNU***	8 p.m.	CIAA Tournament: Championship	Charlotte, NC
	ESPNU/ESPN3	8:30 p.m.	Horizon League Tournament: Semifinal #2 Mark Jones & Stephen Bardo	TBD
	ESPN2/ESPN3	9 p.m.	West Coast Tournament: Semifinal #1 Dave Flemming &  Sean Farnham	Las Vegas, NV
	ESPN3	9:30 p.m.	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament: Quarterfinal	Springfield, Mass.
	ESPN2/ESPN3	11 p.m.	West Coast Tournament: Semifinal #2 Dave Flemming & Sean Farnham	Las Vegas, NV
Sunday, 3/4	ESPN3	2 p.m.	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament: Semifinal #1	Springfield, MA
	ESPN3	4 p.m.	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament: Semifinal #2	Springfield, MA
	ESPN3	5 p.m.	America East Tournament: Semifinal #1	West Hartford, CT
	ESPN3	7 p.m.	America East Tournament: Semifinal #2	West Hartford, CT
Monday, 3/5	ESPN/ESPN3	7 p.m.	Colonial Athletic Association Championship: Championship Mike Patrick & Dan Dakich	Richmond, VA
	ESPN2/ESPN3	7 p.m.	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship: Championship Bob Wischusen & Len Elmore	Springfield, MA
	ESPN/ESPN3	9 p.m.	West Coast Championship: Championship Dave Flemming & Sean Farnham	Las Vegas, NV
	ESPN2/ESPN3	9 p.m.	Southern Championship: Championship Jon Sciambi & LaPhonso Ellis	Asheville, NC
Tuesday, 3/6	ESPN2/ESPN3	Noon	BIG EAST Championship: First Round #1 Dave Pasch, Doris Burke & Andy Katz	New York, NY
	ESPN2/ESPN3	2 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship: First Round #2 Dave Pasch, Doris Burke & Andy Katz	New York, NY
	ESPN2/ESPN3	7 p.m.	Sun Belt Tournament: Championship Adam Amin & Mark Adams	Hot Springs, AR
	ESPNU/ESPN3	7 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship: First Round #3 Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas, Bill Raftery & Andy Katz	New York, NY
	ESPN/ESPN3	9 p.m.	Horizon League Tournament: Championship Mark Jones & Stephen Bardo	TBD
	ESPN2/ESPN3	9 p.m.	Summit League Tournament: Championship Clay Matvick & Bob Valvano	Sioux Falls, SD
	ESPNU/ESPN3	9 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship: First Round #4 Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas, Bill Raftery & Andy Katz	New York, N.Y.
Wednesday, 3/7	ESPN/ESPN3	Noon	BIG EAST Championship: Second Round #1 Dave Pasch, Doris Burke & Beth Mowins	New York, NY
	ESPN/ESPN3	2 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship: Second Round #2 Dave Pasch, Doris Burke & Beth Mowins	New York, NY
	ESPN/ESPN3	7 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship: Second Round #3 Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas, Bill Raftery & Beth Mowins	New York, NY
	ESPN2/ESPN3	7 p.m.	NEC Tournament: Championship Jon Sciambi & TBD	TBD
	ESPN/ESPN3	9 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship: Second Round #4 Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas, Bill Raftery & Beth Mowins	New York, NY
	ESPN2/ESPN3	9 p.m.	Big Sky Championship: Championship Roxy Bernstein & Miles Simon	TBD
Thursday, 3/8	ESPN/ESPN3	Noon	BIG EAST Championship: Quarterfinal #1 Dave Pasch, Doris Burke & Beth Mowins	New York, NY
	ESPNU/ESPN3	Noon	ACC – First Round #1 Dan Shulman, Fran Fraschilla & Jeannine Edwards	Atlanta, GA
	ESPN2/ESPN3	12:30 p.m.	Big 12 Championship: Quarterfinal #1 Brent Musburger, Bob Knight & Holly Rowe	Kansas City, MO
	ESPN/ESPN3	2 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship: Quarterfinal #2 Dave Pasch, Doris Burke & Beth Mowins	New York, NY
	ESPNU/ESPN3	2 p.m.	ACC – First Round #2 Dan Shulman, Fran Fraschilla & Jeannine Edwards	Atlanta, GA
	ESPN2/ESPN3	2:30 p.m.	Big 12 Championship: Quarterfinal #2 Brent Musburger, Bob Knight & Holly Rowe	Kansas City, MO
	ESPN2/ESPN3	5:30 p.m.	Big Ten Tournament: Second Round #3 Dave O’Brien & Dan Dakich	Indianapolis, IN
	ESPN/ESPN3	7 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship: Quarterfinal #3 Sean McDonough,  Jay Bilas, Bill Raftery & Beth Mowins	New York, NY
	ESPNU/ESPN3	7 p.m.	ACC Tournament: First Round #3 Mike Patrick, Len Elmore & Jeannine Edwards	Atlanta, GA
	ESPN2/ESPN3	7:30 p.m.	Big Ten Tournament: Second Round #4 Dave O’Brien & Dan Dakich	Indianapolis, IN
	ESPN/ESPN3	9 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship: Quarterfinal #4 Sean McDonough,  Jay Bilas, Bill Raftery & Beth Mowins	New York, NY
	ESPNU/ESPN3	9 p.m.	ACC Tournament: First Round #4 Mike Patrick, Len Elmore & Jeannine Edwards	Atlanta, GA
Friday, 3/9	ESPN/ESPN3	Noon	Big Ten Tournament: Quarterfinal #1 Dave O’Brien & Dan Dakich	Indianapolis, IN
	ESPN2/ESPN3	Noon	ACC Tournament: Quarterfinal #1 Dan Shulman, Fran Fraschilla & Jeannine Edwards	Atlanta, GA
	ESPNU/ESPN3	1 p.m.	SEC Tournament: Quarterfinal #1 ^ Brad Nessler, Jimmy Dykes & Shannon Spake	New Orleans, LA
	ESPN/ESPN3	2 p.m.	Big Ten Tournament: Quarterfinal #2 Dave O’Brien & Dan Dakich	Indianapolis, IN
	ESPN2/ESPN3	2 p.m.	ACC Tournament: Quarterfinal #2 Dan Shulman, Fran Fraschilla & Jeannine Edwards	Atlanta, GA
	ESPNU/ESPN3	3 p.m.	SEC Tournament: Quarterfinal #2 ^ Brad Nessler, Jimmy Dykes & Shannon Spake	New Orleans, LA
	ESPN/ESPN3	7 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship: Semifinal #1 Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas, Bill Raftery & Doris Burke	New York, NY
	ESPN2/ESPN3	7 p.m.	ACC Tournament: Quarterfinal #3 Mike Patrick, Len Elmore & Jeannine Edwards	Atlanta, GA
	ESPNU/ESPN3	7:30 p.m.	Big 12 Championship: Semifinal #1 ^ Brent Musburger, Bob Knight & Holly Rowe	Kansas City, MO
	ESPN/ESPN3	9 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship: Semifinal #2 Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas, Bill Raftery & Doris Burke	New York, NY
	ESPN2/ESPN3	9 p.m.	ACC Tournament: Quarterfinal #4 Mike Patrick, Len Elmore & Jeannine Edwards	Atlanta, GA
	ESPN3/ESPNU****	9:30 p.m.	Big West Tournament: Semifinal #1 * Mark Jones & Miles Simon	Anaheim, CA
	ESPNU/ESPN3	10 p.m.	Big 12 Championship: Semifinal #2 ^ Brent Musburger, Bob Knight & Holly Rowe	Kansas City, MO
	ESPNU/ESPN3	11:59 p.m.	Big West Tournament: Semifinal #2 Mark Jones & Miles Simon	Anaheim, CA
Saturday, 3/10	ESPN2/ESPN3	11 a.m.	America East Tournament: Championship TBD & LaPhonso Ellis	TBD
	ESPN/ESPN3	1 p.m.	ACC Tournament: Semifinal #1 Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale or Len Elmore, & Erin Andrews	Atlanta, GA
	ABC	1 p.m.	SEC Tournament: Semifinal #1 Brad Nessler, Jimmy Dykes & Shannon Spake	New Orleans, LA
	ESPN2/ESPN3	1 p.m.	MEAC Tournament: Championship Justin Kutcher & TBD	Winston-Salem, NC
	ESPN/ESPN3	3 p.m.	ACC Tournament: Semifinal #2 Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale or Len Elmore, &  Erin Andrews	Atlanta, GA
	ABC	3 p.m.	SEC Tournament: Semifinal #2 Brad Nessler, Jimmy Dykes & Shannon Spake	New Orleans, LA
	ESPN2/ESPN3	3 p.m.	Southland Tournament: Championship Carter Blackburn & Dereck Whittenburg	Katy, Texas
	ESPN/ESPN3	6 p.m.	Big 12 Championship: Championship Brent Musburger, Bob Knight & Holly Rowe	Kansas City, MO
	ESPN2/ESPN3	8 p.m.	Mid-American Conference Tournament: Championship Bob Wischusen & Stephen Bardo	Cleveland, OH
	ESPNU/ESPN3	8 p.m.	SWAC Tournament: Championship	Garland, TX
	ESPN/ESPN3	9 p.m.	BIG EAST Championship: Championship Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas, Bill Raftery & Doris Burke	New York, NY
	ESPN2/ESPN3	10 p.m.	Big West Tournament: Championship Mark Jones & Miles Simon	Anaheim, CA
	ESPN2/ESPN3	11:59 p.m.	Western Athletic Conference: Championship Dave Flemming & Sean Farnham	Las Vegas, NV
Sunday, 3/11	ESPN/ESPN3	1 p.m.	ACC Tournament: Championship Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale & Erin Andrews	Atlanta, GA
	ABC	1 p.m.	SEC Tournament: Championship Brad Nessler, Jimmy Dykes & Shannon Spake	New Orleans, LA

*Live on ESPN3, tape delay on ESPNU Saturday, March 3, at 1:30 a.m.
**Live on ESPN3, tape delay on ESPNU Saturday, March 3, at 10:30 p.m.
*** Live on ESPN3, tape delay on ESPNU Sunday, March 4, at 12:30 a.m.
**** Live on ESPN3, tape delay on ESPNU Saturday, March 10, at 2 a.m.
^ Outermarket only

All Times Eastern Standard
Schedule Subject to Change

ESPN3 schedule of Simulcasts

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Site
Thursday, 3/1	1 p.m.	CIAA Tournament: Quarterfinal #1	Charlotte, NC
	3 p.m.	CIAA Tournament: Quarterfinal #2	Charlotte, NC
	7 p.m.	CIAA Tournament: Quarterfinal #3	Charlotte, N.C.
	7 p.m.	Missouri Valley Tournament: First Round	St. Louis, MO
	9 p.m.	West Coast Tournament: Second Round	Las Vegas, NV
	9 p.m.	CIAA Tournament: Quarterfinal #4	Charlotte, NC
	9:30 p.m.	Missouri Valley Tournament: First Round	St. Louis, MO
	11:30 p.m.	West Coast Tournament: Second Round	Las Vegas, NV
Friday, 3/2	1 p.m.	Missouri Valley Tournament: Quarterfinal #1	St. Louis, MO
	3:30 p.m.	Missouri Valley Tournament: Quarterfinal #2	St. Louis, MO
	6 p.m.	Horizon League Tournament: Second Round	TBD
	6 p.m.	Atlantic Sun Tournament: Semifinal #1	Macon, GA
	7 p.m.	CIAA Tournament: Semifinal #1	Charlotte, NC
	7 p.m.	Missouri Valley Tournament : Quarterfinal #3	St. Louis, MO
	8:30 p.m.	Horizon League Tournament: Second Round	TBD
	8:30 p.m.	Atlantic Sun Tournament: Semifinal #2	Macon, GA
	9 p.m.	CIAA Tournament: Semifinal #2	Charlotte, NC
	9:30 p.m.	Missouri Valley Tournament: Quarterfinal #4	St. Louis, MO
Saturday, 3/3	Noon	Colonial Athletic Tournament: Quarterfinal #1	Richmond, VA
	2:30 p.m.	Missouri Valley Tournament: Semifinal #1	St. Louis, MO
	2:30 p.m.	Colonial Athletic Tournament: Quarterfinal #2	Richmond, VA
	5 p.m.	Missouri Valley Tournament: Semifinal #2	St. Louis, MO
	6 p.m.	Colonial Athletic Tournament: Quarterfinal #3	Richmond, Va.
	8:30 p.m.	Colonial Athletic Tournament: Quarterfinal #4	Richmond, VA
Sunday, 3/4	2 p.m.	Colonial Athletic Tournament: Semifinal #1	Richmond, VA
	4:30 p.m.	Colonial Athletic Tournament: Semifinal #2	Richmond, Va.
	6 p.m.	Southern Conference Tournament: Semifinal #1	Asheville, NC
	7 p.m.	Sun Belt Tournament: Quarterfinal #3	Hot Springs, AR
	8:30 p.m.	Southern Conference Tournament: Semifinal #2	Asheville, NC
	9:30 p.m.	Sun Belt Tournament: Quarterfinal #4	Hot Springs, AR
Monday, 3/5	7 p.m.	Sun Belt Tournament: Semifinal #1	Hot Springs, AR
	9:30 p.m.	Sun Belt Tournament: Semifinal #2	Hot Springs, AR
Wednesday, 3/7	7 p.m.	Big 12 Championship: First Round	Kansas City, MO
	7 p.m.	Mid-American Conference Tournament: Second Round	Cleveland, OH
	9:30 p.m.	Big 12 Championship: First Round	Kansas City, MO
	9:30 p.m.	Mid-American Conference Tournament: Second Round	Cleveland, OH
Thursday, 3/8	1 p.m.	SEC Tournament: First Round	New Orleans, LA
	3:30 p.m./td> SEC Tournament: First RoundNew Orleans, LA
	7 p.m.	Big 12 Championship: Quarterfinal #3	Kansas City, MO
	7 p.m.	Southland Tournament: Semifinal #1	Katy, TX
	7 p.m.	Mid-American Conference Tournament: Quarterfinal #3	Cleveland, OH
	7:30 p.m.	SEC Tournament: First Round	New Orleans, LA
	9:30 p.m.	Big 12 Championship: Quarterfinal #4	Kansas City, MO
	9:30 p.m.	Southland Tournament: Semifinal #2	Katy, TX
	9:30 p.m.	Mid-American Conference Tournament: Quarterfinal #4	Cleveland, OH
	10 p.m.	SEC Tournament: First Round	New Orleans, LA
Friday, 3/9	7:30 p.m.	SEC Tournament: Quarterfinal #3	New Orleans, LA
	9 p.m.	Western Athletic Tournament: Semifinal #1	Las Vegas, NV
	9:30 p.m.	Mid-American Conference Tournament: Semifinal #2	Cleveland, OH
	10 p.m.	SEC Tournament: Quarterfinal #4	New Orleans, LA
	11:30 p.m.	Western Athletic Tournament: Semifinal #2	Las Vegas, NV

That will do it.

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 02/25 & 02/26, All Times Eastern

Men’s Schedule Courtesy of Matt’s College Sports on TV

Saturday, February 25

College GameDay live from Storrs, CT — ESPNU, 10 a.m./ESPN, 11 a.m./ESPN, 8 p.m.

11 a.m.
Robert Morris at Quinnipiac — ESPNU

noon
Virginia Tech at Duke — ACC Network
Vanderbilt at Kentucky — CBS
Northeastern at Delaware — Comcast SportsNet New England/CSS/The Comcast Network
Notre Dame at St. John’s — ESPN2

Women’s: DePaul at Louisville — Big East Network: MASN/SNY

1 p.m.
Boston College at Wake Forest — Fox Sports Net: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/Fox Sports Florida/Fox Sports North Plus/Fox Sports South/Fox Sports West/NESN
LaSalle at Fordham — YES

1:30 p.m.
Iowa State at Kansas State — Big 12 Network
Oklahoma at Baylor — Big 12 Network
Drake at Wichita State — Fox College Sports Central/Comcast SportsNet Chicago Plus/Fox Sports Midwest
LSU at Mississippi — SEC Network

2 p.m.
St. Louis at URI — A-10 Network: Comcast SportsNet New England/Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia/Cox Sports RI
UCLA at Arizona — CBS
Villanova at Georgetown — CBS
Texas A&M at Oklahoma State — ESPN2
Boise State at Wyoming — the mtn.

2:30 p.m.
Maryland at Georgia Tech — ACC Network
NC State at Clemson — ACC Network

3 p.m.
St. Francis at Sacred Heart — Fox College Sports Atlantic

4 p.m.
Texas at Texas Tech — Big 12 Network
Missouri at Kansas — CBS
Lafayette at American — CBS Sports Network
Drexel at Old Dominion — Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/Comcast SportsNet New England/Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia
North Carolina at Virginia — ESPN
Creighton at Indiana State — ESPN2
Hawaii at Louisiana Tech — ESPN Plus
Memphis at Marshall — Fox Sports Net (national)
Air Force at UNLV — NBC Sports Network
Arkansas at Auburn — SEC Network
Florida at Georgia — SEC Network

5 p.m.
Rutgers at Seton Hall — ESPNU
Houston Baptist at North Dakota — Fox College Sports Central

6 p.m.
Purdue at Michigan — Big Ten Network
Portland at BYU — BYU TV
UMass at Dayton — CBS Sports Network
Mississippi State at Alabama — ESPN
George Mason at Virginia Commonwealth — ESPN2

Women’s: Oklahoma at Texas — Fox Sports Net (national)

7 p.m.
Temple at St. Joseph’s — ESPNU
New Mexico at TCU — the mtn.

8 p.m.
Nebraska at Michigan State — Big Ten Network
UTEP at Central Florida — CBS Sports Network
Richmond at Xavier — ESPN2
Middle Tennessee at Western Kentucky — Fox College Sports Atlantic
USC at Arizona State — Fox College Sports Central/Fox Sports Prime Ticket/Fox Sports Arizona
Washington at Washington State — Fox College Sports Pacific/Root Sports Northwest
Tennessee at South Carolina — Fox Sports Net: Fox Sports Houston/Fox Sports South/Fox Sports Southwest/Sun Sports

Women’s: Texas Tech at Texas A&M — Fox Sports Net (national)

9 p.m.
Syracuse at UConn — ESPN
Northwestern at Penn State — ESPNU

10 p.m.
Colorado State at San Diego State — the mtn.
Nevada at Fresno State — WAC Sports Network

11 p.m.
Cal Poly at UC-Santa Barbara — ESPNU

Sunday, February 26

noon
Cincinnati at South Florida — Big East Network: Altitude/Cox Sports Television/MASN/SNY
Maine at Stony Brook — CBS Sports Network

Women’s: Indiana at Purdue — Big Ten Network

1 p.m.
Indiana at Minnesota — ESPN

Women’s: Boston College at Miami — Fox Sports Net: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic/Fox Sports South/NESN/Sun Sports Plus
Women’s: Central Florida at Houston — Fox Sports Net (national)

1:30 p.m.
Women’s: Kentucky at Mississippi State — ESPNU

2 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Louisville — CBS

Women’s: Minnesota at Penn State — Big Ten Network
Women’s: UMass at Xavier — CBS Sports Network

3 p.m.
Women’s: Duke at North Carolina — ESPN2
Women’s: Washington State at Washington — Fox Sports Net (national)

3:30 p.m.
Women’s: Old Dominion at James Madison — Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
Women’s: Florida at Tennessee — ESPNU
Women’s: Mississippi at Auburn — Fox Sports Net: Fox Sports North Plus/Fox Sports Southwest Plus/SportSouth/Sun Sports Plus

4 p.m.
Wisconsin at Ohio State — CBS

Women’s: Ohio State at Nebraska — Big Ten Network

5 p.m.
Women’s: LSU at Georgia — ESPN2

5:30 p.m.
Cal at Colorado — Fox Sports Net (national)

6 p.m.
Iowa at Illinois — Big Ten Network
Florida State at Miami (FL) — ESPNU

7:30 p.m.
Oregon at Oregon State — Fox Sports Net

8 p.m.
Akron at Ohio — ESPNU

College Basketball Viewing Picks For 02/18 & 02/19/2011, All Times Eastern

Men’s Schedule Courtesy of Matt’s College Sports on TV

Saturday, February 18

College GameDay live from Ann Arbor, Michigan — ESPNU, 10 a.m./ESPN, 11 a.m./ESPN, 8 p.m.

BracketBusters
Drexel at Cleveland State — ESPNU, 11 a.m.
Wichita State at Davidson — ESPN2, noon
Buffalo at South Dakota State — ESPNU, 1 p.m.
Akron at Oral Roberts — ESPN2, 2 p.m.
Drake at New Mexico State — ESPNU, 3 p.m.
Nevada at Iona — ESPN2, 4 p.m.
Old Dominion at Missouri State — ESPNU, 5 p.m.
St. Mary’s at Murray State — ESPN, 6 p.m.
UNC-Asheville at Ohio — ESPN3, 7 p.m.
Texas-Arlington at Weber State — ESPN3, 8 p.m.
Long Beach State at Creighton — ESPN2, 10 p.m.

11:30 a.m.
Bryant at St. Francis (NY) — Fox College Sports Atlantic/MSG Network

noon
Louisville at DePaul — Big East Network: Cox Sports Television/CSS/MASN/SNY
Marquette at UConn — ESPN