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ESPN Prepares To Cover The Next-to-Last BCS

As we approach the long-awaited college football playoff in 2015, the BCS is still in effect and ESPN will air the entire five game sequence which includes the National Championship Game on January 7. The BCS begins on Tuesday with the Rose Bowl and the Orange Bowl. It then proceeds to the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday and the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday. It all culminates with the BCS National Championship Game on Monday night as Alabama takes on Notre Dame in South Florida.

ESPN plans extensive coverage of the BCS starting on Tuesday, New Year’s Day with all types of pregame and wraparound programming on several of its platforms on TV, radio, mobiles, tablets and computers.

Let’s take a look at the extensive ESPN press release which details its coverage plans.

Extensive BCS Bowls Coverage Includes ESPNU’s Week of Programming, ESPN Radio Live from South Beach and ESPN Deportes’ Spanish-Language Telecasts

ESPN’s extensive college football programming is culminated by all five of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) matchups, including the BCS National Championship (No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Alabama) from Miami Gardens, Fla., Monday, Jan. 7, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio, ESPN 3D and WatchESPN.

Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit will work their sixth consecutive BCS National Championship game, calling ESPN’s telecast with Saturday Night Football reporter Heather Cox and College GameDay reporter Tom Rinaldi. For the second straight year, ESPN’s Monday Night Football signal caller Mike Tirico will work ESPN Radio’s broadcast with ESPN college football analyst Todd Blackledge and reporters Holly Rowe and Joe Schad: http://es.pn/11VjVQy.

Studio Coverage

Beginning New Year’s Day, ESPN will provide viewers with daily updates from all the action including all five BCS bowl games. College Football Live at the BCS will be televised daily from 3 – 4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2, through Friday, Jan. 4, and again on Monday, Jan. 7, providing all the latest news and analysis of the upcoming matchups. The network’s Emmy Award-winning pre-game show College GameDay will be live from the Rose Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl and the BCS National Championship where the crew will be joined by guest analysts and current head coaches Urban Meyer (Ohio State) and Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M): http://es.pn/VCx3UR.

Kicking off 2013, ESPNU will feature its largest on-site presence to-date with seven studio shows from Miami Gardens, Fla. The network’s 74 hours of content begins Tuesday, Jan. 1, and leads into the BCS National Championship. The schedule is punctuated by a marathon of more than 24 hours of BCS-themed content beginning Sunday, Jan. 6, at 10 p.m. and extending until mid-morning Tuesday, Jan. 8: http://es.pn/W5AHXK.

ESPN Radio Shows

Mike & Mike in the Morning (6-10 a.m. ET M-F, simulcast on ESPN2) and SVP & Russillo (1-4 p.m. M-F, simulcast on ESPNEWS 1-3 p.m.) will originate from Miami’s South Beach Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 7-8. Notre Dame alum and morning co-host Mike Golic will watch his sons Mike Jr. and Jake play Monday night against Alabama.

Also, The Herd with Colin Cowherd (10 a.m.-1 p.m. M-F, simulcast on ESPNU) will be in South Beach on January 7, as will Trevor Matich and Brad Edwards, joining Ryen Russillo for a special 2-1/2-hour edition of College GameDay on ESPN Radio at 4 p.m.

Additionally, ESPN Radio will present a 2013 BCS Special hosted by College GameDay’s Russillo, Matich and Edwards. They will be joined by ESPN college football experts, as well as ESPN Radio’s Mikes Golic & Greenberg, Cowherd, Scott Van Pelt, Russillo, and Dari Nowkhah and Mel Kiper Jr. The special will run multiple times the weekend before the title game and will be available for download at ESPNRadio.com.

Additional details:

• ESPN Radio will present exclusive, live national coverage of all BCS contests culminating with the championship game Monday, Jan. 7.
• ESPN Radio has broadcast every BCS bowl game since the inception of the BCS. ESPN Radio’s bowl games – 37 announcers spread across 16 days – has been available to more than 400stations nationwide.
• Internationally, ESPN Radio’s BCS coverage can be heard in Canada (TSN 1050 in Toronto) and the U.S  Virgin Islands (WVWI-AM 1000/St. Thomas).

ESPN Deportes:

ESPN Deportes is the Spanish-language television home for the BCS. ESPN Deportes, for the first time, will air all five BCS bowls, including the BCS National Championship: http://es.pn/SE1kpt for U.S. Hispanic sports fans.

ESPN International

ESPN International will televise the BCS National Championship live to more than 100 countries, across six continents, reaching more than 100 million households:

• Latin America (49 countries):  ESPN networks in Spanish-speaking Latin America, Brazil, and the Caribbean.
• Israel and Sub-Saharan Africa (47 countries):  ESPN Israel and ESPN Africa
• PacRim (six countries; 2.6 million households):  ESPN PacRim
• Canada (12.5 million households): TSN and RDS
• Asia (22 countries; 176 million households):  ESPN China, SE Asia, India, Taiwan, Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Japan (J Sports 2).

In addition, ESPN America (only European network devoted exclusively to the best in North American sport, available to 19 million homes in more than 40 countries) will broadcast live and exclusive coverage of all five BCS bowls including the title game with all available online through the live and on-demand streaming service ESPNPlayer.com: http://bit.ly/ESPNIntlBowls

ESPN Digital

• WatchESPN: Every live BCS game on ESPN is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and Xbox.
• ESPN3: Replays of every bowl game available shortly after the conclusion of the games.
• ESPN.com: Stories, columns, blogs, video elements and more.  The bowls homepage will provide previews and post-game content on every game, as well as an in-depth look at all five BCS bowls with an individual page dedicated to the coverage of each: Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Sugar Bowl and BCS National Championship.
• ESPN Mobile: Clips, highlights, news and scores available through the ScoreCenter app and via the ESPN College Football app.
• Fans can follow @ESPNCFB on Twitter for the latest scores, news and highlights.

ESPN 3D

ESPN 3D will televise ESPN’s coverage of the Sugar Bowl and the BCS National Championship. In addition, Joe Tessitore and Rod Gilmore will provide extended coverage of the title game during select commercial breaks of the ESPN telecast.
There you have it.

ESPN College GameDay Prepares For The BCS National Championship

Starting on January 1, ESPN’s College GameDay will be live from four of the five BCS games including the Big One, the BCS National Championship game in South Florida on January 7.

College GameDay will begin its cross-country odyssey in Pasadena, CA by doing two shows on New Year’s Day live from the Rose Bowl. Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and charlatan Todd McShay will be in Pasadena for the festivities.

The following day, Fowler, Herbstreit and Howard fly to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl and they’ll be joined by David Pollack.

On January 3, the College Football Final crew of Rece Davis, Lou Holtz and Mark May will hold court at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, AZ.

College GameDay will skip the Orange Bowl and studiop coverage of the game on New Year’s Night will be produced from ESPN’s World Headquarters in Bristol, CT.

And finally, College GameDay ends its season from the BCS National Championship Game from the Stadium Formerly Known as Joe Robbie. Former ESPN analyst and current Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin will be on the set to provide analysis of Alabama-Notre Dame.

Samantha Ponder (formerly Steele) will also be on hand for College GameDay.

Here’s the official ESPN press release.

College GameDay: A Look Ahead to BCS Bowl Coverage and Guest Analysts Urban Meyer and Kevin Sumlin

Beginning Tuesday, Jan. 1, ESPN College GameDay will be live from the sites of the Rose Bowl, the Sugar Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl. Coverage of the Orange Bowl will originate from ESPN studios in Bristol, Conn. GameDay will end the season live from Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., on Monday, Jan. 7, from the BCS National Championship for a two-hour show starting at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Throughout the week, a variety of ESPN analysts will sit on the GameDay set in the various cities. Host Chris Fowler and analysts Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard will travel from Pasadena to New Orleans with a final stop in Miami Gardens, Fla., for the title game. Additional analyst appearances include Lee Corso, David Pollack, Todd McShay and Samantha (Steele) Ponder.

Rece Davis will take the hosting reins, along with his weekly ESPN studio partners, analysts Lou Holtz and Mark May, from the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz.

The BCS National Championship will add guest analysts including former ESPN commentator and current Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer and Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin, whose team was the only program to top Alabama this season.

College GameDay BCS Schedule

Date	Time (ET)	Network	Location/Analysts
Tue, Jan 1	11 a.m.	ESPNU	Fowler, Herbstreit, Corso, Howard & McShay (Pasadena, Calif.)
	noon	ESPN
Wed, Jan 2	7-8 p.m.	ESPN	Fowler, Herbstreit, Howard & Pollack (New Orleans)
Thu, Jan 3	7-8 p.m.	ESPN	Davis, Holtz & May (Glendale, Ariz.)
Mon, Jan 7	6-8 p.m.	ESPN	Fowler, Herbstreit, Corso, Howard, Pollack, Meyer & Sumlin (Miami Gardens, Fla.)

That does it.

ESPN Airs 34 College Bowl Games Including The Next-to-Last BCS

ESPN has sent its schedule for the college football bowls as well as the Bowl Championship Series. In addition, we have the announcing assignments for all of the games on the ESPN platforms. Most of the games will air on ESPN, some on ESPN2. ESPN Radio also carries a series of games including the entire BCS.

Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Heather Cox will call the Rose Bowl and the BCS National Championship Game. ESPN’s other teams for the BCS and the other bowls approaching January are Brad Nessler/Todd Blackledge/Holly Rowe, Sean McDonough/Chris Spielman/Quint Kessenich and Joe Tessitore/Matt Millen/Maria Taylor.

Other teams include ESPN’s regular combos of Beth Mowins/Joey Galloway, Carter Blackburn/Rod Gilmore/Jemele Hill, Mike Patrick/Ed Cunningham, Bob Wischusen/Danny Kanell, Dave Pasch/Brian Griese/Jenn Brown and Mark Jones/Brock Huard.

Here’s ESPN’s press release in full.

ESPN to Carry 34 College Football Bowl Games including Entire BCS

ESPN’s extensive college football coverage continues with 34 bowl games, highlighted by all five of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) matchups, including the BCS National Championship (No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Alabama) on Monday, Jan. 7, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio, ESPN 3D and WatchESPN.

The schedule will kick off with an ESPN and ESPN Radio doubleheader on Saturday, Dec. 15: the New Mexico Bowl (Nevada vs. Arizona), which is also on ESPN 3D, at 1 p.m. ET and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Toledo vs. No. 22 Utah State) at 4:30 p.m.

Schedule highlights:

• An ESPN outlet will offer coverage of at least one game a day for 16 out of the 19 days from Dec. 20 to Jan. 7.
• ESPN’s New Year’s Day lineup will include six games:

• Noon: Gator Bowl (Mississippi State vs. No. 20 Northwestern) on ESPN2 and Heart of Dallas Bowl (Purdue vs. No. 13 Oklahoma State) on ESPNU.
• 1 p.m.: Capital One Bowl (No. 7 Georgia vs. No. 16 Nebraska) on ABC and ESPN Radio and Outback Bowl (No. 10 South Carolina vs. No. 18 Michigan) on ESPN and ESPN Radio.
• 5 p.m.: Rose Bowl (Wisconsin vs. No. 6 Stanford) on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Radio.
• 8:30 p.m.: Orange Bowl (No. 15 Northern Illinois vs. No. 12 Florida State) on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Radio.

• Every bowl game on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will be available on computers at WatchESPN.com and on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app. WatchESPN is currently available in 40 million households nationwide to fans who receive their video subscription from Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Verizon FiOS TV, Comcast Xfinity TV or Midcontinent Communications.
• ESPN Deportes will televise all five BCS bowls, marking the first telecast of the entire BCS in Spanish for U.S. Hispanic sports fans. ESPN Deportes also aired the BCS Championship between Alabama and LSU last year. According to the most recent ESPN Deportes Sports PollSource: ESPN Deportes Sports Poll 2011, P2+
• , 42 percent of U.S. Hispanics follow college football. That’s more than the Hispanic fanbase following UEFA Champions League.
• ESPN 3D, the world’s first 24/7 all-sports 3D channel, will televise five bowl games, highlighted by the Sugar Bowl and BCS National Championship. It will mark the third year ESPN 3D has televised the BCS National Championship. ESPN 3D, launched in 2010, is available to more than 63 million homes in the U.S. through carriage agreements with DIRECTV, Comcast, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV and Google Fiber.
• ESPN Radio will broadcast 24 bowl games, including all five BCS matchups and the Cotton Bowl (No. 9 Texas A&M vs. No. 11 Oklahoma on Friday, Jan. 4, at 7 p.m.).
• ESPN will cover all seven ESPN Regional Television owned-and-operated bowl games: the New Mexico Bowl (Saturday, Dec. 15, at 1 p.m.), St. Petersburg Bowl (Friday, Dec. 21, at 7:30 p.m.); Las Vegas Bowl (Saturday, Dec. 22, at 3:30 p.m.); Hawaii Bowl (Monday, Dec. 24, at 8 p.m.); Texas Bowl (Friday, Dec. 28, at 9 p.m.); Armed Forces Bowl (Saturday, Dec. 29, at 11:45 a.m.); and BBVA Compass Bowl (Saturday, Jan. 5, at 1 p.m.).
• ESPN International will telecast the BCS in: Australia/New Zealand (ESPN Pacific Rim); Latin America North & South; Brazil; Caribbean; Europe (ESPN America); Sub-Saharan Africa (ESPN Atlantic) and Middle East.

Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit will work their sixth consecutive BCS National Championship game on ESPN (Monday, Jan. 7, at 8:30 p.m.) with Saturday Night Football reporter Heather Cox and College GameDay host and reporter Tom Rinaldi. For the second straight year, ESPN’s Monday Night Football signal caller Mike Tirico will work ESPN Radio’s broadcast with ESPN college football analyst Todd Blackledge and reporters Holly Rowe and Joe Schad.

As part of an extensive four-year agreement with the Bowl Championship Series that began in 2010, ESPN will provide exclusive worldwide television coverage, radio broadcasts, digital content and more for the five annual BCS games from January 2011 through January 2014. ESPN Radio has broadcast every BCS game since 2000.

The 2012 college football season on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, ESPN Radio, ESPN 3D, ESPN Deportes, Longhorn Network, ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN Regional Television, WatchESPN and ESPN GamePlan totals more than 450 regular-and post-season games.

Bowl Championship Series

Tuesday, January 1	5 p.m.	Rose Bowl: Wisconsin vs. No. 6 Stanford ESPN: Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, Heather Cox & Tom Rinaldi Radio: Dave Pasch, Brian Griese & Jenn Brown Deportes: Georgina Ruiz Sandoval & Robert Abramowitz	ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN Radio
	8:30 p.m.	Orange Bowl: No. 15 Northern Illinois vs. No. 12 Florida State ESPN: Joe Tessitore, Matt Millen & Maria Taylor Radio: Bill Rosinski, David Norrie & Joe Schad Deportes: Eduardo Varela & Pablo Viruega	ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN Radio
Wednesday, January 2	8:30 p.m.	Sugar Bowl: No. 21 Louisville vs. No. 3 Florida ESPN: Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman & Quint Kessenich Radio: Bob Wischusen, Danny Kanell & Allison Williams Deportes: Eduardo Varela & Pablo Viruega	ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio & ESPN 3D
Thursday, January 3	8:30 p.m.	Fiesta Bowl: No. 4 Oregon vs. No. 5 Kansas State ESPN: Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge & Holly Rowe Radio: Bill Rosinski, David Norrie & Joe Schad Deportes: Eduardo Varela & Pablo Viruega	ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN Radio
Monday, January 7	8:30 p.m.	BCS National Championship Game: No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Alabama ESPN: Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, Heather Cox & Tom Rinaldi Radio: Mike Tirico, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe & Joe Schad Deportes: Eduardo Varela & Pablo Viruega	ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio & ESPN 3D

Additional Postseason Games

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Saturday, Dec 15	1 p.m.	New Mexico Bowl: Nevada vs. Arizona ESPN: Bob Wischusen, Danny Kanell & Kaylee Hartung Radio: Mark Neely, Ray Bentley & Marty Cesario	ESPN, ESPN Radio & ESPN 3D
	4:30 p.m.	Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Toledo vs. No. 22 Utah State ESPN: Tom Hart, Mike Bellotti & Quint Kessenich Radio: Rich Cellini, Tom Ramsey & Shelley Smith	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Thursday, December 20	8 p.m.	Poinsettia Bowl: BYU vs. San Diego State ESPN: Carter Blackburn, Rod Gilmore & Jemele Hill Radio: Bill Rosinski, David Norrie & Joe Schad	ESPN, ESPN Radio & ESPN 3D
Friday, December 21	7:30 p.m.	St. Petersburg Bowl: Central Florida vs. Ball State ESPN: Dave Neal, Andre Ware, Desmond Howard & Cara Capuano Radio: Dave Lamont, Matt Stinchcomb & Allison Williams	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Saturday, December 22	Noon	New Orleans Bowl: East Carolina vs. Louisiana-Lafayette ESPN: Beth Mowins, Joey Galloway & Quint Kessenich Radio: Marc Kestecher, Dan Hawkins & Ian Fitzsimmons	ESPN & ESPN Radio
	3:30 p.m.	Las Vegas Bowl: Washington vs. No. 19 Boise State Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit & Tom Rinaldi	ESPN
Monday, December 24	8 p.m.	Hawaii Bowl: Fresno State vs. SMU ESPN: Carter Blackburn, Kelly Stouffer & Kaylee Hartung Radio: Marc Kestecher & Pete Najarian	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Wednesday, December 26	7:30 p.m.	Little Caesars Bowl: Western Kentucky vs. Central Michigan Mark Neely, Ray Bentley & Jemele Hill	ESPN
Thursday, December 27	3 p.m.	Military Bowl: No. 24 San Jose State vs. Bowling Green Bob Wischusen, Danny Kanell & Quint Kessenich	ESPN
	6:30 p.m.	Belk Bowl: Cincinnati vs. Duke Mike Patrick, Ed Cunningham & Jeannine Edwards	ESPN
	9:45 p.m.	Holiday Bowl: Baylor vs. No. 17 UCLA ESPN: Dave Pasch, Brian Griese & Jenn Brown Radio: Bill Rosinski, David Norrie & Joe Schad	ESPN, ESPN Radio & ESPN 3D
Friday, December 28	2 p.m.	Independence Bowl: Ohio vs. Louisiana-Monroe Dave Lamont, Kelly Stouffer & Cara Capuano	ESPN
	5:30 p.m.	Russell Athletic Bowl: Rutgers vs. Virginia Tech ESPN: Joe Tessitore, Matt Millen & Maria Taylor Radio: Adam Amin, Tom Luginbill & Brett McMurphy	ESPN & ESPN Radio
	9 p.m.	Texas Bowl: Minnesota vs. Texas Tech ESPN: Mark Jones, Brock Huard & Jessica Mendoza Radio: Tom Hart, John Congemi & Niki Noto	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Saturday, December 29	11:45 a.m.	Armed Forces Bowl: Rice vs. Air Force ESPN: Beth Mowins, Joey Galloway & Lewis Johnson Radio: Eamon McAnaney, David Diaz-Infante & Paul Carcaterra	ESPN & ESPN Radio
	3:15 p.m.	Pinstripe Bowl: West Virginia vs. Syracuse ESPN: Chris Fowler, Jesse Palmer & Tom Rinaldi Radio: Marc Kestecher, Jack Ford & C.J. Papa	ESPN & ESPN Radio
	4 p.m.	Fight Hunger Bowl: Navy vs. Arizona State Dave Pasch, Brian Griese & Jenn Brown	ESPN2
	6:45 p.m.	Alamo Bowl: No. 23 Texas vs. No. 13 Oregon State ESPN: Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman & Quint Kessenich Radio: Mark Neely, Ray Bentley & Kaylee Hartung	ESPN & ESPN Radio
	10:15 p.m.	Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: TCU vs. Michigan State ESPN: Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge & Holly Rowe Radio: Bill Rosinski, David Norrie & Joe Schad	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Monday, December 31	Noon	Music City Bowl: NC State vs. Vanderbilt Carter Blackburn, Rod Gilmore & Jemele Hill	ESPN
	3:30 p.m.	Liberty Bowl: Iowa State vs. Tulsa ESPN: Mark Jones, Brock Huard & Jessica Mendoza Radio: Beth Mowins, Joey Galloway & Lewis Johnson	ESPN & ESPN Radio
	7:30 p.m.	Chick-fil-A Bowl: No. 8 LSU vs. No. 14 Clemson ESPN: Mike Patrick, Ed Cunningham & Jeannine Edwards Radio: Dave Neal, Andre Ware & Cara Capuano	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Tuesday, January 1	Noon	Gator Bowl: Mississippi State vs. No. 20 Northwestern Bob Wischusen, Danny Kanell & Allison Williams	ESPN2
		Heart of Dallas Bowl: Purdue vs. Oklahoma State Clay Matvick, Matt Stinchcomb & Kaylee Hartung	ESPNU
	1 p.m.	Capital One Bowl: No. 7 Georgia vs. No. 16 Nebraska ABC: Rece Davis, Jesse Palmer, David Pollack & Samantha Steele Radio: Dave Lamont, Kelly Stouffer & Brett McMurphy	ABC & ESPN Radio
		Outback Bowl: No. 10 South Carolina vs. No. 18 Michigan ESPN: Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden & Shannon Spake Radio: Carter Blackburn, John Congemi & Jemele Hill	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Friday, January 4	7 p.m.	Cotton Bowl: No. 9 Texas A&M vs. No. 11 Oklahoma Brad Sham, Ed Cunningham & Ian Fitzsimmons	ESPN Radio
Saturday, January 5	1 p.m.	BBVA Compass Bowl: Pittsburgh vs. Ole Miss ESPN: Eamon McAnaney, David Diaz-Infante & Paul Carcaterra Radio: Dave Lamont, Kelly Stouffer & Allison Williams	ESPN & ESPN Radio
Sunday, January 6	9 p.m.	GoDaddy.com Bowl: No. 25 Kent State vs. Arkansas State Mark Jones, Brock Huard & Jessica Mendoza	ESPN

That is all.

ESPN Keeps Sugar Bowl In The Fold For 12 More Years

ESPN has announced a new agreement with the Big 12 and SEC for the Sugar Bowl starting with the January 2015 game. The two conferences had originally made an agreement for the champions of their two leagues to meet in New Orleans in what was going to be called the Champions Bowl. The BCS then folded the Champions into the established Sugar Bowl. With ESPN about to sign with the BCS for the college football playoff system and the Sugar about to be one of the “contract” bowls, it’s only natural that the Alleged Worldwide Leader bring in what will most likely be one of the games that will be part of the BCS mix.

ESPN will have all rights to the Sugar Bowl including TV, radio, online, tablets, mobiles, gaming consoles and any other technology that comes into fruition between now and then.

Here’s the press release.

ESPN Reaches 12-Year Agreement with SEC and Big 12 for Sugar Bowl

Annual Game on ESPN Outlets Through 2026

ESPN has reached a 12-year agreement with the Southeastern and Big 12 Conferences for the Sugar Bowl (previously referred to as Champions Bowl) in New Orleans. The agreement, which begins in January 2015 with the inaugural game between the two conference champions, will include rights to the Sugar Bowl across ESPN’s platforms through 2026. Each year, the game will be played January 1 in prime time.

The news was announced today by John Skipper, ESPN President, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive and Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby.

ESPN will have the rights to the Sugar Bowl each year no matter what is determined to be the exact post-season bowl rotation as part of the future format. Those rights include television, ESPN Radio, ESPN Mobile TV and on smartphones, tablets, online and on Xbox LIVE via WatchESPN. Additionally, ESPN has secured rights to distribute the Sugar Bowl on ESPN 3D and around the world via ESPN International.

“Given the history of excellence by teams in the SEC and Big 12, we recognized the value in securing long-term rights to the Sugar Bowl,” Skipper said, adding, “The matchup will provide college football fans with a memorable way to start the New Year on ESPN’s many platforms.”

Slive said, “The matchup between the SEC and the Big 12 in the Sugar Bowl on ESPN creates a new tradition for college football fans on New Year’s Night. We are very excited about this new venture and look forward to competing against the Big 12 in the Sugar Bowl on ESPN.”

Bowlsby added, “ESPN has a rich post-season college football history. The long-term commitment of our partners from ESPN, the SEC, and the Sugar Bowl to this game assures its stature as a marquee event among college athletics.”

Paul Hoolahan, Chief Executive Officer, Sugar Bowl, said, “The Sugar Bowl is delighted to extend our partnership with ESPN to present this stellar game between top representatives of two perennial powerhouse conferences.”

ESPN had previously announced a new, 12-year agreement for the Rose Bowl, also beginning in 2015.

There you have it.