ESPN will exclusively unveil the 64-team NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship field for the 20th consecutive year on the Selection Monday Special Presented by Capital One Monday, March 14, at 7 p.m. ET. The special will be available in its entirety on ESPN HD and simulcast on ESPN3.com. Trey Wingo will host the special with analysts Kara Lawson and Carolyn Peck, in addition to analysts Doris Burke and Rebecca Lobo offering further breakdown of the bracket.
The exclusive presentation continues at 8 p.m. on ESPNU with the Selection Monday Special: Extended Coverage as Wingo, Lawson, Peck, Burke and Lobo will be joined by ESPN analyst Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, who played in the 2010 NCAA Championship title game for Stanford.
The two hours of programming will tipoff ESPN’s extensive coverage of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, March 19-April 5 on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3.com and ESPN FULL COURT. In addition, ESPN will feature additional NCAA Championship content across its platforms, including SportsCenter, ESPN.com, ESPNU.com, ESPNEWS, ESPN Mobile, espnW.com and ESPN International.
Selection Monday Special Presented by Capital One – Monday, March 14, 7 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN3.com
- Overall analysis of each region in the bracket, teams and players to watch from Wingo, Lawson and Peck;
- Burke will analyze each region using touch-screen technology – a first for the women’s selection show – and will predict upsets and surprise teams;
- Lobo will select players to watch by region and who will be the difference makers in their team’s title run;
- Live look-ins at Green Bay, Stanford and Xavier – as the teams await their seeding for the championship;
- A featured segment on all-American Brittney Griner – using the new and innovative Cinema 4-D enhancement featuring a voiceover by Lawson showing an unprecedented virtual look at Griner in action on the court;
- An exclusive interview will be conducted with NCAA Committee Chair Marilyn McNeil;
- Go behind-the-scenes with the potential top four seeds in the tournament – Baylor, Connecticut, Stanford and Tennessee – with special features, interview and candid footage;
- NBA stars Dwight Howard and Kevin Durant offer remarks at the NBA All-Star game on the talents of the top women’s college basketball players;
- Opening tease to the show featuring Grammy Award winning group Lady Antebellum’s song Stars Tonight.
Selection Monday Special: Extended Coverage – Monday, March 14, 8 p.m. on ESPNU
- Additional evaluation of the bracket, teams and players to watch;
- Gold-Onwude will be in a locker-room setting providing her perspective on teams and players she faced as recent student-athlete;
- Live interviews with players and head coaches reactions from Green Bay, Stanford and Xavier;
- Flip-cam footage and photos sent from schools around the nation with reactions to receiving their NCAA Championship berth;
- Additional segments from the all-access features at the potential top-four seeds of the tournament.
NCAA Women’s Tournament Coaches Special – Tuesday, March 15, 1 p.m. on ESPNU
ESPN analyst Abby Waner, along with Beth Mowins and Cara Capuano, will host the four-hour NCAA Women’s Tournament Coaches Special. The four-hour special will feature reaction from the basketball community and short interviews with the head coaches of all 64 teams participating in the NCAA Championship.
Bracket Special – Tuesday, March 15, 7 p.m. on ESPN
Later that evening, Wingo, Lawson and Peck come together in an informal setting for the Bracket Special. The 30-minute special will comprehensively examine the bracket seeds and matchups in all four regions.
- Lawson will give demonstrations on hypothetical plays based on the tournament field;
- Peck will further evaluate the bracket using the touch-screen technology;
- Additional segments from the all-access features at the potential top-four seeds of the tournament.
ESPN.com
ESPN.com will provide fans with up-to-the-second coverage of Selection Monday from its team of analysts and experts. Highlights:
- ESPN.com columnist Mechelle Voepel will hit on her tournament favorites, including a look at UConn’s chances of a three-peat;
- Voepel, along with contributors Charlie Creme and Graham Hays, will give Selection Monday quick picks including toughest regional, best early matchups, best first-round game, biggest bracket snub/surprise, Cinderella team and Final Four picks;
- Hays will answer five burning questions viewers want to know about the bracket;
- Creme will provide a NCAA Championship field bracket wrap-up;
- SportsNation will conduct a chat with Voepel, Hays and Creme, along with NCAA Chair McNeil.
ESPN Women’s Tournament Challenge on ESPN.com
Sign-up has begun on ESPN.com for the 14th annual ESPN Women’s Tournament Challenge. The Tournament Challenge game is free and allows contestants to submit up to 10 entries. Fans complete and submit a bracket of hypothetical tournament outcomes. Points are awarded for each correct pick, with point values increasing as the Tournament progresses.
The ESPN Women’s Tournament Challenge winner will win a $2,000 Best Buy gift card. Entries for the Challenge will be accepted until just before tipoff of the first game Saturday, March 19.
ESPN Mobile
Fans will have access to real-time coverage on the ESPN mobile Web as the Women’s Championship field is unveiled, using the Women’s College Basketball index page and a Hot Corner calling out Women’s NCAA Championship news, pairings and analysis as the field comes into shape. Additionally, the Women’s Tournament Challenge game will also be accessible to create entries, join groups and manage brackets.
espnW.com
espnW will highlight storylines surrounding the 2011 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship through several avenues. Highlights:
- First-person perspective on espnW.com from Notre Dame sophomore guard Skylar Diggins, as well as on Twitter (@skydigg4);
- espnW contributors Adena Andrews, Julie Foudy, Jane McManus, Amanda Rykoff and Sarah Spain will make their bracket selections for the tournament;
- Live interaction with fans to pick their brackets and join in on the conversation.
ESPN’s to Air All 63 NCAA Championship Games
ESPN will present the exclusive live announcement of the 64-team NCAA Championship field as part of Selection Monday on March 14, 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 2011 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 be offered as a supplement to ESPN and ESPN2’s coverage. ESPN3.com 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.
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