More Than 100 Games Across Networks Including ESPN3 Increase and First-Ever ESPN 3D Game

ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 will present a record-high 130 women’s college basketball games during the 2011-12 season, in addition to ESPN FULL COURT’s coverage, increasing the total number of matchups to approximately 250 games this year. The schedule includes 84 games during the regular season and 13  from the conference tournaments. ESPN3 will continue to simulcast all of the ESPN and ESPN2 games. ESPN networks will also air all 63 games of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship in March.

ESPN2 is set to televise 31 regular-season games, including the network’s season-opening matchup featuring top 25 favorites Miami (FL) at Tennessee in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic as part of the College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon Presented by Disney Destinations on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 6 p.m. ET from Knoxville, Tenn. ESPN2 is also the home for: Jimmy V Women’s Classic Presented by Corona Extra on a new night – Tuesday, Dec. 6; Big Monday Presented by Bud Light – starting Jan. 16 through the end of February; and Play 4Kay on Sunday and Monday, Feb. 12 and 13 – which includes contest on ESPNU and ESPN3.

ESPNU will offer 39 games, including 22 regular-season and 17 conference championship matchups. The 24-hour college sports network begins its 2011-12 women’s basketball coverage at the defending national champions Texas A&M vs. Louisville at 4 p.m. as part of the College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. ESPNU will again serve as the host network for the sixth annual Maggie Dixon Classic on Sunday, Dec. 11 from Madison Square Garden, featuring Baylor vs. St. John’s at 11 a.m. and DePaul against Tennessee at 1 p.m. ESPNU showcases at least one game each Sunday in January and February, highlighted by several doubleheaders.

ESPN3 will increase its coverage significantly from one game last year to 29 exclusive games this season, including several top matchups of ACC schools. ESPN 3D will air its first women’s basketball game as part of the Big Monday Presented by Bud Light and Play 4Kay telecast of SEC rivals Kentucky at Tennessee on Feb. 14.

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.

2011-12 Schedule Special Events & Highlights:

• College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon Presented by Disney Destinations – Tuesday, Nov. 15
  For the first time, two women’s basketball games are part of the fourth annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. Louisville will travel to defending national champion Texas A&M for a 4 p.m. matchup on ESPNU to begin the 2011-12 season. The State Farm Tip-Off Classic will again partake in the marathon, featuring Miami (FL) at Tennessee at 6 p.m. on ESPN2 & ESPN3. The 25 hours of basketball programming will include 21 live matchups – 19 men’s and two women’s – highlighted by ESPN’s 11 game telecasts and a special one-hour College GameDay Driven by State Farm.

• Jimmy V Women’s Classic Presented by Corona Extra on ESPN2 – Tuesday, Dec. 6
  ESPN, in conjunction with The V Foundation for Cancer Research, will stage and televise the 10^th annual Jimmy V Women’s Classic Presented by Corona Extra – for the first time on a Tuesday night. Featuring the national champions from the last three years, the event pits the 2011 national winner Texas A&M against the 2009 & 2010 title holder Connecticut, at 7 p.m., from the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. This year’s premier women’s event falls on a Tuesday after previously being played on Monday, the night before the men’s Jimmy V Classic from Madison Square Garden.

• Maggie Dixon Classic on ESPNU – Sunday, Dec. 11
  The sixth annual Maggie Dixon Classic will again be played at Madison Square Garden. The doubleheader is named in honor of the late Army women’s basketball coach, who died before her 29^th birthday of an arrhythmic episode to her heart. Baylor will play St. John’s at 11 a.m., followed by DePaul against Tennessee at 1 p.m. All four teams are expected to start the season ranked in the top 25, with Baylor and Tennessee in the top five.

• Big Monday Presented by Bud Light on ESPN2 – Every Monday from Jan. 16 – Feb. 27
  ESPN2’s Big Monday primetime Game of the Week women’s basketball series, in its sixth season, features more games than ever over seven weeks to close the regular season: 12 games, including four doubleheaders in February and a bonus 2 p.m. game on President’s Day (Feb. 20). The series will showcase 13 of the power programs in Division I women’s basketball, which are all expected to be ranked in the top 25 of the preseason polls. The Big Monday games will air at 7 p.m. and on the nights of doubleheaders during the 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. windows.

• Play 4Kay on ESPN2, ESPNU & ESPN3 – Sunday and Monday, Feb. 12 & 13
  Play 4Kay, the rebranded day to help raise awareness in Support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, in partnership with The V Foundation, returns with eight regionalized games within two telecast windows. Beginning at 2:30 p.m., ESPN2 will feature Marquette at DePaul, Miami (FL) at Maryland, Iowa State at Texas Tech and Arkansas at Auburn. The 5 p.m. window features St. John’s at Rutgers, Florida at South Carolina, Purdue at Ohio State and Wake Forest at NC State. The majority of the country will see the best action of the day with switches between sites and updates from other games. In the 16 home markets of the competing teams, ESPN2 will start and remain primarily with the game of local interest. In addition, ESPNU will air West Virginia at Notre Dame nationally at 3:30 p.m. The Big Monday doubleheader of Kentucky at Tennessee (7 p.m.) and Connecticut at Oklahoma (9 p.m.) will also participate in the initiative.

• ESPN 3D – Monday, Feb. 13
  ESPN 3D will present its first women’s basketball game as part of the Big Monday Presented by Bud Light and Play 4Kay telecast of SEC rivals Kentucky at Tennessee on Feb. 13.

• Championship Week Presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU & ESPN3 – Saturday, March 3-Sunday, March 11
  As part of ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3’s week-long men’s and women’s conference tournament coverage, ESPN networks will present 13 conference championships, including games from the last three rounds of the BIG EAST Championship, plus the ACC and SEC semifinal and championship games. Other women’s championships include: Atlantic 10, Big Ten, Horizon, MAAC, MEAC, NEC, Sun Belt, Summit League, SWAC and West Coast Conference.

• NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship
  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.

ESPN Network’s 2011-12 Women’s Basketball Schedule (Schedule subject to change)

* – exclusive to ESPN3; ** – regionalized coverage

Championship Week Presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods (Schedule subject to change)

NOTE: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU & ESPN3’s NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship schedule will be announced at a later date.

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