College Sports Update – April 10, 2012
Spring Means… Football
ESPN3 will carry 18 spring football games involving teams from the ACC, SEC, Big 12 and Pac-12 beginning Saturday, April 14. The first 10 games will air this Saturday with remaining contests scheduled for April 21 and April 28. Look for the schedule in the ESPN MidWeek release tomorrow.
This Week on the U
Basketball games are in the past for many of this year’s biggest stars, but it’s just the beginning for those on ESPNU 100’s high school player list. Learn everything you need to know about this year’s recruiting class Wednesday and stick around Saturday for what’s sure to be a full-pin knock down for the final NCAA Women’s Bowling Championship:
ESPNU Signing Day Special (Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.) featuring school announcements from the No. 1 and No. 2 ESPNU 100 basketball recruits. Additional details
NCAA Women’s Bowling Championship (Saturday at 8 p.m.) final round action finds an exclusive home on the 24-hour college sports network as part of ESPN’s extended rights agreement with the NCAA.
Spotlight: Basketball Recruiting Director Paul Biancardi
ESPNU will host its sixth annual Signing Day Special (Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.) centered around the college basketball recruiting scene. Recruiting director Paul Biancardi is the face of ESPNU’s recruiting coverage and took a few minutes to speak with the Front and Center podcast on ESPN Front Row. The podcast will post tomorrow afternoon, but below is a sneak-peek:
How does your coaching background help in your coverage of recruiting for ESPN?
It’s nice that I don’t have to land any players anymore, but you have to have an eye for the evaluation process. I’m able to differentiate who is going to be a high-major vs. a mid-major. As a college basketball coach, this is what you do 24/7. You recruit players to your university, but before you recruit you have to know who they are and evaluate them and that’s what we do at ESPN.com. In fact, when I was coaching I went to Dave Telep (recruiting analyst ESPN.com) for information.
There has to be some pride in finding the next big recruit?
I’ll give you an example in (Kentucky’s) Anthony Davis. When we found out about him (after his continued growth spurt), we raced out to evaluate him and were one of the first to tell the nation about Anthony Davis. Low and behold he turned out to be everything we projected. You want to evaluate the best, but also look for the diamond in the rough, the sleepers.
Weekly Game Highlights – Olympic Sport Coverage
ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 will combine to showcase three regular-season baseball games on Sunday, April 15, including an afternoon ESPNU doubleheader.
Alabama at No. 7 LSU (1 p.m., ESPN2 & ESPN3)
Clay Matvick & Kyle Peterson
Virginia Military Institute at Coastal Carolina
(2 p.m., ESPNU)
Mike Gleason & Jay Walker
No. 16 Cal State Fullerton at UC Irvine
(5 p.m., ESPNU)
Mark Neely & Mike Rooney
The ESPNU Warrior Classic has a new home this year at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. The annual tournament on Saturday, April 13 will once again showcase top caliber men’s lacrosse teams. ESPNU’s Anish Shroff, along with Paul Carcaterra and Ryan Flanagan, will have the call of the doubleheader. Weekend highlights:
• ESPNU Warrior Classic: No. 14 Syracuse vs. Rutgers (11 a.m.) and Hofstra vs. No. 9 North Carolina (1:30 p.m.)
• Also on Saturday: No. 3 John Hopkins at No. 10 Maryland (6 p.m., ESPNU)
• An ACC matchup between No. 7 Duke at top-ranked Virginia (Friday at 6 p.m., ESPNU)
NCAA softball coverage continues on ESPN networks with five games across ESPN and ESPNU, including back-to-back LSU at Tennessee matchups:
• Jackson State at Mississippi Valley State (Friday at 3 p.m., ESPNU)
Holly Rowe & Garland Cooper
• The first of three No. 10 Georgia at Kentucky SEC matchups (Friday at 8:15 p.m., ESPNU)
Cara Capuano & Cheri Kemp
• Two No. 21 LSU at No. 9 Tennessee games (Saturday at noon, ESPN & Sunday at 4 p.m., ESPN)
Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza
• ACC Monday: Georgia Tech at No. 22 Florida State (Monday at 7 p.m., ESPNU)
Justin Kutcher & Michele Smith
College Football Live – Spring Edition
College Football Live is back for the spring edition and airs every Tuesday-Friday on ESPN (3:30 p.m.) and re-airs on ESPNU (4 p.m.). This week’s shows features analyst Andre Ware and next week CFB Live welcomes Trevor Matich in studio.
In addition, the DIRECTV Bus will make stops at several college campuses as part of the show, including cameos Clemson, South Carolina, North Carolina, Penn State and West Virginia.
ESPN College Images of the Week
The 2012 NCAA Women’s Final Four is complete and ESPN Images caught a quick glimpse at some of the weekend’s best moments.
Photo Gallery
ESPN’s New MediaZone Launches
It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s the new ESPNMediaZone! ESPN’s web site for the media, ESPNMediaZone.com, re-launched with a new more efficient and eye-pleasing design. It is your online source for ESPN programming and scheduling information, press releases, bios, photos, and more. Bookmark it!
