• UConn-Notre Dame Triple-Overtime Thriller Makes Monday Night Mark
• Final College GameDay Covered by State Farm Show Features a Special Split Edition
• Men’s Hoops: Regular-Season Concludes with Matchups between Ranked Teams
• Men’s Basketball: Championship Week Features 136 Overall Men’s Games
• Women’s Basketball: Championship Week Coverage Begins Wednesday, March 6
• Men’s Lacrosse: Wednesday Men’s Lacrosse Game of the Week Makes Debut
• “The Schwab” Week 3: Big 12 Contestants
• Indoor Track and Field Championships on ESPN3 and ESPNU; Lolo Jones Analyst
• College Football: Six 2013 Telecasts Involving SEC, ACC & Big 12 Announced
• ESPN Images: College Softball Portraits

Media contact: [email protected]

UConn-Notre Dame Triple-Overtime Thriller Makes Monday Night Mark
The triple-overtime Big Monday Presented by Bud Light thriller between third-ranked Connecticut at No. 2 Notre Dame, in which the Fighting Irish topped the Huskies 97-87, brought in a 0.6 overnight rating. The battle saw a rise in the rating each quarter hour, peaking at a1.0 rating in the final 15 minutes. Combined, the final 45 minutes — featuring mostly overtime action — averaged a 0.9 rating

In the Hartford/New Haven metered market, the game earned a 13.5 rating.

Final College GameDay Covered by State Farm Show Features a Special Split Edition
ESPN’s College GameDay Covered by State Farm – in its eighth and final week of the 2013 season – will feature a special split edition Saturday, March 9. In a first for College GameDay, the morning shows on ESPNU at 10 a.m. and on ESPN at 11 a.m. will be in Washington, D.C., at the site of the No. 17 Syracuse at No. 5 Georgetown game (noon, ESPN). The crew will then travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the evening show at 8 p.m., prior to the start of the Saturday Primetime presented by DIRECTV matchup of No. 3 Duke at North Carolina matchup (9 p.m., ESPN).

Rece Davis hosts College GameDay, joined by analysts Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps and Jalen Rose to preview all the day’s action and discuss the biggest storylines in college basketball.

Full College GameDay Schedule; College GameDay Images

Two of the games will be on Saturday, March 9, beginning with No. 5 Georgetown against No. 17 Syracuse at noon on ESPN. No. 9 Kansas State at No. 13 Oklahoma State will be on ESPN3 at 1:30 p.m. ESPN will televise No. 10 Michigan State against No. 22 Wisconsin on Thursday, March 7, at 9 p.m.

The lineup also includes No. 3 Duke at North Carolina, one of sports’ most well-known and celebrated rivalries, Saturday, March 9, at 9 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN 3D.

Analyst Jay Bilas will pull extra duty Saturday, working the ESPNU and ESPN morning editions of College GameDay Covered by State Farm from Georgetown at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., respectively, and then calling the Hoyas’ game against No. 17 Syracuse at noon. Following the game, Bilas will head to North Carolina for a one-hour ESPN College GameDay at 8 p.m. and then work the No. 3 Duke at North Carolina telecast at 9 p.m. Full schedule

Men’s Basketball: Championship Week Features 136 Overall Men’s Games
ESPN’s 2013 Championship Week Presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods will showcase 136 men’s college basketball conference tournament games across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 from Wednesday, March 6 to Sunday, March 17. ESPN3 will simulcast 37 of the matchups that are available in the local markets via syndication. Coverage highlights:

• For the first time, ESPN will televise Pac-12 Tournament games, covering a quarterfinal, semifinal and the Championship. In addition to ESPN’s telecast, ESPN Deportes will televise the Pac-12 title game. As part of a 12-year agreement with the conference, ESPN will televise one conference quarterfinal and semifinal game, and the championship every other year.
• The networks will combine to offer coverage of 23 Division I conference title games and action from 25 conferences overall.
• This season will mark ESPN’s 28th, ESPN2’s 19th and ESPNU’s eighth year of comprehensive coverage. ESPN will televise 20 games, ESPN2 24, ESPNU 19 and ABC three games, while ESPN3 will offer a platform record 29 exclusive contests.
• ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 will combine to provide action of multiple men’s games from several top conferences, including all 13 of the BIG EAST games; all 11 of the SEC and ACC; all nine from the Big 12 and four from the Big Ten.

Full release; Schedule

Women’s Basketball: Championship Week Coverage Begins Wednesday, March 6
ESPN’s 2013 Championship Week Presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods will present an 85 women’s college basketball games from Wednesday, March 6 to Sunday, March 17 across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3. The networks will combine to exclusively offer game action and the crowning of a champion from 18 Division I conferences, including the title games from the ACC, BIG EAST, Big Ten, Pac-12 and the SEC.

ESPN3 will have exclusive coverage of 20 conference tournament games, plus show another 45 contests available in local markets via syndication, for a total of 65 games. ESPNU will air 18 games, including 10 title matches, and ESPN2 will be the home to four NCAA Championship berths. Full release & schedule

Men’s Lacrosse: Wednesday Men’s Lacrosse Game of the Week Makes Debut
ESPNU Warrior Wednesday Night Game of the Week makes its debut March 6, featuring UMBC at top-ranked Maryland at 5 p.m. The Wednesday night schedule will run through the end of the season, showcasing nationally ranked teams. Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra will call the games throughout most of the season.

The Whitman’s Sampler Independence Classic in Chester, Pa., home of the 2013 NCAA Championship weekend, will feature an ESPN3 tripleheader Saturday, March 9, beginning at noon with St. John’s facing BIG EAST opponent No. 10 Syracuse. Also playing in the Classic are No. 19 Penn vs. Villanova at 2:30 p.m. and Penn State at No. 17 Lehigh at 5 p.m.

No. 6 Johns Hopkins will be showcased on ESPNU twice this week – vs. Mount St. Mary’s at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5 and vs. UMBC at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 8. Week’s schedule; Full season schedule

Each week three participants from a different collegiate conference will be tested by ESPN’s first statistician, Howie Schwab and UNITE host Reese Waters with questions from four categories – college sports, professional sports, pop-culture and social media. The winning player of each conference will advance through a UNITE tournament bracket of quarterfinals, semifinals and a final. Previous conference winners include Ryan Smith (Ole Miss; 14 points) and Taylor Smith (Maryland; 11 points). Week 1 video

Indoor Track and Field Championships on ESPN3 and ESPNU; Lolo Jones Analyst
Fifty days of NCAA Winter Championship action sprints into high gear beginning with the NCAA Division I Men’s & Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championships Friday, March 8.

Day 1 and Day 2 will be carried live on ESPN3, with additional coverage on March 17on ESPNU. Lolo Jones, Olympic track & field runner with three NCAA titles and 11 All-American honors while running at LSU, will provide analysis for ESPN during the event. 

More Information: Schedules and details on ESPN’s Coverage of 11 winter championship events’

College Football: Six 2013 Telecasts Involving SEC, ACC & Big 12 Announced
ESPN announced the telecast schedule for six of its college football games – all involving at least one SEC team, three with an ACC team and one with TCU of the Big 12 – for ABC and ESPN during the 2013 season. Five of the games will be played over the opening weekend, including the two marquee neutral site showdowns: Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game and Cowboys Classic. Additional games will be announced in the coming months.

The six games will include seven teams ranked in ESPN.com’s early college football top 25 rankings for 2013 (No. 1 Alabama, No. 6 Georgia, No. 10 South Carolina, No. 11 Clemson, No. 13 LSU, No. 17 TCU and No. 25 Vanderbilt. Full release

-30-