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ESPN Sunday Package First for Women’s College Basketball

ESPN’s 2013-14 women’s college basketball regular-season schedule includes a record-high 209 exclusive games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3. ESPN FULL COURT, the pay-per-view package, increases the total number of matchups to approximately 400 games this season.

All games will be accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold members and on Apple TV to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

The schedule boasts 22 programs on the espnW 2013-14 preseason top 25 – created by ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme – including the top 17 teams. espnW.com will provide season-long original content and supporting material for ESPN’s top games.

ESPN networks will also have a full lineup of games during Championship Week Presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods and will continue to carry all 63 games of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship culminating with the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Nashville, Tenn., on April 6 & 8.

Highlights:

• ESPN Sunday Package – Top programs in the nation are showcased in a new five-week ESPN Sunday afternoon package beginning February 2. ACC preseason-favorite Duke plays three times and a rematch of the 2013 NCAA Championship game between Louisville and Connecticut emphasizes the strong schedule.
• ESPN2 – home to the Big Monday series and several top early season matchups – has 32 games.
• College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon – A women’s doubleheader tips off the annual event – 18 games over 24 hours of consecutive basketball coverage Monday, Nov. 11 and Tuesday, Nov. 12. Defending National Champion and No. 1 Connecticut hosts No. 4 Stanford at 7 p.m. ET, followed by No. 3 Tennessee at No. 7 North Carolina at 9 p.m., both on ESPN2. The marathon also includes 16 men’s matchups across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU.
• Jimmy V Women’s Basketball Classic – The 2013 event features defending national champion Connecticut at Duke on Tuesday, Dec. 17, at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. The 12th annual women’s game will be played in Durham, N.C., at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Duke’s campus.
• Big Monday – The popular weekly series on ESPN2, in its eighth season, runs from January 13 to March 3, including doubleheaders on January 27 and February 10. Preseason favorites No. 1 Connecticut, No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 5 Maryland, No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 12 Baylor each make two appearances, with 13 ranked teams featured in the schedule.
• Play 4Kay – In its eighth year, Play 4Kay – in support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, in partnership with The V Foundation and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) – features seven games in a new format across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU on Sunday, Feb. 16. Play 4Kay showcases two regionalized games within each of two ESPN2 telecast windows, at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. In addition, a top-five matchup between ACC rivals, No. 5 Maryland at No. 2 Duke, on Monday, Feb. 17, as part of ESPN2’s Big Monday series at 7 p.m.
• ESPNU has a schedule of 24 regular-season games, including a consistent Sunday afternoon schedule during the conference season.
• A record-high 148 exclusive games to be shown on ESPN3 this season, including a full slate of ACC, American and Atlantic Sun contests.
• ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, produces eight games as part of SEC TV Game of the Week.

espnW.com content highlights:

• Season preview November 4-8 will include a preseason top-25 poll and a ranking of the top five players at each position.
• Each week, writers Mechelle Voepel, Graham Hays, Kate Fagan and Michelle Smith, as well as analyst Rebecca Lobo, will write in-depth profiles of some of the nation’s top teams, players and coaches.
• Beginning Monday, Jan. 13, and running each week, “In Tune for Nashville” will give a comprehensive look at all the latest news from the teams in the nation.
• Prior to each Big Monday game, espnW.com will offer an updated Bracketology segment from Creme and a game preview for that night’s matchup, as well as postgame coverage with video analysis.

Championship Week Coverage
ESPN networks will again combine to showcase the week-long men’s and women’s conference tournaments during Championship Week Presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods from Thursday, March 6-Sunday, March 16. The complete schedule will be announced at a later date.

NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Coverage
ESPN will present the exclusive live announcement of the 64-team NCAA Championship field as part of Selection Monday on March 17 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 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship will air on ESPN networks for the ninth consecutive year. ESPN and ESPN2 will present regionalized telecasts with home market protection through the first two rounds. ESPN3 and ESPN FULL COURT, the pay-per-view package, will offer first- and second-round games in their entirety as a supplement to ESPN and ESPN2’s coverage. 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 2013-14 Women’s College Basketball Schedule (subject to change)

^ – Regionalized on ESPN2

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