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ESPN College Basketball is a blanket title used for presentations ofcollege basketball onESPN and its family of networks (including ABC since 2006). Its coverage focuses primarily on competition inNCAA Division I, holding broadcast rights to games from each major conference, and a number ofmid-major conferences.
ESPN was the first broadcaster to provide extensive early-round coverage ofNCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, prior toCBS, later in partnership withTurner Sports, holding sole rights to "March Madness". The network also covers a number of early-season tournaments, conference championships, and is also the exclusive broadcaster of theNational Invitation Tournament and theWomen's Division I championship.
ESPN has aired college basketball games from its inception, starting in 1979 withDePaul's victory overWisconsin with a then-novice color commentatorDick Vitale and Joe Boyle doing the play-by-play. In the early days, Vitale was paired with veteran sportscasterJim Simpson.
One of the first milestone events that ESPN covered was theNCAA tournament. In1980, the fledgling channel had a total of 23 tournament games. More specifically, ESPN aired theNCAA Productions telecasts of all 16 first-round games (12 ontape delay).Jay Randolph,Gary Thompson, Steve Shannon, Steve Grad,Fred White,Larry Conley,Bill O'Donnell,Bucky Waters, andJeff Mullins were among the commentators. ESPN again aired 16 first-round games (12 on tape delay) produced by NCAA Productions in1981. That year, ESPN aired theBYU-Notre Dame (at Atlanta) with Bill O'Donnell and Jeff Mullins on the call. This particular game soon became famous forDanny Ainge's coast-to-coast buzzer beater to send BYU to Elite 8. ESPN also aired the last Final Four consolation game at 5 p.m. on March 30, 1981.
They intensively covered the early rounds ofMarch Madness, gaining the entire tournament much prestige. The early rounds of course were not the most ideal time, many games taking place during work hours. WhenCBS gained exclusive coverage in 1991, they would largely mimic how their predecessor had covered the event.[1] ESPN aired the NCAA productions telecasts of all 16 first-round games (12 on tape delay).
During the1985 NCAA tournament, ESPN aired five live games on each first round day which, combined with the CBS games and the around the clock ESPNtape delayed games, made for almost non-stop basketball for 55 consecutive hours from Thursday noon through early Saturday evening. With four games at each first round site, NCAA Productions typically sent two announcer crews to each site to call two games each.
One of the next milestones in ESPN's coverage was when they airedChampionship Week for the first time in 1986 (the term would be coined later however). The network was given critical acclaim for its coverage of the conference tournaments, of bouncing from game to the next. It also raised the profile of many "mid-major" and "minor" conferences who received their only national attention during a single game, usually the championship game of their conference tournament. Like everything else with ESPN, the success and expansion of the network led to more games being televised in this made-for-TV event.[2]
1987 was the last year that ESPN was involved in the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.John Saunders was ESPN's studio host in the afternoon whileBob Ley was the studio host in the evening.Dick Vitale served as the studio analyst for both men. In1989,Tim Brando became the afternoon studio host while John Saunders moved to the evening. And then ayear later,Chris Fowler replaced Brando as the afternoon studio host. As previously mentioned, 1990 was also the last year ESPN/NCAA Productions' involvement.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s with only a single network; no regional or internet coverage, ESPN televised around 200 games a year.
In 1991, they would lose coverage of the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament but would continue to televise just as many regular season games and conference tournament games.[3]
In 1993, ESPN aired the Women's Selection Show for the first time ever.[4] Unlike the men's tournament, ESPN is the only network that airs the unveiling.
In 1996, ESPN and ESPN2 aired a total of 281 men's games and 22 women's games.[5]
ESPN has rapidly increased its coverage throughout the years as the network as expanded from a single cable channel to a multiple outlets including the internet.
In 2003, ESPN and its sister networks aired all the games of the Women's NCAA Tournament for the first time ever, a practice that still exists today.[6]
On March 4, 2005,ESPNU premiered on the outset of aTexas–Oklahoma State game fromStillwater, Oklahoma with a special two-hour edition ofCollege GameDay.[7]
In 2007,ESPN Radio aired its first-ever coverage of theSelection Sunday.[8]
The ESPN networks aired about 1,100 games during the 2008–09 season,[9] including 148 women's games (including the entire NCAA Tournament).[10]
In the 2009–10 season, ESPN began a 15-year deal to serve as the main rightsholder of the SEC. The package initially contained a broadcast television package viaESPN Regional Television (SEC Network, laterSEC TV), which replaced the conference's long-standing association withRaycom Sports. ESPN later launched anSEC Network cable network.[11][12][13][14]
In 2010, ESPN reached a deal for rights toAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) basketball and football, while still maintaining Raycom's long-standingsyndicated package.[15] In July 2016, ESPN announced an extension of the agreement, which would include the formation of theACC Network cable channel, and the end of Raycom's broadcast television package after the 2018–19 season.[16][17][18] In 2017, ESPN renewed its rights to the Big Ten through the 2022–23 season.[19][20]
In 2017, ESPN unveiled a significantly redesigned on-air presentation for college basketball games; ESPN explained that the new branding was designed to reflect the fan culture andtribalism of the game.[21][22][23]
In August 2022, ESPN lost its rights to the Big Ten after the upcoming 2022–23 season.[24][25][26] In October 2022, ESPN renewed with theBig 12 Conference.[27]
Due to the2023 Hollywood labor disputes, it was announced that five January 2024NBA Wednesday games instead was airing onABC instead of on ESPN as part of a Doubleheader, to replace this coverage ESPN will air a single college basketball game each night instead.[28]
ESPN broadcasts weekly games in various windows. Its flagship weekly games are
ESPN currently airs many pre-season tournaments and showcases, some of which organized byESPN Events, including theAdvoCare Invitational, theACC–Big Ten Challenge (from 1999 through 2022),[36][37] theChampions Classic, theJimmy V Classic, and theNIT Season Tip-Off.[38][39] The Jimmy V Classic is accompanied by "Jimmy V Week", a charity appeal across ESPN's networks for the V Foundation for Cancer Research. The event traditionally includes an airing ofJim Valvano's speech at the 1993ESPY Awards, where he addressed his condition and announced the formation of the charity.[40]
The final week of the regular season is branded as "Bracket Builder Week" (formerly "Judgment Week") and highlights games involving possible contenders for the NCAA tournament,[41] while"Champ Week" (formerly "Championship Week") is used as the blanket branding for coverage of conference tournaments. ESPN formerly broadcast other in-season events, including
ESPN airs theNational Invitation Tournament since 1989. While domestic rights to theNCAA men's tournament are held byCBS and Turner Sports,ESPN International distributes coverage of the tournament internationally, and produces its own feed of theFinal Four and championship game using theESPN College Basketball staff. In 2013, ESPN International's Final Four coverage was called byDan Shulman andDick Vitale (alternatively joined byBrad Nessler for one of the semi-final games).[48][49][50]
ESPN has traditionally aired coverage of non-game action includingMidnight Madness, which it help popularize by airing the first practices.
College GameDay which grew as a spin-off of the popularfootball series is a weekly series that airs during conference play and post-season action. The main difference however is that the sites are pre-determined based on the location of theSaturday Primetime match-up. The show incorporates many of the features and is similar to the football edition.
During the NCAA tournament, many ESPN personalities including Dick Vitale appear to discuss the tournament. In addition during theFinal Four, there is an on-location set. Typically special editions ofCollege Gameday andSportsCenter appear during this time. In 2017, alongside its selection shows for the NIT and Women's NCAA Division I tournament, ESPN first held theTournament Challenge Marathon—a 24-hour-long slate of programming (including special editions of existing ESPN studio shows) devoted tobracketology. The event was co-promoted withESPN.com'sESPN Tournament Challenge bracket game, and contained charitable appeals for the JimmyV Foundation. The event was revived in 2018, with a 25-hour marathon of tournament-related programming.[51][52]
ESPN has greatly expanded its coverage of the women's game, which now includes the entireNCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship tournament, culminating with theFinal Four. They air many of the same pre-season and conference tournaments as the men do includingJimmy V Women's Basketball Classic,Holiday Hoops,ESPNU Campus Connection Week,February Frenzy,Rivalry Week, andChampionship Week. The season begins with theState Farm Tip-Off Classic. ESPN2 airs a weeklyBig Monday game in primetime. In addition, ESPN airs theMaggie Dixon Classic.[10] The Women's Selection Show is aired on ESPN including bonus coverage on ESPNU onSelection Monday after many years of being overshadowed by the men's show.[53]
ESPN is often accused of having a bias towards certain teams, including theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC), particularly theDuke Blue Devils andNorth Carolina Tar Heels.[54] ESPN and the ACC have a rights deal that extends through the 2026–27 season which provides additional football, men's and women's basketball and Olympic sports coverage on a variety of platforms, suggesting the bias may have a financial motivation.[55] In addition, ESPN has also been very fond of theKentucky Wildcats as most of ESPN's Super Tuesday weeks usually tends to feature a game involving Kentucky, even when it is playing against one of the lesser SEC teams.
Dick Vitale is often criticized for being a "homer" for Duke, especially for former coachMike Krzyzewski, as well as most teams in theACC (for example, a February 28, 2017 game betweenIndiana vs.Purdue game was scheduled to be on ESPN but was demoted to ESPN2 in favor ofFlorida State vs. Duke).[56] He is also known for mentioning Duke frequently during broadcasts, even when Duke is not playing.Temple head coachJohn Chaney once said "You can't get Dick Vitale to say 15 words without Duke coming out of his mouth".[57] He is sometimes called "Duke Vitale" or "Dookie V", a take-off on his "Dickie V" nickname, by detractors for the same reason. Although his bias towards Duke is widely speculated by many, he is also believed to favor the entireACC in general, including Duke's rival, North Carolina as well as Kentucky.
A large number of college basketball games are covered off-site, with announcers watching games on television at a studio at Bristol or Los Angeles. For instance, some 2016NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship games are produced off-site.[58]
During the regular season, typical games that are shown almost every year on the ESPN family of networks include Duke-North Carolina, Florida-Kentucky, Texas Tech-Baylor, Gonzaga-Saint Mary's, and Kansas-Kansas State.
Championship Week always features mostDivision I conference tournaments including expanding coverage of the "major" conferences. The "mid-major" and/or "minor" conferences will typically only get the latter rounds of the tournaments carried, if not, only the conference finale game.
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