| College Basketball on USA | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | College Basketball on NBC Sports(used on air since 2022) |
| Genre | College basketball telecasts |
| Presented by | See thebroadcasters section below |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons |
|
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Vic Piano |
| Producer | Brad Fuss |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 120 minutes or until end of game |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network |
|
| Release | 1982 (1982) – 1988 (1988) |
| Release | 2022 (2022) – present |
College Basketball on USA is the de facto title for theUSA Network's coverage ofNCAA men'sbasketball.[1] During the 1980s, USA's telecasts were produced in association withMizlou TV Sports.
Beginning in 2022, a majority ofAtlantic 10 basketball games that previously aired onNBCSN will air onUSA Network. These games will be produced byNBC Sports.
USA aired games from theBig East Conference[2] leading up to their coverage of the1983 Big East tournament.[3] USA also had rights to games from theBig Ten,ACC, and the oldMetro Conference.
Regular season games[4] aired on Thursday nights[5] or Saturdays[6] under the title ofCollege Basketball... followed by the corresponding year during the season such asCollege Basketball '87.[7] The games were subject to localblackouts. By this time,[8] USA was airing games involving theSoutheastern Conference (such as theMississippi andMississippi State[9]) and games featuringUTEP andWyoming.
USA also aired theNational Invitation Tournament[10] including the finals[11] from1985–1988.
Howard David,Bill Raftery, Steve Grad, and Duane Dow[12] were among the commentators used by USA. USA also employedAl Albert, Mal Campbell,Eddie Doucette,Jim Karvellas,Al Trautwig,[13][14] Pat Scanlon,Bruce Beck, andPete Maravich.[15] Sometimes, the play-by-play announcers would work with each other and even do color.
On January 24, 1984, Al Albert, working for USA network, called whatSyracuse fans call the greatest game in theCarrier Dome ever.Syracuse facedBoston College, and the teams were tied 73–73 after a missed free throw by Boston College's Martin Clark. Sean Kerins passed the rebound toPearl Washington who took three steps and made a half court shot to win the game. Albert's call lives in infamy as The Greatest Play By Play Call in the Carrier Dome ever: "Washington, two seconds, OHHHH! 'The Pearl' hits it ..at midcourt."[16][17] Syracuse University basketball fans call that the greatest nine words in Syracuse history.
NBC Sports held the rights to 35 men's and women'sAtlantic 10 basketball games. Until 2021, these games aired onNBCSN. NBCSN shut down at the end of 2021, after whichUSA Network assumed its A-10 broadcasts (among other sports properties).[18]
On November 20, 2024, Comcast announced that it would spin off most of its cable networks and select digital properties into a new publicly traded company,Versant, a move that will see USA Network split from NBC Sports.[19][20] Unlike other NBC Sports college basketball properties, which primarily air on Peacock, the A-10 stayed on USA Network and moved from NBC Sports toUSA Sports beginning with the 2025–26 season.[21]
In November 2025, USA Sports announced an agreement with thePac-12 Conference to broadcast 50 regular season men's basketball games, up to 10 regular season women's basketball games, and all games except the finals of thePac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament. The agreement will last through the 2030–31 season and begin in the 2026–27 season.[22]
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