Nearly 84 Percent of Men's Basketball Games to be Televised
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – The Big South Conference today announced its men’s basketball broadcasts for the 2017-18 campaign will exceed 190 -- 83.6 percent of the entire schedule -- with more than 125 live games as part of a full slate on the Big South Network and Roku. Live regular-season conference games will be carried exclusively on ESPN3, plus four regular-season league contests on ESPNU as well as a five-game package on the Stadium network.
Eight “Game of the Week” league matchups exclusively on ESPN3 begins in January, and the multi-screen sports network will carry six live telecasts of the 2018 Big South Men’s Basketball Championship in March. Stadium will carry two Saturday games, two Sunday affairs and one Monday matchup. Some game times for the Stadium coverage have been changed to accommodate the broadcast.
ESPNU will televise four regular-season Big South games for the fifth consecutive year, with all four being “wildcard” selections that will be determined three weeks in advance. ESPNU will televise a Big South game on Thursday, Jan. 18 (9:00pm), Thursday, Feb. 1 (7:00pm), Thursday, Feb. 15 (9:00pm) and Thursday, Feb. 22 (7:00pm). ESPN3 will carry the Big South Men’s Basketball Championship Quarterfinals and Semifinals on March 1 and 2, while ESPN will air the Big South Championship game live on Sunday, March 4 at 1:00pm for the second consecutive year.
Below is the Big South’s exclusive regular-season package on ESPNU/ESPN3 and Stadium, while the current overall broadcast schedule can be accessed here.
Tues., Jan. 9
Liberty at Winthrop - ESPN3 - 7:00pm
Fri., Jan 12
Radford at Gardner-Webb - ESPN3 - 7:00pm
Mon., Jan. 15
Charleston Southern at UNC Asheville - ESPN3 - 7:00pm
Gardner-Webb at Winthrop - Stadium - 7:00pm
Thurs., Jan. 18
ESPNU Wildcard Selection - ESPNU - 9:00pm
Sun., Jan. 21
UNC Asheville at Liberty - Stadium - 2:00pm
Sat., Jan. 27
High Point at UNC Asheville - ESPN3 - 4:30pm
Charleston Southern at Radford - Stadium - 2:00pm
Thurs., Feb. 1
ESPNU Wildcard Selection - ESPNU - 7:00pm
Sat., Feb. 3
Campbell at High Point - ESPN3 - 7:00pm
Wed., Feb. 7
Presbyterian at Winthrop - ESPN3 - 7:00pm
Sat., Feb. 10
Longwood at Campbell - ESPN3 - 4:30pm
Winthrop at High Point - Stadium - 7:00pm
Thurs., Feb. 15
ESPNU Wildcard Selection - ESPNU - 9:00pm
Sun., Feb. 18
Liberty at Campbell - Stadium - 2:00pm
Thurs., Feb. 22
ESPNU Wildcard Selection - ESPNU - 7:00pm
Sat., Feb. 24
UNC Asheville at Gardner-Webb - ESPN3 - 4:30pm
Thurs., March 1
Quarterfinals (at No. 1 seed) - ESPN3 - All Day
Fri., March 2
Semifinals (at No. 1 seed) - ESPN3 - 6:00pm/8:00pm
Sun., March 4
Championship (at highest seed) - ESPN - 1:00pm
During the course of the season, Big South members will appear on an array of networks during non-conference play, including ACC Network Extra, Big Ten Network and SEC Network, among others. Also, at least 10 broadcasts are planned for the Liberty Flames Sports Network (LFSN) again this season, while WMYA-TV in Greenville/Asheville/Spartanburg is carrying four games involving UNC Asheville.
ESPN3 is ESPN's live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through the ESPN App. The network is currently available nationwide at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. It is also available at no cost to U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.
Stadium will offer its Big South basketball productions to its Sinclair Broadcasting stations solely located in the conference’s footprint of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as New Jersey and Georgia. Sinclair’s broadcast stations will either carry the games as part of the primary program lineup (generally on the Company’s CW and MyNet affiliates) or as part of second channels (sub-channels of the primary station’s signal).
Stadium is a new multi-platform sports network featuring exclusive live and on-demand games and events, extensive highlights, classic games, original programming, and daily live studio programming. Stadium was formed when Campus Insiders, 120 Sports and The American Sports Network merged into a singular network to take advantage of a combined collection of professional and collegiate rights and unique access to both digital and television distribution opportunities. Stadium includes a 24/7 linear feed distributed across both digital and broadcast platforms, as well as a comprehensive array of on-demand (VOD) digital content including additional live games and events. Stadium is owned by a collection of industry leaders including Silver Chalice, Sinclair, MLBAM, the NHL, the PGA TOUR, and Time, Inc. and will launch later this summer. To learn more, visit: http://watchstadium.com/.