ESPN College Basketball is a blanket title used for presentations of college basketball on ESPN and its family of networks. Its coverage focuses primarily on competition in NCAA Division I, holding broadcast rights to games from each major conference, and a number of mid-major conferences.
ESPN was the first broadcaster to provide extensive early-round coverage of NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, prior to CBS, later in partnership with Turner 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 the National Invitation Tournament and the Women's Division I championship.
Video ESPN College Basketball
History
1979-1989
ESPN has aired college basketball games from its inception, starting in 1979 with DePaul's victory over Wisconsin Badgers with a then-novice color commentator Dick Vitale and Joe Boyle doing the play-by-play. In the early days, Vitale was paired with veteran sportscaster Jim Simpson.
One of the first milestone events that ESPN covered was the NCAA Tournament. In 1980, the fledgling channel had a total of 23 tournament games. They intensively covered the early rounds of March 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. When CBS gained exclusive coverage in 1991, they would largely mimic how their predecessor had covered the event.
One of the next milestones in ESPN's coverage was when they aired Championship 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.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s with only a single network; no regional or internet coverage, ESPN televised around 200 games a year.
1990s
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.
In 1993, ESPN aired the Women's Selection Show for the first time ever. 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.
2000s
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.
On March 4, 2005, ESPNU premiered on the outset of a Texas-Oklahoma State game from Stillwater, Oklahoma with a special two-hour edition of College GameDay. ESPNU has aired the first set of games of each season, beginning in its initial season of 2005.
In 2005-06, the ESPN family of networks aired 884 games (they aired 140 women's games that year). However the following season, they aired over 1000 games.
In 2007, ESPNU as well as ESPN2 aired the first-ever NIT Selection Show. Also, ESPN Radio aired its first-ever coverage of the Selection Sunday. Also that year, a then-record of more than 3.3 million brackets entered on ESPN.com surpassing the record set the previous year.
During the 2007-2008 season, the ESPN networks aired a total of more than 1,050 men's games and 150 women's games. ESPNU aired over 250 games. In addition, ESPN aired Pac-10 games for the first time since 1995, through a new agreement with FSN. They showed a total of 2 games. The year was marked by Dick Vitale missing his first assignment ever due to surgery. He was replaced by Jay Bilas on Saturday Primetime. He returned on February 6 for the UNC-Duke matchup. Due to the 2008 Atlanta tornado outbreak, ESPN2, instead of CBS, aired the 2008 SEC Tournament finals from Alexander Memorial Coliseum on the campus of Georgia Tech. However, CBS production was utilized including talent and graphics. ESPN had a record 3.65 million entries for the Tournament Challenge.
Legendary basketball coach Bob Knight retired from coaching in February 2008, he joined ESPN, the following month as a studio analyst for Championship Week and later appeared during March Madness including on location from San Antonio at the Final Four. His role was greatly expanded during the 2008-09 season, when he appeared on many platforms including a weekly Thursday game as well as College GameDay.
On November 18, 2008, ESPN aired the first College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. The first game tipped off at 11:59 on November 17 and a total of nine games culminated with a UK-UNC match-up. This match-up was preceded by a special edition of College GameDay. A total of 23 straight hours of college basketball were aired.
The ESPN networks aired about 1,100 games during 2008-09 season.
There was a total of 148 women's basketball games during 2008-09 season including the entire NCAA Tournament.
2010s
In October 2017, ESPN announced that it would no longer hold its Tip-Off Marathon on the opening day of the season, citing expanding options for games throughout the season on its television channels and digital platforms, as well as the new, 16-team Phil Knight Invitational tournament that ESPN would be broadcasting over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Also for the season, 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 and tribalism of the game. Its new scoreboard was widely-criticized by viewers and sportswriters for its irregular layout, and use of decorative elements seen as being a waste of space. A writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader, as well as fans of the team, also criticised ESPN's decision to abbreviate the University of Kentucky as "KENT" on the new scoreboard rather than "UK" in a game against Kansas State University, as it could create confusion with Kent State (although it was noted that SEC Network's previous Kentucky broadcasts with the new scoreboard did use "UK" as the abbreviation instead).
Maps ESPN College Basketball
Coverage
Game coverage
Games are typically aired on:
- Mondays (Big Monday)- ACC and Big 12 doubleheader
- Tuesdays (Super Tuesday)- Big Ten and SEC
- Wednesdays (Wednesday Night Hoops)- ACC, Big 12, and Big Ten,
- Thursdays (Thursday Night Showcase)- 5 games across the ESPN/ESPN2 spectrum from various conferences. ESPNU typically airs 2-3 games.
- Saturdays (Day games and Saturday Primetime)- ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12
Pre-conference play, conferences tournament games, NIT games, as well as other selected games air on other days of the week.
Pre-season tournaments
ESPN currently airs many pre-season tournaments including: the Big 12/SEC Challenge, the ACC - Big Ten Challenge, the Gavitt Tipoff Games, the Old Spice Classic, Coaches vs. Cancer, the Maui Invitational, the Preseason NIT, the Battle 4 Atlantis, the CBE Classic, and the Las Vegas Invitational.
ESPN traditionally airs Jimmy V Week, which features a men's doubleheader at Madison Square Garden and a women's game in the Jimmy V Classic. Between the men's games, ESPN airs the 1993 ESPY's speech by Jim Valvano.
Speciality weeks
ESPN has themed weeks to enhance the collegiate game including:
- ESPNU Campus Connection Week (formerly known as Student Spirit Week)-
- Feast Week- the week of Thanksgiving
- Holiday Hoops- around Christmas
- Rivalry Week- end of January or beginning of February, features many of the hottest rivalries in the games
- Judgment Week- end of February or early March, final week of the regular season (replaced with Bracket Builder Week in 2015)
- Champ Week (formerly known as Championship Week until 2016)- early-to-mid-March, conference tournaments
March Madness
While domestic rights to the NCAA men's tournament are held by CBS and Turner Sports, ESPN International distributes coverage of the tournament internationally, and produces its own feed of the Final Four and championship game using the ESPN College Basketball staff. In 2013, ESPN International's Final Four coverage was called by Dan Shulman and Dick Vitale (alternatively joined by Brad Nessler for one of the semi-final games).
Non-games
ESPN has traditionally aired coverage of non-game action including Midnight Madness, which it help popularize by airing the first practices.
College GameDay which grew as a spin-off of the popular football 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 the Saturday Primetime match-up. The show incorporates many of the features and is similar to the football edition.
ESPN airs comprehensive coverage around Selection Sunday, including an NIT Selection Show.
During the NCAA Tournament, many ESPN personalities including Dick Vitale appear to discuss the tournament. In addition during the Final Four, there is an on-location set. Typically special editions of College Gameday and SportsCenter appear during this time.
ESPNU airs a National Signing Day, first premiering in 2008. It was done due to the popularity of the football edition.
Women's coverage
ESPN has greatly expanded its coverage of the women's game, which now includes the entire NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship tournament, culminating with the Final Four. They air many of the same pre-season and conference tournaments as the men do including Jimmy V Women's Basketball Classic, Holiday Hoops, ESPNU Campus Connection Week, February Frenzy, Rivalry Week, and Championship Week. The season begins with the State Farm Tip-Off Classic. ESPN2 airs a weekly Big Monday game in primetime. In addition, ESPN airs the Maggie Dixon Classic. Every February, ESPN2 airs February Frenzy. They air multiple games in a telecast window(s) and go to the games whip-around style. The Women's Selection Show is aired on ESPN including bonus coverage on ESPNU on Selection Monday after many years of being overshadowed by the men's show.
Criticism
ESPN is often accused of having a bias towards certain teams, including the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), particularly the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels. ESPN and the ACC 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. In addition, ESPN has also been very fond of the Kentucky Wildcats as most of ESPN's Super Tuesday weeks usually tends to feature a game involving Kentucky, even when it's playing against one of the lesser SEC teams.
Dick Vitale is often criticized for being a "homer" for Duke, especially for Coach Mike Krzyzewski, as well as most teams in the ACC (for example, a February 28, 2017 game between Indiana vs. Purdue game was scheduled to be on ESPN but was demoted to ESPN2 in favor of Florida State vs. Duke). He is also known for mentioning Duke frequently during broadcasts, even when Duke is not playing. Temple head coach John Chaney once said "You can't get Dick Vitale to say 15 words without Duke coming out of his mouth". 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 entire ACC 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 2016 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship games are produced off-site.
Typical games
During the regular season, typical games that are shown almost every year on the ESPN family of networks include Duke-North Carolina, Michigan-Michigan State, Florida-Kentucky, and Kansas-Kansas State.
Championship Week always features most Division 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.
Personalities
See also
- Men's college basketball on television
- College GameNight
- College Basketball on ABC
- College Basketball on CBS
- College Basketball on NBC
- CBS College Sports Network
- Big Ten Network
- MountainWest Sports Network
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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