ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Radio to Provide Coverage of 27 College Football Bowl Games

- ESPN Radio to Broadcast 16 Games Including BCS

- ESPNU to Re-Air 22 Bowl Games
- Five ERT-Owned Games
- Musburger/Herbstreit/Salters to Call Rose Bowl on ABC and BCS Championship on ESPN Radio

December 13, 2007 -- ESPN’s 2007 college football season – featuring more than 400 games across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Radio, ESPN Classic, ESPN360.com, ESPN Regional Television, ESPN Mobile TV and ESPN GamePlan – will conclude with coverage of 27 bowl games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Radio, ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV, plus extensive news, analysis, highlights, and telecasts of classic games and re-airs of 2007 matchups across multiple ESPN entities. Coverage will kick off with the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (Utah vs. Navy) Thursday, Dec. 20, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. Highlights include:

* ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 will televise 23 games, including the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi Tuesday, Jan. 1 at 4:30 p.m. and Capital One Bowl Week, one of ESPN’s most-viewed weeks of the year, from December 20 - January 1.

* All 23 of the network’s bowl telecasts will be offered in high definition on ABC HD, ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD.

* For the second consecutive year, ESPN Radio will broadcast 16 bowl games, highlighted by all five Bowl Championship Series (BCS) matchups, including the Allstate BCS Championship Game Monday, Jan. 7, at 8 p.m.

* ESPN on ABC Saturday Night Football Presented by Southwest Airlines commentators Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salters will work the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi on ABC (Jan. 1) and the Allstate BCS Championship Game (Jan. 7) on ESPN Radio.

* The International Bowl will feature three native Canadians (John Saunders, Jesse Palmer and Stacey Dales) and a Canada Sports Hall of Famer (Doug Flutie) working the game.

* ABC will broadcast two bowl games: the Capital One Bowl and the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi.

* The networks will combine to offer coverage of 22 of the top 25 teams in the BCS rankings, including all top five and 18 of the top 19 teams.

* The schedule will include five ESPN Regional Television owned-and-operated bowl games: the Papajohns.com Bowl from Birmingham (Dec. 22 on ESPN2), New Mexico Bowl from Albuquerque (Dec. 22 on ESPN), Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 22 on ESPN), Sheraton Hawaii Bowl (Dec. 23 on ESPN) and Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Dec. 31 on ESPN).

* ESPN360, ESPN’s customized broadband service, will simulcast every ESPN and ESPN2 bowl game. ESPN360.com, currently available in more than 17 million homes, delivers more than 2,500 live global sports events a year (more than ESPN and ESPN2 combined) and is available at no additional charge to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection from an ESPN-affiliated service provider.

* ESPN Mobile TV will simulcast 19 of ESPN and ESPN2’s bowl games.

* ESPNU will offer encore presentations of 22 bowl games and three bowl preview shows.

* ESPN Classic will offer three consecutive days of marathons featuring the Sugar Bowl, Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl.

* ESPN International will offer coverage of multiple bowl games on ESPN networks in 176 million households across 187 countries and territories.

* ESPN.com will offer a special bowl section with previews of each game as well as a fantasy bowl application.

ESPNU to Offer Encore Presentations and Bowl Preview Shows

ESPNU will offer an encore presentation of every ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 bowl telecast (except the GMAC Bowl) and three bowl shows previewing and reviewing the upcoming games: Bowl Preview Friday, Dec. 21, at 6:30 p.m., BCS Bowl Preview Saturday, Dec. 22 at 3 p.m. and BCS Championship Preview Friday, Jan. 4 at 9 p.m. The schedule of ESPNU encore presentations:

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
Dec. 21 at 10 a.m.

R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Dec. 22 at 3 a.m.

Papajohns.com Bowl
Dec. 22 at 11 p.m.

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl
Dec. 23 at 2 a.m.

New Mexico Bowl
Dec. 23 at 9 a.m.

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Dec. 24 at 1 a.m.

Motor City Bowl
Dec. 27 at 6:30 a.m.

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl
Dec. 28 at 2:30 a.m.

Champs Sports Bowl
Dec. 28 at 11:30 p.m.

Emerald Bowl
Dec. 29 at 2:30 a.m.

Meineke Car Care Bowl
Dec. 30 at 11 a.m.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Dec. 30 at 4 p.m.

Valero Alamo Bowl
Dec. 30 at 11 p.m.

PetroSun Independence Bowl
Dec. 31 at 2 a.m.

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Jan. 1 at midnight

Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl
Jan. 1 at 3 a.m.

Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl
Jan. 1 at 6 a.m.

Outback Bowl
Jan. 2 at midnight

Capital One Bowl
Jan. 2 at 6 a.m.

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi
Jan. 2 at 9 a.m.

Chick fil-A Bowl
Jan. 3 at 6 a.m.

International Bowl
Jan. 8 at 6 a.m.

ESPN Classic Bowl Marathons

ESPN Classic’s programming will include Sugar Bowl, Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl marathons on December 26, 27 and 28, respectively, and feature telecasts of four classic games from each bowl. Coverage will kick off each day at 11 a.m. and conclude at 7 p.m. The schedule:

Sugar Bowl (December 26)

1991 - Tennessee vs. Virginia

1995 - Florida State vs. Florida

2004 - Oklahoma vs. LSU

1982 - Pittsburgh vs. Georgia

Rose Bowl (December 27)

1969 - Ohio State vs. USC

1993 - Michigan vs. Washington

1997 - Arizona State vs. Ohio State

2006 - Texas vs. USC

Fiesta Bowl (December 28)

2006 - Notre Dame vs. Ohio State

1987 - Penn State vs. Miami

1999 - Tennessee vs. Florida St.

2003 - Ohio State vs. Miami

ESPN International to Offer Games to 176 Million Households Worldwide

ESPN International will offer coverage of multiple bowl games on ESPN networks in 176 million households across 187 countries and territories highlighted by the Rose Bowl Game throughout Asia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Israel, Australia and New Zealand. NASN will televise 30 bowl games across Europe, including the BCS Championship Game, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Capital One Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Gator Bowl, Sun Bowl and Outback Bowl.

ESPN Mobile TV to Offer Live Games

ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN’s first 24/7 channel for wireless and available on MediaFLO USA’s mobile entertainment service, will simulcast 19 of ESPN and ESPN2’s bowl games. In addition to live game coverage, ESPN’s Todd McShay will preview every bowl game on ESPN Digital Media platforms. The live game schedule (dates and times in the schedule below):

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl

Papajohns.com Bowl

New Mexico Bowl

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl

Motor City Bowl

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl

Champs Sports Bowl

Emerald Bowl

Meineke Car Care Bowl

AutoZone Liberty Bowl

Valero Alamo Bowl

PetroSun Independence Bowl

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl

Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl

Chick-fil-A Bowl

Outback Bowl

International Bowl

GMAC Bowl

ESPN.com to Offer Special Bowl Section and Bowl Mania

ESPN.com will offer a special college bowls section (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowls) featuring individual pages for each of the BCS Bowl games, with overviews of who, what and why to watch from ESPN.com’s Heather Dinich, Chris Low, Ivan Maisel and Mark Schlabach (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/overview).

Additionally, for each game, ESPN Scouts Inc. will preview and break down each matchup. ESPN.com will offer related video, season stats, rosters and team histories, daily SportsNation polls and live chats, complete Accuscore statistical game simulations, commentary and humor from ESPN.com’s Page 2 section, and more.

Contributors will include ESPN.com’s Maisel, Pat Forde, Schlabach, Dinich, Low, and Gene Wojciechowski as well as ESPN The Magazine’s Bruce Feldman and Eric Adelson, and ESPN television analysts.

Tens of thousands of fantasy sports players have signed up for ESPN.com's new and improved 'Bowl Mania' Fantasy game, in which users pick the winners of each of the 32 college football Bowl games and rank them in the order of confidence. Players can compete against fans from around the country for prizes or create private groups to compete against friends. To see how fans around the country have picked each matchup to date, and with what degree of confidence, go to: http://games.espn.go.com/bowlmania/whopickedwhom

ESPN.com also launched an ESPN College ‘Bowl Pick’em’ Facebook Application, allowing millions of Facebook users to take part in ESPN's ‘College Bowl Pick’em’ (a separate game from ESPN.com Bowl Mania). Fans with Facebook accounts can find the ESPN College Bowl Pick’em Facebook Application and share it with their network of friends at: http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=7477900126

Matchup Highlights:

* #13 Illinois vs. #7 USC, Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi (Tuesday, Jan. 1 at 4:30 p.m. on ABC and ESPN Radio): The traditional Big Ten vs. Pac-10 matchup will feature USC’s third consecutive trip to the Rose Bowl and 32nd overall and Illinois’ first since 1984 and fifth ever. It will mark the first time the two teams have met in the Rose Bowl and the 12th ever (first since 1996).

* #2 LSU vs. #1 Ohio State, BCS Championship Game (Monday, Jan. 7 at 8 p.m. on ESPN Radio): The BCS Championship features the third matchup between these traditional power programs with a tie in 1987 and a 36-33 Ohio State victory in 1988. It will mark Ohio State’s second consecutive BCS Championship game appearance with the Buckeyes looking to avenge last year’s 41-14 loss to Florida of the SEC.

* Michigan vs. #12 Florida, Capital One Bowl (Tuesday, Jan. 1 at 1 p.m. on ABC): The historic power programs have met only one other time, a 38-30 Michigan victory in the 2003 Outback Bowl (2002 season), which was also Michigan’s last bowl game win. Florida will be led by 2007 Heisman Trophy winner quarterback Tim Tebow, who became the first sophomore to win the prestigious award and the first major college player to rush and pass for at least 20 touchdowns each (he rushed for 22 and passed for 29). The game will mark the last game for retiring Michigan coach Lloyd Carr.

* #18 Wisconsin vs. #16 Tennessee, Outback Bowl (Tuesday, Jan. 1 at 11 a.m. on ESPN, ESPN Radio and ESPN360.com): Tennessee will look to avenge last year’s 20-10 Outback Bowl loss to Penn State. Second meeting ever between the traditional powers with Wisconsin winning the previous meeting 28-21 in the 1981 Garden State Bowl.

* #11 Arizona State vs. #19 Texas, Pacific Life Holiday Bowl (Thursday, Dec. 27 at 8 p.m. on ESPN, ESPN Radio and ESPN360.com): First meeting ever between the two programs. Pac-10 co-champion Arizona State comes into the game with a 10-2 record while Texas holds a 9-3 record.

* #15 Clemson vs. #23 Auburn, Chick-fil-A Bowl (Monday, Dec. 31 at 7:30 p.m., ESPN, ESPN Radio and ESPN360.com): A matchup between two of the nation’s top defenses with Clemson ranked sixth (allowing 297 yards per game) and Auburn eighth (allowing 298 ypg). Auburn leads the all-time series 32-11-2, including a 21-17 victory in their last meeting, the 1998 Peach Bowl.

* Penn State vs. Texas A&M, Valero Alamo Bowl (Saturday, Dec. 29 at 8 on ESPN, ESPN Radio and ESPN360.com): Penn State Head Coach Joe Paterno will be coaching his 500th game while Texas A&M interim Head Coach Gary Darnell will be coaching his first.

* UCLA vs. #17 BYU, Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl (Saturday, Dec. 22 at 8 p.m. on ESPN, ESPN Radio andESPN360.com): Mountain West Conference champion BYU, with the nation’s second longest winning streak at nine games, lost to UCLA 27-17 in the second week of the season.

* UCF vs. Mississippi, AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Saturday, Dec. 29 at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN, ESPN Radio and ESPN360.com): UCF junior tailback Kevin Smith, the nation’s leading rusher with 2,448 yards and 29 touchdowns, will lead the Conference USA champions against the SEC’s Mississippi State. UCF coach George O’Leary and Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom were assistant coaches together with the San Diego Chargers in 1992-93.

COMMENTATOR HIGHLIGHTS

* The 38 game productions on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Radio will feature 60 commentators: 20 play-by-play, 24 analysts and 17 reporters.
* Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham and Jack Arute will call games on consecutive days: the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl (Dec. 31 on ESPN) and the Allstate Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1 on ESPN Radio).
* All four commentators for the International Bowl have ties to Canada: native Canadians John Saunders, Jesse Palmer and Stacey Dales, and Doug Flutie who was enshrined in the Canada Sports Hall of Fame this year.
* Several commentators will work three games:
o Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salters will work the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl (Dec. 27 on ESPN), Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi (Jan. 1 on ABC) and Allstate BCS Championship Game (Jan. 7 on ESPN Radio).
o Bob Davie will work the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (Dec. 21 on ESPN2), PetroSun Independence Bowl (Dec. 30 on ESPN) and Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 2 on ESPN Radio).
o Sean McDonough will call the Emerald Bowl (Dec. 28 on ESPN), Outback Bowl (Jan. 1 on ESPN) and Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 2 on ESPN Radio).
o Dave Barnett and Rod Gilmore will work together on the New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 22 on ESPN), Emerald Bowl (Dec. 28 on ESPN Radio) and Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi (Jan. 1 on ESPN Radio).

ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 AND ESPN RADIO COLLEGE BOWL SCHEDULE
Date/Site Time (ET) Network Game/Commentators
CAPITAL ONE BOWL WEEK

Thu., 12/20, 9 p.m. - ESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl – Utah vs. Navy
San Diego
Rece Davis, Lou Holtz, Mark May and Rob Stone

Fri., 12/21, 8 p.m. - ESPN2 / ESPN360.com
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl – Memphis vs. Florida Atlantic
New Orleans
Mark Jones, Bob Davie and Stacey Dales
ESPN Radio: Eric Collins, Jim Donnan and Joe Schad

Sat., 12/22, 1 p.m. - ESPN2 / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
Papajohns.com Bowl – Southern Miss vs. #22 Cincinnati
Birmingham, Ala.
Pam Ward, Ray Bentley and Rob Simmelkjaer
ESPN Radio: Dave Sims, John Congemi and Sarah Kustok

4:30 p.m. - ESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
New Mexico Bowl – Nevada vs. New Mexico
Albuquerque, N.M.
Dave Barnett, Rod Gilmore and Dave Ryan
ESPN Radio: Scott Reiss, Todd McShay, Trevor Matich and Quint Kessenich

Sat., 12/22, 8 p.m. - ESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl – UCLA vs. #17 BYU
Las Vegas
Brad Nessler, Bob Griese, Paul Maguire and Bonnie Bernstein

Sun., 12/23, 8 p.m. - ESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl – #24 Boise State vs. East Carolina
Honolulu
Terry Gannon, David Norrie and Jeannine Edwards
ESPN Radio: Terry Gannon, David Norrie and Jeannine Edwards (simulcast)

Wed., 12/26, 7:30 p.m. - ESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
Motor City Bowl – Purdue vs. Central Michigan
Detroit
Dave Pasch, Andre Ware and Quint Kessenich

Thu., 12/27, 8 p.m. - ESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
Pacific Life Holiday Bowl – #11 Arizona State vs. #19 Texas
San Diego
Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salters
ESPN Radio: Dan Fouts, Tim Brant and Todd Harris

Fri., 12/28, 5 p.m. - ESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
Champs Sports Bowl – #14 Boston College vs. Michigan State
Orlando, Fla.
Mike Patrick, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe
ESPN Radio: Dave Lamont, Jim Donnan and Shannon Spake

Fri., 12/28, 8:30 p.m. - ESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
Emerald Bowl – Maryland vs. Oregon State
San Francisco
Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman and Rob Stone
ESPN Radio: Dave Barnett, Rod Gilmore and Dave Ryan

Sat., 12/29, 1 p.m. - ESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
Meineke Car Care Bowl – #25 Connecticut vs. Wake Forest
Charlotte, N.C.
Dave Pasch, Andre Ware and Quint Kessenich

Sat., 12/29, 4:30 p.m. - ESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
AutoZone Liberty Bowl – Central Florida vs. Mississippi State
Memphis, Tenn.
Terry Gannon, David Norrie and Vince Welch
ESPN Radio: Eric Collins, Bill Curry and Joe Schad

Sat., 12/29, 8 p.m. - ESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
Valero Alamo Bowl – Penn State vs. Texas A&M
San Antonio, Texas
Chris Fowler, Craig James, Doug Flutie and Erin Andrews
ESPN Radio: Pam Ward, Ray Bentley and Rob Simmeljkaer

Sun., 12/30, 8 p.m. - ESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
PetroSun Independence Bowl – Alabama vs. Colorado
Shreveport, La.
Mark Jones, Bob Davie and Stacey Dales

12:30 p.m. - ESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl – California vs. Air Force
Fort Worth, Texas
Dan Fouts, Tim Brant and Todd Harris
ESPN Radio: Clay Matvick, Larry Coker and Sarah Kustok

Mon., 12/31, 2 p.m. - ESPN2 /ESPN360.com
Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl – Georgia Tech vs. Fresno State
Boise, Idaho
Dave Lamont, James Hasty and Heather Cox

Mon., 12/31, 4 p.m. - ESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl – Kentucky vs. Florida State
Nashville, Tenn.
Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham and Jack Arute

Mon., 12/31, 7:30 p.m. - ESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
Chick-fil-A Bowl – #15 Clemson vs. #23 Auburn
Atlanta
Brad Nessler, Bob Griese, Paul Maguire and Bonnie Bernstein
ESPN Radio: Dave Ryan, Jim Donnan and Vince Welch

Tue., 1/1, 11 a.m. - ESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
Outback Bowl – #18 Wisconsin vs. #16 Tennessee
Tampa, Fla.
Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman and Rob Stone
ESPN Radio: Dave Sims, David Norrie and Jeannine Edwards

Tue., 1/1, 1 p.m. - ABC
Capital One Bowl – Michigan vs. #12 Florida
Orlando, Fla.
Mike Patrick, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe

Tue., 1/1, 4:30 p.m. - ABC
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi – #13 Illinois vs. #7 USC
Pasadena, Calif.
Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salters
ESPN Radio: Dave Barnett, Rod Gilmore and Erin Andrews

Tue., 1/1, 8:30 p.m. - ESPN Radio
Allstate Sugar Bowl – #10 Hawaii vs. #5 Georgia
New Orleans
Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham and Jack Arute

Wed., 1/2, 8 p.m. - ESPN Radio
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl – #4 Oklahoma vs. #9 West Virginia
Glendale, Ariz.
Sean McDonough, Bob Davie and Holly Rowe

Thu., 1/3, 8 p.m. - ESPN Radio
FedEx Orange Bowl – #3 Virginia Tech vs. #8 Kansas
Miami
Brad Nessler, Bob Griese, Paul Maguire and Bonnie Bernstein

Sat., 1/5, noon - ESPN2 / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
International Bowl – Rutgers vs. Ball State
Toronto
John Saunders, Doug Flutie, Jesse Palmer and Stacey Dales

Sun., 1/6, 8 p.m. - ESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Mobile TV
GMAC Bowl – Bowling Green vs. Tulsa
Mobile, Ala.
Rece Davis, Lou Holtz, Mark May and Rob Stone

Mon. 1/7, 8 p.m. - ESPN Radio
Allstate BCS Championship Game – #2 LSU vs. #1 Ohio State
New Orleans
Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salters

Note: All rankings from BCS standings

Source: ESPN