College basketball

April 4 Telecast to Commemorate 25th Anniversary of NC State’s Improbable NCAA Victory

March 31, 2008 -- ESPN Classic Remembers: NC State Upsets Houston will honor the legacy of Jim Valvano and his 1983 North Carolina State Wolfpack team that won an improbable NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship 25 years ago. The program airs Friday, April 4 at 8 p.m., ET on ESPN Classic.    » read more »

Thursday, March 27, 2008, INDIANAPOLIS -- More NCAA basketball fans will attend Division I Men’s Basketball regionals in Charlotte, Detroit, Houston and Phoenix this weekend than at any time in the event’s 70-year history. Attendance at the four regional sites will surpass the previous record by more than 20 percent.    » read more »

How's Your Bracket? Redux

March 24, 2008 -- With a host of early round upsets and Cinderella runs in this year’s men’s college basketball championship tournament, millions of brackets in ESPN.com’s 13th annual Men’s Tournament Challenge presented by State Farm and Sprint were left in turmoil heading into the round of 16. An analysis of the more than 3.65 million entries submitted reveals:

* 2 picked all 16 of the Sweet 16 teams correctly;
* 4,621 picked Davidson, Villanova, and Western Kentucky to advance to the Sweet 16;
* 72 picked 15 of the 16 Sweet 16 teams correctly;
* 294,060 picked Davidson to defeat Georgetown in the Second Round;
* 2,091,856 picked Xavier to defeat Duke in the Second Round;    » read more »

SAN ANTONIO, March 21, 2008 – Kid Rock, the Grammy Award‐nominated artist known for his unique mix of Southern rock, hip‐hop, and blues‐and country‐tinged ballads, will perform at Pontiac Garage at the Final Four® on Saturday, April 5 as part of The Big Dance—a free, four‐day entertainment extravaganza in celebration of the NCAA® Men’s Final Four®. With over 22 million albums sold throughout his career, Kid Rock’s San Antonio appearance comes in the midst of the successful release of his 2007 Rock N Roll Jesus album—his first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart.    » read more »

Wagers 40 Pounds Of Premium Iowa Pork; Governor: “I have confidence in our Drake Bulldogs!”

March 19, 2008 -- DES MOINES –(Des Moines) Today, Iowa Governor Chet Culver praised the results of an independent study that found the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System (IPERS) had the lowest administration costs among government pension plan organizations of similar size. IPERS also ranked lowest in costs the previous year.    » read more »

March 13, 2008 -- Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight made his ESPN debut Wednesday alongside host Rece Davis and analyst Digger Phelps. Following are some excerpts from Knight, who will serve as a men’s college basketball studio analyst during the remainder of Championship Week, including Selection Sunday, and through the NCAA Tournament.

On strength and balance of Big East:

Knight: “I think there are more top flight teams in the Big East than any conference in the country…and therefore, I don’t think we can consider a game in the Big East from here on as an upset.”    » read more »

Also, Four Hours of Coverage on ESPN Radio, Coverage on SportsCenter, ESPN.com and ESPN360.com

March 12, 2008 -- The final day of Championship Week, Sunday, March 16, will include daylong, multimedia coverage of Selection Sunday, when the men’s basketball NCAA Tournament brackets are determined. Selection Sunday will be highlighted by three hours of ESPNU Bracketology Presented by Staples on ESPN: a one-hour edition at 5 p.m. ET and a two-hour show at 7 p.m. (simulcast on ESPNU).    » read more »

March 11, 2008 -- ESPN’s telecast showcasing the North Carolina – Duke rivalry Saturday, March 8, set a record as the network’s most-viewed men’s college basketball game. The game, in which #1 North Carolina used a late rally to defeat #5 Duke 76-68 at Cameron Indoor Stadium, averaged 3,830,000 households and 5,612,328 viewers, along with a 4.0 rating.    » read more »

Program Features Sports Fans Wearing Favorite Teams’ Attire for $5 Donation to Cancer Research March 20 & 21

- Tournament Challenge Games, Mobile Bracket Management, Alerts
- Integration with Selection Sunday, Selection Monday Telecasts
- Complete Editorial Coverage

Big Ten Tournament coverage begins Wednesday night from Indianapolis

March 3, 2008, CHICAGO – Beginning this week, the Big Ten Network brings the drama and excitement of postseason basketball to a national audience. The network will televise at least 41 hours of live coverage from Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis during the Big Ten Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments.

"For college basketball fans, it doesn't get any better than this," Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman said. "The Big Ten Network is the place to find wall-to-wall postseason basketball coverage."    » read more »

Annual conference awards to be announced live during special programming

February 28, 2007, CHICAGO – The Big Ten Network will present the live, exclusive announcements of the annual Big Ten men's and women's basketball awards during two special programs in March, including segments during THE BIG TEN WOMEN'S SHOW on Monday and a special edition of BIG TEN TONIGHT on Monday, March 10. Dave Revsine will host BIG TEN TONIGHT alongside analysts Gene Keady, Jimmy Jackson and Tim Doyle, with selected award winners joining them during the 30-minute program.    » read more »

February 26, 2008 -- ESPN’s coverage of Tennessee at Memphis Saturday, Feb. 23 set a record as the network’s most-viewed men’s college basketball game. The showdown between then-#2 Tennessee and #1 Memphis – won by Tennessee 66-62 – averaged 3,636,000 households and 5,281,000 viewers.

The Saturday Primetime telecast averaged a 3.8 rating, making it ESPN’s highest rated men’s college basketball game since December 22, 1998 (Kentucky vs. Duke in the Jimmy V Classic averaged a 3.9).    » read more »

Comcast, Bresnan Sign on to Offer Customers Free March Madness Programming

Monday, February 18, 2008, INDIANAPOLIS -- Mike Bobinski, director of athletics at Xavier University, has been appointed to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. The appointment is effective September 1, 2008 and is a five-year term.    » read more »