ESPNU, a new 24-hour college sports network, along with ESPN and ESPN2, will televise at least 44 regular-season college baseball and softball games from April 8 to May 22. Baseball coverage will begin with a three-game series pitting #4 Texas at #16 Nebraska: Friday, April 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU); Saturday, April 9 at 2 p.m. (ESPN) and Sunday, April 10 at 2:30 p.m. (ESPN). On the same weekend, #2 Arizona will kick off the softball schedule with three home games: against #16 Oregon State (Friday at 10:30 p.m. on ESPNU) and Oregon (Saturday at 9 p.m. on ESPN2 and Sunday at 4 p.m. on ESPNU). Early schedule highlights:
- Of the 44 regular-season telecasts, 20 will be aired on ESPNU, 16 on ESPN2 and eight on ESPN.
- Coverage will feature six of the top eight-ranked baseball teams: #1 Cal State Fullerton, #2 Tulane, #3 LSU, #4 Texas, #7 Miami and #8 Georgia Tech.
- ESPN2 will televise defending College World Series champion #1 Cal State Fullerton at home against San Diego State, coached by former San Diego Padres All-Star Tony Gwynn, Tuesday, May 3 at 8 p.m.
- Third-ranked LSU will visit #2 Tulane in a showdown between two of baseball's biggest rivals Tuesday, April 19 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
- Baseball's #4 Texas -- a participant of last year's College World Series championship - will be featured in games against #15 Texas A&M, #16 Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Kansas.
- Coverage will include several top players including #16 Nebraska's junior third baseman Alex Gordon, Baseball America's top college prospect for the 2005 draft.
- The schedule will include five of last year's College World Series teams (#1 Cal State Fullerton, #3 LSU, #4 Texas, #7 Miami and #13 Arizona) and five of last year's Women's College World Series participants (#3 California, #5 Stanford, #7 UCLA, #7 Oklahoma and #16 Washington).
- Six of the top eight-ranked softball teams will be featured: #2 Arizona, #3 California,
#5 Stanford, #6 Texas and Oklahoma and UCLA (both tied at #7).
- Coverage will include defending Women's College World Series champion #7 UCLA against #2 Arizona, #3 California and #5 Stanford.
- ESPNU will televise a rematch of last year's Women's College World Series title game when #3 California visits #7 UCLA Friday, April 29 at 4 p.m.
- Every softball telecast will include at least one ranked team. Twelve of the matchups will feature a showdown between ranked teams.
"College baseball and softball have emerged in recent years and our growing coverage reflects that," said Burke Magnus, vice president and general manager ESPNU. "With the addition of ESPNU, our networks have the most extensive college baseball and softball lineup on television. We will provide fans with a consistent schedule of action from April through the crowning of their national champions."
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| ESPN, ESPN2 AND ESPNU COLLEGE BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL SCHEDULE |
| Date |
Time (ET) |
Teams/Commentators |
Network |
| Fri., April 8 |
7:30 p.m. |
#4 Texas at #16 Nebraska |
ESPNU |
| |
10:30 p.m. |
#16 Oregon State at #2 Arizona (softball) |
ESPNU |
| Sat., April 9 |
2 p.m. |
#4 Texas at #16 Nebraska |
ESPN |
| |
9 p.m. |
Oregon at #2 Arizona (softball) |
ESPN2 |
| Sun., April 10 |
2:30 p.m. |
#4 Texas at #16 Nebraska |
ESPN |
| |
4 p.m. |
Oregon at #2 Arizona (softball) |
ESPNU |
| Fri., April 15 |
4 p.m. |
#7 Miami at #17 North Carolina |
ESPNU |
| |
7 p.m. |
Oklahoma at #4 Texas |
ESPNU |
| |
10 p.m.* |
#19 Arizona State at #7 UCLA (softball) |
ESPNU |
| Sat., April 16 |
5 p.m. |
#2 Arizona at #7 UCLA (softball) |
ESPNU |
| |
7 p.m. |
#7 Miami at #17 North Carolina |
ESPN2 |
| Sun., April 17 |
1 p.m. |
Oklahoma at #4 Texas |
ESPN2 |
| |
4 p.m. |
#2 Arizona at #7 UCLA (softball) |
ESPN |
| |
4 p.m.* |
#7 Miami at #17 North Carolina |
ESPNU |
| Tue., April 19 |
7 p.m. |
#3 LSU at #2 Tulane |
ESPN2 |
| Sun., April 24 |
1 p.m. |
#4 Texas at Oklahoma State |
ESPN2 |
| |
4 p.m. |
Iowa State at #6 Texas (softball) |
ESPN2 |
| Tue, April 26 |
8 p.m. |
Oklahoma at #22 Wichita State |
ESPN2 |
| Wed., April 27 |
8 p.m. |
#16 Nebraska at #22 Wichita State |
ESPNU |
| Thu., April 28 |
7 p.m. |
#16 Nebraska at Oklahoma |
ESPN |
| Fri., April 29 |
4 p.m. |
#3 California at #7 UCLA (softball) |
ESPNU |
| |
7 p.m. |
#16 Nebraska at Oklahoma |
ESPNU |
| |
10 p.m. |
#21 USC at #13 Arizona |
ESPNU |
| Sat., April 30 |
12 p.m. |
#18 Nebraska at #7 Oklahoma (softball) |
ESPN2 |
| |
2 p.m. |
#16 Nebraska at Oklahoma |
ESPNU |
| |
9 p.m.* |
#5 Stanford at #7 UCLA (softball) |
ESPN2 |
| Sun, May 1 |
2 p.m. |
#18 Nebraska at #7 Oklahoma (softball) |
ESPNU |
| |
3:30 p.m. |
#21 USC at #13 Arizona |
ESPN |
| |
10 p.m.* |
#5 Stanford at #7 UCLA (softball) |
ESPN2 |
| Tue., May 3 |
8 p.m. |
San Diego State at #1 Cal State Fullerton |
ESPN2 |
| Fri., May 6 |
7 p.m. |
#4 Texas at Kansas |
ESPNU |
| |
10 p.m |
#7 UCLA at #2 Arizona (softball) |
ESPNU |
| Sat., May 7 |
7 p.m. |
#16 Washington at #2 Arizona (softball) |
ESPN2 |
| |
7 p.m. |
#4 Texas at Kansas |
ESPNU |
| Sun., May 8 |
4 p.m. |
#16 Washington at #2 Arizona (softball) |
ESPN |
| |
7 p.m. |
#4 Texas at Kansas |
ESPN2 |
| Tue., May 10 |
8 p.m. |
Houston at #15 Texas A&M |
ESPN2 |
| Fri., May 13 |
7 p.m. |
#15 Texas A&M at #11 Baylor |
ESPN2 |
| Sat., May 14 |
8 p.m. |
Oklahoma at Oklahoma State |
ESPNU |
| Sun., May 15 |
3 p.m. |
Oklahoma at Oklahoma State |
ESPN |
| Thu., May 19 |
7 p.m. |
#8 Georgia Tech at #17 North Carolina |
ESPN2 |
| Fri., May 20 |
7 p.m. |
#8 Georgia Tech at #17 North Carolina |
ESPNU |
| Sat., May 21 |
5 p.m. |
#8 Georgia Tech at #17 North Carolina |
ESPNU |
| Sun., May 22 |
1 p.m. |
#15 Texas A&M at #4 Texas |
ESPN |
| * Same-day delay |
| All baseball rankings are from ESPN/Sports Weekly Top 25 Coaches |
| All softball rankings are from USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 |
| Schedule subject to change; All times Eastern |
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ADDITIONAL REGIONAL AND SUPER REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES ON ESPNU
ESPNU will also supplement ESPN and ESPN2's baseball regional and super regional and softball super regional coverage with additional game telecasts from those NCAA Championships leading up to the Men's and Women's College World Series. For the third consecutive year, ESPN and ESPN2 will televise every game of the College World Series (up to 17 games from June 17-27) and the fourth straight year of every Women's College World Series matchup (up to 17 games from June 2-8).
ESPNU
The ESPNU schedule will feature approximately 300 live events (regular-season and championships) in
the network's first year. Action will include a variety of top football and men's and women's basketball
mixed with baseball, softball, volleyball, lacrosse, ice hockey, wrestling and more. ESPNU will
also offer comprehensive studio programming, replays of ABC Sports, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Regional
Television games, plus specials and more.
ESPNU has secured distribution agreements with DIRECTV, Adelphia, Mediacom, several smaller affiliates
and is close to distribution agreements with others. The 24-hour television network is the key
component of the multi-media ESPNU initiative that will deliver college sports content across ESPN's
family of services, such as ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Mobile (wireless), ESPN Radio, ESPN Interactive,
ESPN360 (broadband), merchandising and more.
Original Dream Job winner Mike Hall serves as ESPNU's signature anchor, hosting the majority of
the network's studio programming from Charlotte, N.C., headquarters of ESPN Regional Television (ERT),
which handles production responsibilities for ESPNU.
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