With the launch of ESPNU, a new 24-hour college sports network, college football coverage
will kick off early this season - more than four months before the beginning of the regular season.
The month of April will feature ESPNU and ESPN2 combining to offer an early look at seven college
football programs preparing for the upcoming season with ESPNU Spring Football. The two-hour
telecasts will provide on-site coverage from the school's spring football practices, including
each team participating in intra-squad games, scrimmages and various practice drills.
Coverage will begin Saturday with an inside peek at two teams - ESPNU Spring Football: Mississippi
State at 2 p.m. on ESPN2 (re-aired on ESPNU at 6 p.m.) and ESPNU Spring Football: Fresno State
at 4 p.m. on ESPNU.
Several top college football personalities will call the action, including regular
ESPN and ESPN2 analysts Mike Gottfried and Andre Ware. Other analysts include John Congemi, a
University of Pittsburgh quarterback from 1982-86 currently working on ESPN Regional Television's
BIG EAST games; and Kelly Stouffer, a Colorado State quarterback from 1983-87 currently working
ESPN Regional Television Mountain West Conference games. Play-by-play duties will be rotated
between ESPN commentators Dave Barnett and Eric Collins and ESPN Regional Television commentator
Craig Coshun.
Coverage plans include extensive on-field access, interviews with several coaches and players
from the field and in the announce booth, and analyst explanations and evaluations of the scrimmages
and practice drills.
In addition, ESPNU will televise the practices of several teams in August and a weekly schedule
of regular-season games. The teams and telecast dates for August practice coverage, as well
as a schedule of regular-season games, will be announced at a later date.
"This is a great way to kick off our extensive coverage of the 2005 college football season,"
said Burke Magnus, vice president and general manager, ESPNU. "ESPNU will be a new destination
for college football fans with coverage of April and August practices, as well as an extensive
weekly schedule of regular-season games from top conferences, such as the Big Ten, ACC, BIG EAST,
MAC, WAC and Sun Belt."
|
| Date |
Time (ET) |
Team |
Network |
| Sat., April 9 |
2 p.m. (live) |
Mississippi State |
ESPN2 |
| |
Eric Collins, Mike Gottfried and Jimmy Dykes |
| Sat., April 9 |
4 p.m. |
Fresno State |
ESPNU |
| |
Craig Coshun, Kelly Stouffer and George Takata |
| Fri., April 15 |
11:59 p.m. |
Boise State |
ESPNU |
| |
Craig Coshun, John Congemi and Brad Larrondo |
| Sat., April 16 |
1 p.m. (live) |
South Carolina |
ESPNU/ESPN2 |
| |
Eric Collins, Andre Ware and Mike Gleason |
| Fri., April 22 |
7:30 p.m. (live)e) |
Louisville |
ESPNU |
| |
Eric Collins and Kelly Stouffer |
| Sat., April 30 |
noon (live) |
Harvard |
ESPNU |
| |
Dave Barnett and Mike Gottfried |
| Sat., April 30 |
7 p.m. |
Oregon |
ESPNU |
| |
Craig Coshun and Kelly Stouffer |
|
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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