ESPN will unveil the 64-team NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship field exclusively during the NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Special Presented by Capital One Monday, March 12, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN3. Trey Wingo will host the bracket special with analysts Kara Lawson, Carolyn Peck, Doris Burke and Rebecca Lobo.
The discussion will continue at 8 p.m. on ESPNU with the NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Special Extended Coverage Presented by Capital One when Wingo, Lawson, Peck and Lobo are joined by ESPN’s Jemele Hill. The ESPNU show will include an exclusive interview with Greg Christopher, the chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee.
The two-hours of programming during Selection Monday will tipoff ESPN’s extensive coverage of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship March 17-April 3, on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and ESPN FULL COURT. In addition, ESPN will feature additional NCAA Championship content across its platforms, including SportsCenter, espnW, ESPN.com, ESPNEWS, WatchESPN and ESPN International.
Both hours will include insight into the bracket with analysis of each region, team and players to watch as they vie for a Final Four spot in Denver. Flip-cam footage and still photos will be sent in from schools around the nation with their reactions to receiving an NCAA Championship invite, featuring tournament hopefuls Iowa, Kansas State, Nebraska, St. John’s and Tennessee.
NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Special Presented by Capital One – Monday, March 12, 7 p.m. on ESPN HD & ESPN3
- Live look-ins at Baylor and Delaware – as the teams await seeding for the championship
- Burke and Lobo giving an in-depth look at teams that are not top-seeds and have the potential to make a run to Denver
- A feature on Baylor’s run for a perfect season focusing on the breakdown of Brittney Griner’s game – what game plans opponents have used when facing her and their successes
- Taking from experience at the U.S. Women’s National Team tryouts, Lawson puts herself on the court against Griner and explains what surprised her and how different it is to actually play against her
- NBA stars LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant offer remarks from the NBA All-Star Game on the talents and ability of Griner
- Opening tease to the show featuring the Emmy-nominated show Glee, and the song Light Up the World
NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Special Extended Coverage Presented by Capital One – Monday, March 12, 8 p.m. on ESPNU HD & ESPN3
- An exclusive interview with Greg Christopher, chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee
- Hill joins the crew to provide her thoughts and debate the placement of the teams in the bracket
- Interviews with Baylor’s Kim Mulkey and Griner, along with Delaware’s Tina Martin and Elena Delle Donne
College Basketball Live: NCAA Women’s Special – Tuesday, March 13, 1 p.m. on ESPNU HD
Host Beth Mowins, along with analysts Cara Capuano and Abby Waner, will take part in the four-hour ESPNU special. The trio will get reaction from the basketball community and conduct interviews with all 64 head coaches participating in the NCAA Championship.
espnW
espnW.com will provide fans with extensive coverage of Selection Monday from its team of analysts and experts. Highlights:
- Columnist Mechelle Voepel selects her tournament favorites, including a look at Baylor’s undefeated season and chances of reaching the Final Four in Denver
- Voepel, along with Charlie Creme, Kate Fagan, Graham Hays and Michelle Smith, gives Selection Monday quick picks including toughest regional, favorite early matchups, best first-round game, biggest bracket snub/surprise, Cinderella team and Final Four picks
- Hays answers five crucial questions viewers want to know about the bracket
- Creme provides a summary of the NCAA Championship field
- Michelle Smith with be at Stanford when the bracket is revealed – talking to the players to get their reaction on seeding and site placement
- Lobo providing updates throughout the day with a behind-the-scenes look at Selection Monday
- SportsNation conducting a chat with Voepel, Hays and Creme, along with Christopher, the NCAA Chair
- The start of the blogger series featuring student-athletes competing in the NCAA Championship with Skylar Diggins (Notre Dame), Chelsea Gray (Duke) and Samantha Prahalis (Ohio State)
ESPN Women’s Tournament Challenge
The games return for their 15th season on the digital hard court and will once again be free for entrants to submit up to 10 entries on ESPN.com. Fans complete and submit a bracket of forecasted tournament game outcomes and points are awarded for each correct pick, with point values increasing as the Tournaments progress. In the Women’s Tournament Challenge, entries that finish in the top one percent are entered in a random drawing for a $5,000 Best Buy Gift Card. The Women’s Tournament Challenge will accept registration until just prior to tip-off of the first game on Saturday, March 17.
ESPN to Air All 63 NCAA Championship Games
ESPN networks will air all 63 games of the 2012 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship for the 10th consecutive year – beginning Saturday, March 17 and running through the NCAA National Championship game on Tuesday, April 3. During the first two rounds, ESPN2 will present 48 games within 12 telecast windows in a whip-around format with home market protection. ESPN FULL COURT, the pay-per-view package, will offer complete games as a supplement to ESPN2’s coverage. The final 15 games, beginning with the Regional Semifinals, will have national telecast windows on ESPN or ESPN2.
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Media contact: Rachel Margolis, at 860-766-2798 or rachel.l.margolis@espn.com
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