College Sports Update – April 9

Gracie Blackburn

April 9, 2013

Today:

More This Week:

Media contact: collegesportsPR@espn.com

All-BIG EAST NCAA Women’s National Championship Game – Connecticut vs. Louisville on Tuesday Night on ESPN

Winners of the semifinal games – Connecticut, a No. 1 seed, and Louisville – as a No. 5, the lowest seed ever to make the final — will clash in an all-BIG EAST NCAA Women’s National Championship game Tuesday, April 9, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and WatchESPN. Prior to tipoff, the NCAA Women’s Championship Special Presented by Capital One – will be hosted by Kevin Negandhi, Kara Lawson and Carolyn Peck, starting at 7:30 p.m.

NCAA Division I Women’s Final Four Schedule (subject to change)

Date	Time (ET)	Shows & Games / Commentators	Networks
Tue, Apr 9	4 p.m.	*Crunch Time: NCAA Women’s Championship*	ESPNU / WatchESPN
	5 p.m.	*The Experts: NCAA Women’s Championship* Kevin Negandhi, Kara Lawson, Carolyn Peck, Doris Burke & Rebecca Lobo	ESPNU / WatchESPN
	6 p.m.	*College Basketball Live: NCAA Women’s Championship* Matt Schick, Nell Fortner & Brooke Weisbrod	ESPNU / WatchESPN
	7:30 p.m.	*NCAA Women’s Championship Special Presented by Capital One* Kevin Negandhi, Kara Lawson & Carolyn Peck	ESPN / WatchESPN
	8:30 p.m.	National Final (New Orleans, La.) Dave O’Brien, Doris Burke, Rebecca Lobo & Holly Rowe	ESPN / WatchESPN

espnW: NCAA Women’s Championship: Previews, Highlights, Photos and More

espnW provides complete coverage of the NCAA Women’s Championship game with Graham Hays’ Five thoughts for Tuesday’s final, a preview with Carolyn Peck, Kara Lawson and Kevin Negandhi and a Kate Fagan piece on UConn freshman Breanna Stewart, who continued her red-hot tournament play, scoring a career-high 29 points Sunday against Notre Dame. Other highlights on espnW.com include: Athlete’s Life: Tournament Bloggers, a look at the legacy Skylar Diggins leaves behind, and a conversation with Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma after the Huskies’ Final Four victory. espnW also encourages fans and athletes to continue submitting their best social photos from the women’s tournament and shares the 2013 NCAA Tournament In the Clutch photos.

ESPN’s Outside the Lines Today: NFL Concussion Hearings; NCAA Emmert Interview

Today’s Outside the Lines (3 p.m. ET, ESPN) will present the latest news from Philadelphia, where hearings began this morning addressing the concussion risks for NFL players, and wrap up the NCAA basketball season with Tom Farrey’s report on the criticism the NCAA has received for its investigation of the University of Miami. ESPN NFL business analyst Andrew Brandt will report from Philadelphia, while Farrey will conduct a 1-on-1 interview with NCAA President Mark Emmert. Bob Ley hosts.

New Gruden’s QB Camp Specials Debut: EJ Manuel, Marcus Lattimore, Ryan Nassib

The fourth season of Jon Gruden’s QB Camp series continues this week with the debut of four new shows highlighting top quarterbacks in the 2013 NFL Draft class. Arkansas signal-caller Tyler Wilson was profiled on Monday, South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore airs tonight on ESPN2 at 7:30 p.m. and Florida State’s EJ Manuel and Syracuse’s Ryan Nassib are the subject of back-to-back, 30-minute SportsCenter Special shows Thursday, April 11, beginning at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

More QB Camp shows will debut throughout the month. Each program includes a special open featuring Alice Cooper’s hit song “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” including lyrics customized to Gruden. The entire 2013 Gruden’s QB Camp schedule

Date	Time (ET)	Program	Network
Tue Apr 9	7 p.m.	SportsCenter Special: Gruden’s QB Camp – Geno Smith *	ESPN2
	7:30 p.m.	*SportsCenter Special: Gruden’s QB Camp –Marcus Lattimore*	ESPN2
Thu Apr 11	7 p.m.	*SportsCenter Special: Gruden’s QB Camp – EJ Manuel*	ESPN2
	7:30 p.m.	*SportsCenter Special: Gruden’s QB Camp – Ryan Nassib*	ESPN2

* re-airs

NCAA Frozen Four: First-Time Champion to be Crowned; Buccigross Makes Debut

The puck drops at the Consol Energy Center Pittsburgh on Thursday, April 11, at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2 when Yale laces up against UMass – Lowell in the NCAA Frozen Four presented by Northwestern Mutual. St. Cloud State vs. top-seeded Quinnipiac follows at 8 p.m.

SportsCenter anchor John Buccigross will voice both Frozen Four games and the Championship, a first for the avid hockey fan who has previously called play-by-play for ESPN’s regional college hockey coverage. ESPN hockey analyst Barry Melrose will join Buccigross in the booth.

The winners will advance to the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship game Saturday, April 13, on ESPN at 7 p.m. Every team in the 2013 Frozen Four will be playing to win their school’s first national championship.

Top-10 Teams in ESPNU Warrior Wednesday Night Game of the Week

The ESPNU Warrior Wednesday Night Game of the Week will showcase No. 2 Cornell at No. 7 Syracuse at 6 p.m. During the game, the Warrior Game of the Week Chat powered by Inside Lacrosse is hosted by Inside Lacrosse vice president/editor-in-chief John Jiloty and online manager Matt Kinnear, is available on ESPNU.com and Inside Lacrosse.com. Saturday’s ESPNU matchup features No. 15 Johns Hopkins at No. 1 Maryland at 3 p.m.

Date	Time (ET)	Game / Commentators	Networks
Wed, Apr 10	6 p.m.	No. 2 Cornell at No. 7 Syracuse Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich & Paul Carcaterra	ESPNU / WatchESPN
Fri, Apr 12	6 p.m.	Virginia at No. 8 Duke Eamon McAnaney & Quint Kessenich	ESPNU / WatchESPN
Sat, Apr 13	Noon	NYIT at Dominican	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	No. 15 Johns Hopkins at No. 1 Maryland Eamon McAnaney & Paul Carcaterra	ESPNU / WatchESPN
		Villanova at No. 15 St. John’s	ESPN3
Sun, Apr 14	11 a.m.	Georgetown at No. 4 Notre Dame Mark Dixon & Quint Kessenich	ESPNU / WatchESPN

Softball: Seven Games, Four Featuring Ranked Opponents

ESPN’s biggest and best softball schedule continues this week with seven games, four featuring ranked opponents. Full Schedule

Date	Time	Games	Network
Thu, April 11	11 p.m.	No. 4 California at No. 15 UCLA	ESPN2
Fri, April 12	8 p.m.	Ole Miss at Mississippi State	ESPNU
Sat, April 13	1 p.m.	No. 3 Florida at No. 20 Kentucky	ESPNU
	3:30 p.m.	No. 13 LSU at No.10 Texas A&M	ESPN
	10 p.m.	No. 15 Washington at No. 2 Arizona State	ESPN2
Sun, April 14	3 p.m.	Arkansas at No. 6 Missouri	ESPNU
Mon, April 15	7 p.m.	Virginia at Florida State	ESPNU

College Baseball: South Carolina at Florida on ESPNU and ESPN2

ESPNU and ESPN2 will combine to televise two games of the No. 8 South Carolina at Florida matchup this weekend. ESPNU will televise the first matchup between the SEC powers as part of its weekly Thursday Night SEC Baseball Game of the Week, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. ESPN2 will televise the contest between the programs, which both participated in the 2012 NCAA College World Series, on Saturday, April 13, at 4 p.m. ESPNU will also televise No. 3 Vanderbilt against Missouri on Saturday, April, 13, at 5 p.m.

ESPN3 will provide three games on Friday, April 12 highlighted by two ACC matchups: Duke at No. 7 Florida State at 6 p.m. and No. 5 Virginia at No. 17 Georgia Tech at 7 p.m.

Date	Time	Matchup	Network
Thu, April 11	7:30 p.m.	No. 8 South Carolina at Florida	ESPNU
Fri, April 12	6 p.m.	Duke at No. 7 Florida State	ESPN3
	6 p.m.	Longwood at Campbell	ESPN3
	7 p.m.	No. 5 Virginia at No. 17 Georgia Tech	ESPN3
Sat, April 13	4 p.m.	No. 8 South Carolina at Florida	ESPN2
	5 p.m.	Missouri at No. 3 Vanderbilt	ESPNU

2013 WNBA Draft to be Held in Primetime on ESPN2 on Monday

Some of the top female college basketball student-athletes will convene at ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Conn., studios for the 2013 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm, which will be held Monday, April 15. Coverage and analysis of the first round will begin at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2, followed by the second and third rounds televised on ESPNU and NBA TV from 9-10:30 p.m. The entire Draft – three rounds of 12 picks each – can also be seen on WatchESPN. Additional coverage details to be release later this week.

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