ESPN Networks to Showcase Ivy League Inaugural Basketball Tournaments; Announces Regular Season Package
The Ivy League has agreed with ESPN to televise the inaugural Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments, which will be held March 11-12, 2017 at The Palestra in Philadelphia. In addition, 15 regular season games will be featured through the League’s television package. In total, the League will make 30 appearances on national television throughout the 2016-17 season.
TOURNAMENTS PACKAGE
All six games of the inaugural Ivy League Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments will be showcased live across the ESPN networks.
“We are incredibly excited to feature our inaugural Ivy League Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments on ESPN’s networks,” said Executive Director Robin Harris. “ESPN gives us the opportunity to showcase our student-athletes and their accomplishments on the national stage during Championship Week, when the country focuses on college basketball.”
“We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Ivy league throughout the basketball season,” said Brent Colborne, Director of Programming and Acquisitions, ESPN. “Concluding the conference schedule with the inaugural Ivy League Basketball Tournaments further serves fans nationwide with competitive Championship Week games during a crucial part of the season.”
All three men’s games will be nationally televised. The first men’s semifinal game will start at 1:30 p.m., followed by the second at 4 p.m., on Saturday, March 11, both live on ESPNU. The men’s championship game on Sunday, March 12 at noon, will be live on ESPN2.
All three women’s games will be live on ESPN platforms, with the championship game being nationally televised. Also on Saturday, March 11, the first women’s semifinal will start at 11 a.m., while the second semifinal will start at 6:30 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN3 with a tape delay showing on ESPNU. ESPNU will carry the women’s championship game live, which is slated for Sunday, March 12 at 4 p.m.
All games will also be available on WatchESPN and the ESPN App.
The agreement is the culmination of a collaborative effort between JMI Sports and Lagardere SE.
The men’s and women’s tournament winners will receive the League’s automatic bids to the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, where the Ivy League has won six games over the last seven years.
On Friday, March 10, the Ivy League Digital Network (ILDN) will have full coverage from Philadelphia. “Live from the Palestra” will feature a look into each team’s open shootaround, a conversation with each participating head coach and select student-athletes, as well as special guests and full previews for both tournaments.
| Saturday, March 11 | |||
| Game 1 | Women’s Semifinal (seed 1 vs. seed 4) |
11 a.m. | ESPN3 (tape delay ESPNU) |
| Game 2 | Men’s Semifinal (seed 1 vs. seed 4) |
1:30 p.m. | ESPNU |
| Game 3 | Men’s Semifinal (seed 2 vs. seed 3) |
4 p.m. | ESPNU |
| Game 4 | Women’s Semifinal (seed 2 vs. seed 3) |
6:30 p.m. | ESPN3 (tape delay ESPNU) |
| Sunday, March 12 | |||
| Game 5 | Men’s Championship (winner of game 2 vs. winner of game 3) |
12 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Game 6 | Women’s Championship (winner of game 1 vs. winner of game 4) |
4 p.m. | ESPNU |
REGULAR SEASON PACKAGE
The Ivy League has also announced 15 regular season basketball games that will be televised on ESPNU, ONE World Sports and the American Sports Network (ASN).
Additionally, the League has extended its partnership with ESPN to stream 43 games (21 men’s and 22 women’s) on ESPN3 throughout the season.
ESPNU will televise the highly anticipated men’s matchup between preseason favorite Princeton and Harvard on Friday, March 3 in Princeton. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. The Tigers topped the preseason media poll with 130 points, edging out the Crimson, which finished with 123 points.
Ivy League basketball makes its debut on ONE World Sports with a men’s matchup between Penn and Princeton on Saturday, Jan. 7. ONE World Sports is showcasing all eight schools during 10 men’s games, including one “flex game” on March 4, the final day of the regular season. The remaining contests highlight conference battles from mid-January to early March.
ONE World Sports will also broadcast the Yale at Princeton women’s game on January 13 at 5 p.m. The game precedes the men’s game that is scheduled for an 8 p.m. tip.
Ivy League basketball returns to ASN for the third consecutive year. ASN will feature a trio of key league matchups starting with Cornell at Penn on Sunday, Feb. 12 followed by Penn at Yale on Sunday, Feb. 19 and Brown at Harvard on Saturday, Feb. 25.
All games on ONE World Sports and ASN will also be simulcast on the ILDN, now available through the ILDN app on Apple TV and Roku.
Outside of the Ivy League package, Ancient Eight teams will make nine additional appearances on national television throughout the season.
The 22-game ESPN3 slate for women’s basketball gets started with a rematch of the Ivy League title game from a season ago between Penn and Princeton on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 2 p.m. in Princeton. The men’s 21-game ESPN3 schedule begins with a Columbia at Cornell tilt on Saturday, Jan. 14. All games on ESPN3 will also be simulcast on the ILDN.
Over the course of the season, the ILDN will broadcast 107 men’s and 102 women’s basketball games. All games are available through the ILDN app on Apple TV and Roku as well as desktop, tablet and mobile devices. A four-month subscription for access to all Ivy League basketball games is $49.95. Click here to signup today!
The season begins on Friday, Nov. 11 when 11 Ivy League teams will be in action highlighted by the Harvard men taking on Stanford from Shanghai, China at 11 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
For the full chart of games and availability of men’s games, click here and for the women’s games, click here
ABOUT THE IVY LEAGUE
The Ivy League is the most diverse intercollegiate conference in the country with more than 8,000 student-athletes competing each year. Sponsoring conference championships in 33 men’s and women’s sports and averaging more than 35 varsity teams at each school, the Ivy League provides more intercollegiate athletic opportunities per school than any other conference in the country. All eight Ivy schools are among the top 20 of NCAA Division I schools in number of sports offered for both men and women and enjoy regular competitive success at the highest championship levels of NCAA Division I athletics.
The League’s schools — Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale — share a rich history of success and influence in college athletics, dating back to the origins of intercollegiate competition. Ivy League institutions have won 287 team national championships and 579 individual national championships since intercollegiate competition began. The Ivy League conference was formally established in 1954, based on the mutual agreement that intercollegiate athletics competition should be “kept in harmony with the essential educational purposes of the institution.” For more information, please visit www.ivyleaguesports.com.
