Oct. 1, 2009
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s basketball program will have six more regular-season games televised nationally and/or regionally during the 2009-10 season, as part of the BIG EAST Conference television package that was released Thursday afternoon. That brings the total number of Fighting Irish women’s basketball games on television this season to 11, including six that will be broadcast live to a national cable audience on one of the ESPN family of networks.
Highlighting Thursday’s announcement is a Feb. 14 home matchup against conference rival DePaul (3 p.m. ET tipoff from Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center) that will air on ESPN2 as part of that network’s annual “February Frenzy/Pink Zone” coverage. The Fighting Irish also have been tapped for a Jan. 24 appearance on ESPNU, as they welcome BIG EAST foe West Virginia to Purcell Pavilion for a 1 p.m. ET contest.
Notre Dame also will play three times on CBS College Sports this year, including a pair of non-conference matchups. The Fighting Irish make their season debut on the network Dec. 29 at 1 p.m. (ET) when they travel to Orlando, Fla., to tangle with the reigning Conference USA tournament champion, Central Florida, at UCF Arena. Two days later, Notre Dame is back on CBS C, as it returns home to Purcell Pavilion to play host to Southeastern Conference tourney champion Vanderbilt in a New Year’s Eve matinee that is scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m. (ET). The Fighting Irish wrap up their CBS College Sports slate on Jan. 19, when they head to Louisville to square off with the defending national runner-up Cardinals at Freedom Hall (7 p.m. ET tip).
In addition, Notre Dame has been chosen to appear once as part of the BIG EAST Network Game of the Week regional television package. The Fighting Irish will open conference play on Jan. 9 at home against Villanova, with that game scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m. ET from Purcell Pavilion. Viewers should check their local listings for a full coverage profile of that contest.
These six TV games are added to the five previously-announced Notre Dame women’s basketball telecasts, all of which are on either ESPN or ESPN2. The Fighting Irish will play three Monday night contests on ESPN2 (Jan. 4 at Purdue, Feb. 1 at Rutgers, March 1 at home vs. Connecticut), including a pair of games (Rutgers and Connecticut) as part of the “Big Monday” women’s college basketball package that will air live each Monday night during the final two months of the season. The Purdue and Connecticut games will start at 7 p.m. ET, while the Rutgers contest gets underway at 7:30 p.m. (ET).
What’s more, Notre Dame will play on ESPN on Jan. 16 at 9 p.m. (ET), when the Fighting Irish venture to Storrs, Conn., to take on defending national champion Connecticut in a nationally-televised BIG EAST contest as part of the first-ever ESPN College GameDay broadcast held in conjunction with a women’s basketball game.
Notre Dame’s Nov. 19 non-conference road game at Michigan State also will be televised live by the Big Ten Network and will tip off at 6 p.m. (ET) from East Lansing, Mich. This marks the fourth consecutive season that a Fighting Irish women’s basketball game will air on the Big Ten Network, following broadcasts at Penn State (2006-07), Purdue (2007-08) and Michigan (2008-09).
What’s more, the official Fighting Irish athletics web site (www.UND.com) is planning to produce free live webcasts of several home games that have not been picked up for commercial television broadcast.
With this year’s TV coverage, the Notre Dame women’s basketball program will have at least eight games televised nationally or regionally for the ninth consecutive season (including a combined total of 20 in the past two years alone). In addition, the Fighting Irish have made 141 TV appearances in the previous nine seasons (2000-01 through 2008-09), an average of more than 15 televised games per year.
Notre Dame returns all 12 monogram winners and all five starters from last year’s club that registered a 22-9 record and made its 14th consecutive NCAA Championship appearance (and 16th overall). The Fighting Irish also add the nation’s No. 9-ranked incoming freshman class (according to All-Star Girls Report) and have earned top-15 preseason rankings from four major national media outlets — Lindy’s college basketball preview (5th), ESPN.com (5th), Sporting News (6th) and Athlon Sports college basketball preview (12th).
— ND —
2009-10 NOTRE DAME WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TELEVISION SCHEDULE (as of Oct. 1)Nov. 19 at Michigan State (BTN) 6 p.m.Dec. 29 at Central Florida (CBS C) 1 p.m.Dec. 31 VANDERBILT (CBS C) 2 p.m.Jan. 4 at Purdue (ESPN2) 7 p.m.Jan. 9 VILLANOVA (BIG EAST TV) 2 p.m.Jan. 16 at Connecticut (ESPN) 9 p.m. (ESPN College GameDay)Jan. 19 at Louisville (CBS C) 7 p.m.Jan. 24 WEST VIRGINIA (ESPNU) 1 p.m.Feb. 1 at Rutgers (ESPN2) 7:30 p.m. (ESPN Big Monday)Feb. 14 DEPAUL (ESPN2) 3 p.m. (ESPN February Frenzy/Pink Zone)March 1 CONNECTICUT (ESPN2) 7 p.m. (ESPN Big Monday)
All times Eastern and subject to change // Home games in CAPSCBS C - CBS College SportsBIG EAST TV - BIG EAST Network Game of the Week package (check local listings)BTN - Big Ten Network