Exclusive Home of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship presented by Capital One

ESPN will carry 140 women’s basketball matchups across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, Longhorn Network and SEC Network during the 2016-2017 regular season, culminating with the 30th anniversary of ESPN’s coverage of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.

The addition of ESPN3, SEC Network+ and ACC Network Extra exclusive games will be included in future releases, resulting in a record number of games.

This season’s schedule opens on Monday, Nov. 14, with four-time defending champion UConn at Florida State as part of the annual Tip-Off Marathon (6 p.m. ET, ESPN2). Following that game, Stanford takes on Texas as marathon coverage continues. Every team on espnW’s way-too-early preseason top 25 rankings will play on one of ESPN’s networks throughout the season.

Highlights

• ESPN – features defending champion UConn in two Sunday matchups, facing LSU as part of Feast Week presented by Lowe’s, and Texas in the Jimmy V Women’s Classic presented by Corona and hosted by the Basketball Hall of Fame
• ESPN2 – will air a total of 43 games, with two netflex options in January and February; also serves as the home of Big Monday
• ESPNU – coverage will feature 22 women’s basketball matchups, including a Sunday slate of We Back Pat games on Sunday, Jan. 22
• Longhorn Network – the 24-hour network devoted to the University of Texas will see 11 home matchups, including Big-12 conference play
• SEC Network – more than 70 games on ESPN’s network dedicated to the Southeastern Conference, highlighted by key in-conference matchups, as well as early rounds of the SEC Tournament

Franchise Programming

• Tip-Off Marathon – four top-15 teams will face off to begin the marathon coverage: UConn will play Florida State at 6 p.m., followed by Texas at Stanford at 8 p.m., both on ESPN2.

• Big Monday – beginning January 16, the 11th season of the seven-week series on ESPN2 will feature 13 of the top-15 teams in the espnW poll: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Louisville, No. 3 South Carolina, No. 4 UConn, No. 5 Baylor, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Maryland, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 9 UCLA, No. 10 Stanford, No. 11 Tennessee, No. 12 Mississippi State and No. 15 Florida State.
• Feast Week presented by Lowe’s – features two matchups among top-ranked programs: UConn at LSU on Sunday, Nov. 20 (5:30 p.m., ESPN) and South Carolina at Louisville on Sunday, Nov. 27 (1 p.m., ESPN2).

• Holiday Hoops presented by Zales – includes DePaul at Temple on Thursday, Dec. 15 (9 p.m., ESPNU) and UCLA at South Carolina on Sunday, Dec. 18 (2 p.m., ESPN2).

• Rivalry Week presented by Wendy’s –begins with a Big Monday doubleheader on February 6 featuring ACC opponents Louisville at Notre Dame at 7 p.m., followed by Pac-12 rivals UCLA at Stanford at 9 p.m. The week will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 12, with five games across ESPN2 and ESPNU.

Events/Tournaments

• SEC/Big 12 Challenge – on ESPN2, two teams from each conference will face off: Texas will host South Carolina on Thursday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m., and Baylor will visit Tennessee on Sunday, Dec. 4, at 3 p.m.
• Jimmy V Women’s Classic Presented by Corona and hosted by the Basketball Hall of Fame – in its 15th year, the annual event will feature UConn vs. Texas on Sunday, Dec. 4 (4 p.m., ESPN) from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. While both teams have faced each other in regular- and post-season action, this will be their first matchup as part of this event. UConn is 7-0 all-time against Texas, including four wins in the NCAA Women’s Championship. Texas is appearing for the second time, while UConn is making its sixth consecutive appearance in the Jimmy V Women’s Classic.
• We Back Pat – the SEC’s “We Back Pat” initiative honoring the late Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt will expand to one week – kicking off with a Big Monday matchup of Notre Dame and Tennessee in Knoxville (Jan. 16, TIME), including five games on Sunday, Jan. 22 (ESPN2 and ESPNU), and concluding with a matchup between Mississippi State and South Carolina on Monday, January 23 (7 p.m., ESPN2) also part of Big Monday.
• Play 4Kay – ESPN’s annual Play 4Kay – highlighting the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, in partnership with The V Foundation and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) – will air multiple games across ESPN2 and ESPNU on Sunday, Feb. 19. Two top-10 matchups – No. 7 Maryland at No. 8 Ohio State and No. 5 Baylor at No. No. 6 Texas – airs February 20, as part of Big Monday.

ESPN: Home of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship presented by Capital One

This year marks the 30th anniversary of ESPN’s coverage of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. Beginning Friday, March 17, every round of the championship will be carried on ESPN or ESPN2. The Women’s Final Four will be live from American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Friday, March 31 and Sunday, April 2. Details and a complete schedule will be available at a later date.

espnW

• A comprehensive two-week season preview October 31-November 11 will include a preseason top-25 poll, preseason All-America teams, preseason Bracketology and a ranking of the top 25 players in the nation.
• Writers Mechelle Voepel, Graham Hays and Charlie Creme, as well as analyst Rebecca Lobo, will write in-depth profiles of some of the nation’s top teams, players and coaches throughout the season.
• Prior to each Big Monday game, espnW.com will offer an updated Bracketology segment from Creme and a game preview for that night’s matchup, as well as postgame coverage with video analysis.
• For the fifth consecutive season, espnW will name a national player of the week each Monday.

ESPN The Magazine
A variety of topics in the Big & Tall issue relating to college basketball – available on newsstands beginning Friday, Nov. 18. Featured content includes:

• Men’s and Women’s Top 25 Power Rankings
• The return of the true center: After Brittany Griner graduated, there was a dearth of true bigs in the women’s game. Then along came Elena Coates (6’4). In a time of hybrid post players, the South Carolina senior has the skills and technique of an old-school center. That will pay off handsomely in the WNBA, which could make her the No. 1 pick next year. For now, with Coates in tandem with likely preseason player of the year A’ja Wilson, the Gamecocks’ front court is going to make them tough to beat.

Content will also live throughout the year on SportsCenter, espnW, ESPN Radio and many more ESPN properties.

The regular-season will culminate with ESPN’s Champ Week presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods conference tournament coverage March 3-12.

All games aired on an ESPN network will also be available through WatchESPN, accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and streaming devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

2016-2017 NCAA Div. I Women’s Basketball Schedule (Subject to change)

* will air at 2 p.m. ET if game is on ESPNU

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