The Power of IX related releases – http://es.pn/TitleIXReleases

11 Hours on ESPN, King/Riggs “Battle of the Sexes” on ESPN Classic

ESPN has increased its originally announced schedule of events and studio shows for Friday-Sunday, June 22-24 featuring women in sports across its networks – ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, ESPN Classic and Longhorn Network – highlighted by a full day of programming Saturday, June 23. The offering culminates the company’s three-month multiplatform initiative, The Power of IX, recognizing the 40th anniversary of Title IX, signed June 23, 1972.

More than 180 hours of women in sports programming will be aired, including 11 live hours on ESPN beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET with the WNBA’s Chicago Sky at defending champion Minnesota Lynx, the first of two WNBA games on ESPN that day.

Highlighting Saturday’s coverage will be the historic Battle of the Sexes: 1973 Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs Match at 9 p.m. on ESPN Classic. The event was last aired in 2003. Additional highlights include:

• Two WNBA games on ESPN – Chicago Sky at Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks at Phoenix Mercury at 9 p.m. – featuring some of the top current women basketball players in the world in Chicago’s dynamic duo of Epiphanny Prince and Sylvia Fowles, former UConn star Maya Moore of Minnesota and L.A.’s Candace Parker;
• Sporting Chance presented by Northwestern Mutual is a one-hour documentary produced by the NCAA in conjunction with ESPN and Creative Street Entertainment Group. Airing at noon, it tells the story of the passage of Title IX and explores how this law has increased educational opportunities and athletic participation, specifically for women, over the past 40 years.
• USA Soccer: Leveling the Field, an original 30-minute special on ESPN2 at 5 p.m. showcasing the 1999 U.S. Women’s World Cup Gold-Medal winning team;
• Honda Sports Awards, the annual awards program that honors the accomplishments of top NCAA female athletes, live on ESPNU at 3 p.m. from ESPN’s Los Angeles Production Center.

The June 23 multi-network programming will be tied together, beginning at 12:30 p.m., through studio segments from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., headquarters. ESPN soccer analyst and espnW contributor Julie Foudy will host with former collegiate and WNBA women’s basketball star Sheryl Swoopes. The studio set will be Title IX-themed using set colors based on the animation and The Power of IX logo. ESPN anchor Sara Walsh will report from the AAU Girls’ National Volleyball Championship from the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla.

Schedule and program summaries by Network for Title IX Programming (Schedules subject to change)
Full Day’s Schedule
ABC
ESPN
ESPN2
ESPNU
ESPN3
ESPN Classic
Longhorn Network
ESPN Deportes

ESPN Network’s Title IX – June 23 Programming (subject to change)
(Check individual network schedule’s below for additional weekend programming)

ABC
SEC Storied: Lolo Jones – One of the brighter stars in the history of the LSU women’s track and field dynasty is Lori “Lolo” Jones. A standout hurdler, she won three NCAA titles and 11 All-American honors.  But Jones had to overcome significant obstacles to get there. In the documentary, Lolo explores her inspiring rise from an unstable home life to national stardom that included a spot on the 2008 United States Olympic team.  The film includes her stunning disappointment in the 2008 Beijing Games and her journey to make it back to the Olympics this summer. This fourth installment of SEC Storied will air at 4 p.m. and also on ESPNU at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

ESPN Sports Saturday – A weekly look at the biggest stories in sports at 5 p.m., the show will include a feature on the impact of Title IX and the current state of collegiate sports. The show typically consists of informative debate from ESPN programs such as Pardon the Interruption, First Take, SportsNation and Mike & Mike In the Morning, as well as game previews and predictions from NFL Live, College GameDay, NBA Countdown, Baseball Tonight and more.

ESPN
Two WNBA games will highlight ESPN’s day – Chicago Sky at Minnesota Lynx at 12:30 p.m. and Los Angeles Sparks at Phoenix Mercury at 9 p.m. The four teams will commemorate the day by unveiling special uniforms that will feature “IX” in the front of the jerseys, while player names and uniform numbers will remain the same on the back of the jerseys.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series – Road America 200 from Elkhart Lake, Wis., at 3:30 p.m. will include Danica Patrick, one of the most successful women in the history of American racing. She is the only woman to win in the IndyCar Series and she is the highest female finisher at the Indianapolis 500 (third).

USA Softball will take on the Canadian National Team at 7 p.m. from Oklahoma City in the Title IX 40^th Anniversary Celebration Game. The teams include current and former student-athletes who are now playing at an elite level.

ESPN2
Sporting Chance presented by Northwest Mutual is a one-hour documentary produced by the NCAA in conjunction with Creative Street Entertainment Group. Airing at noon, it tells the story of the passage of Title IX and explores how this law has increased educational opportunities and athletic participation, specifically for women, over the past 40 years.  The documentary includes many notable sports and political figures, including NCAA President Mark Emmert, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Senator Birch Bayh and award-winning sports columnist Christine Brennan.

E:60 Women’s Special at 1 p.m. will compile a variety of some of the top profiles, investigations and stories from the series. The segments include: Tennis star Maria Sharapova’s return visit to her roots in the Chernobyl affected region of Gomel, Belarus; Michelle Akers, one of the most accomplished U.S. women’s soccer players, and her passion and fight for the horses she loves; Professional boxer Christy Martin talking for the first time about her long and bumpy road; Chelsea Baker, a young pitcher who plays on her town’s Little League baseball team; and Indi Cowie, a North Carolina Tar Heel, determined to make a name for herself in the freestyle soccer community.

A U.S. Women’s Soccer Special will air at 5 p.m., a 30-minute program showcasing the 1999 U.S. Women’s World Cup Gold-Medal winning team, followed by a roundtable discussion about the impact of Title IX on the growth and success of women’s soccer in the U.S. The panel will includes host Julie Foudy (ESPN analyst and former member National Team member), along with Tony DiCicco (ESPN analyst and former National Team head coach), Kristine Lilly (23-year veteran of National Team), Heather O’Reilly (current national team star) and Donna De Varona (a founding member of the Women’s Sports Foundation).

ESPNU
Honda Sports Awards will showcase the Collegiate Women Sports Awards that annually honor the accomplishments of top female athletes in NCAA-member colleges with a variety of prestigious awards. ESPN’s Wendi Nix and Samantha Steele will host the live 60-minute special from ESPN’s Los Angeles Production Center at 3 p.m.

The 24-hour college sports network will also have dedicated blocks of past NCAA Women’s Championships events, including basketball, gymnastics, softball and volleyball.

ESPN3
National Pro Fastpitch will stage a doubleheader between the Florida Pride and Carolina Diamonds, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Also, the AAU Junior Girls’ National Volleyball Championship will be seen at various times during the day.

* – exclusive

ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic will have 50 hours of women’s sports programming beginning Friday, June 22 and running through Sunday, June 24.

In addition to the historic Battle of the Sexes: 1973 Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs Match at 9 p.m. on Saturday, the network will show documentaries from ESPN’s 1999 SportsCentury project – a series that began as an award-winning review of 20th Century’s 50 greatest athletes. Also included in the marathon are Schaap One on One interviews with legendary sports journalist Dick Schaap and notable female athletes.

Longhorn Network
The 24-hour network dedicated to the University of Texas Longhorns will air women’s sports Friday, June 22 through Sunday, June 24. The three days of programming will include competition from the 2011-12 academic year, as well as notable Longhorn women’s games from past years.

ESPN Deportes
SportsCenter: Irma Garcia – A feature on Irma Garcia, the first Latina athletic director at a Division I school – St. Francis College (NY) will air during ESPN Deportes’ SportsCenter on Sunday, June 24, at 11 p.m. Garcia played basketball for St. Francis, beginning in 1976, and returned as a coach in 1988. She was named Director of Athletics in 2007, was honored at the White House in 2008 as a Las Primeras Award recipient by the national Latina organization MANA. She will be one the Women’s Sports Foundation 40 FOR 40 honorees this June.

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