ESPN Provides Extensive Coverage of NCAA Division I Softball Championship
Every Women’s College World Series Contest for 12th Straight Year
ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 will combine as the coverage home to the NCAA Division I Softball Championship with up to 62 games Friday, May 18 to Wednesday, June 6. The lineup will include telecasts of every Women’s College World Series (WCWS) contest for the 12th straight event and every game from all eight Super Regional sites for the fifth straight year. Coverage begins with games from three Regional sites.
As mentioned on ESPNU’s 2012 NCAA Division I Softball Championship Selection Show, action begins Friday, May 18 with six telecasts from three sites – Louisville, Ky.; College Station, Texas; Tucson, Ariz. ESPN3 will simulcast every Regional, Super Regional and WCWS game aired on ESPN networks.
SEC teams earned the most bids this year by conference with nine, followed closely by the Pac-12 with eight. The Pac-12 has won 23 of 29 NCAA Division I Softball Championships. The last non-Pac-12 school to win a title was Michigan in 2005. This year’s No. 1 seed, California, has the most consecutive championship appearances with 26, behind only Fresno State with 30.
2012 ESPN Highlights:
- More than 125 hours of NCAA Division I Softball Championship game action as well as studio hours surrounding the games with highlights, expert analysis and press conferences after Super Regionals.
- For the first time, the Longhorn Network will also offer exclusive games from a Regionals series, televising all games involving No. 6 Texas from the Austin, Texas Regional site, beginning Friday, May 19 at 5:30 ET.
- Super Regionals and WCWS games will include the expert opinion and experience from six U.S. Olympic Gold Medalists, one of which was a three-time NCAA Champion. All 11 analysts are former All-Americans and six played for teams that were seeded in this year’s Championship:
- ESPN Softball Analysts at Super Regionals: Leah Amico (Arizona), Garland Cooper (Northwestern), Jennie Finch (Arizona), Amanda Freed (UCLA), Cheri Kemp (Missouri Western), Jessica Mendoza (Stanford), Amanda Scarborough (Texas A&M) and Michele Smith (Oklahoma State)
- ESPN Softball Analysts in Studio: Charlotte Morgan (Alabama) and Stacey Nuveman (UCLA)
- As part of ESPN’s celebration of 40 years of Title IX, espnW.com will give fans inside access on a team’s road to the WCWS with features, photos and player blogs from six of the top-25 programs.
- ESPN International will provide the WCWS in 178 countries and territories on ESPN Australia, ESPN Africa, ESPN Caribbean, ESPN Europe, ESPN Israel, ESPN Latin America, ESPN Middle East, ESPN Pacific Rim and ESPN Brazil.
- In 2012, the ESPN networks will air over 400 hours of NCAA Spring Championships coverage, increasing more than 30 hours from 2011. As part of ESPN’s extended rights agreement with the NCAA, spring championship programming highlights seven sports over eight weeks: Men’s Lacrosse, Men’s Volleyball, Baseball and Softball. For the first time, ESPN networks will also air the Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field and Women’s Lacrosse Championships.
NCAA Division I Softball Championship – Regionals Presented by Capital One
(Schedule subject to change; UPDATED May 16)
Date | Time (ET) | Matchup (location) | Regional Game | Network |
Fri, May 18 | 4:30 p.m. | Kentucky vs. Michigan (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza |
Game1 | ESPN2/ESPN3 |
5 p.m. | Texas State vs. LSU (College Station, TX) Cara Capuano and Cheri Kempf |
Game 1 | ESPN3 | |
5 p.m. | Northwestern vs. No. 6 Texas(Austin, TX) TBD |
Game 2 | Longhorn Network | |
5:30 p.m. | Notre Dame vs. Hawaii (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith |
Game 1 | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
7 p.m. | Valparaiso vs. No. 15 Louisville (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza |
Game 2 | ESPN2/ESPN3 | |
8 p.m. | Bethune-Cookman vs. No. 8 Texas A&M (College Station, TX) Cara Capuano and Cheri Kempf |
Game 2 | ESPN3 | |
8 p.m. | North Dakota State vs. No. 13 Arizona (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith |
Game 2 | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
Sat, May 19 | 2 p.m. | Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner (College Station, TX) |
Game 3 | ESPN3 |
3 p.m. | Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza |
Game 3 | ESPN/ESPN3 | |
5 p.m. | Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser (College Station, TX) Cara Capuano and Cheri Kempf |
Game 4 | ESPN3 | |
5:30 p.m. | Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza |
Game 4 | ESPN/ESPN3 | |
6 p.m. | Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith |
Game 3 | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
8 p.m. | Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza |
Game 5 | ESPN/ESPN3 | |
8 p.m. | Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser (College Station, TX) |
Game 5 | ESPN3 | |
8:30 p.m. | Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith |
Game 4 | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
11 p.m. | Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith |
Game 5 | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
Sun, May 20 | 1 p.m. | Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner (Louisville, KY) Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza |
Game 6 | ESPN2/ESPN3 |
2 p.m. | Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner (College Station, TX) Cara Capuano and Cheri Kempf |
Game 6 | ESPN3 | |
3:30 p.m. | Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (Louisville, KY)* Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza |
Game 7 | ESPN2/ESPN3 | |
4:30 p.m. | Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (College Station, TX)* Cara Capuano and Cheri Kempf |
Game 7 | ESPN3 | |
5:30 p.m. | Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner (Tucson, AZ) Pam Ward and Michele Smith |
Game 6 | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
8 p.m. | Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (Tucson, AZ) * Pam Ward and Michele Smith |
Game 7 | ESPNU/ESPN3 |
NCAA Division I Softball Championship – Super Regionals Presented by Capital One
Date | Time (ET) | Matchup (Location) | Game | Network |
Thu, May 24 | 8 p.m. | TBD (Site 1) | Game 1 | ESPN2/ESPN3 |
10 p.m. | TBD (Site 2) | Game 1 | ESPN2/ESPN3 | |
Fri, May 25 | 2 p.m. | TBD (Site 5) | Game 1 | ESPNU/ESPN3 |
4:30 p.m. | TBD (Site 1) | Game 2 | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
7 p.m. | TBD (Site 1) * | Game 3 | ESPN or ESPN2/ESPN3 | |
7 p.m. | TBD (Site 3) | Game 1 | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
9 p.m. | TBD (Site 2) | Game 2 | ESPN or ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
9 p.m. | TBD (Site 4) | Game 1 | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
11:30 p.m. | TBD (Site 2)* | Game 3 | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
Sat, May 26 | noon | TBD (Site 5) | Game 2 | ESPN/ESPN3 |
noon | TBD (Site 6) | Game 1 | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
2:30 PM | TBD (Site 5) * | Game 3 | ESPN/ESPN3 | |
2:30 PM | TBD (Site 3) | Game 2 | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
5 p.m. | TBD (Site 4) | Game 2 | ESPN/ESPN3 | |
5 p.m. | TBD (Site 3) * | Game 3 | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
7:30 PM | TBD (Site 4) * | Game 3 | ESPN/ESPN3 | |
7:30 PM | TBD (Site 7) | Game 1 | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
10 p.m. | TBD (Site 8) | Game 1 | ESPN2/ESPN3 | |
Sun, May 27 | 1 p.m. | TBD (Site 6) | Game 2 | ESPN/ESPN3 |
3:30 PM | TBD (Site 6) * | Game 3 | ESPN/ESPN3 | |
3:30 PM | TBD (Site 7) | Game 3 | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
6 p.m. | TBD (Site 7) * | Game 3 | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
7 p.m. | TBD (Site 8) | Game 2 | ESPN2/ESPN3 | |
9:30 PM | TBD (Site 8) * | Game 3 | ESPN2/ESPN3 |
NCAA Women’s College World Series Presented by Capital One, (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
Date | Time | Game | Network |
Wed, May 30 | 2 p.m. | WCWS Press Conferences | ESPNU |
4 p.m. | WCWS Press Conferences | ESPNU | |
Thu, May 31 | Noon | WCWS Pre-Game Show | ESPNU |
1 p.m. | Game 1 | ESPN2/ESPN3 | |
3:30 p.m. | Game 2 | ESPN2/ESPN3 | |
7 p.m. | Game 3 | ESPN2/ESPN3 | |
9:30 p.m. | Game 4 | ESPN2/ESPN3 | |
11:30 p.m. | WCWS Post-Game Show | ESPNU | |
Fri, June 1 | 7 p.m. | Game 5 | ESPN2/ESPN3 |
9:30 p.m. | Game 6 | ESPN2/ESPN3 | |
Sat, June 2 | noon | Game 7 | ESPN2/ESPN3 |
2:30 p.m. | Game 8 | ESPN2/ESPN3 | |
7 p.m. | Game 9 | ESPN/ESPN3 | |
9:30 p.m. | Game 10 | ESPN/ESPN3 | |
Sun, June 3 | 1 p.m. | Game 11 | ESPN/ESPN3 |
3:30 p.m. | Game 12 | ESPN/ESPN3 | |
7 p.m. | Game 13* | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
9:30 p.m. | Game 14* | ESPNU/ESPN3 | |
Mon, June 4 | 8 p.m. | Championship – Game 1 | ESPN2/ESPN3 |
10:30 p.m. | WCWS Post-Game Show | ESPNU | |
Tue, June 5 | 7:30 p.m. | WCWS Pre-Game Show | ESPNU |
8 p.m. | Championship – Game 2 | ESPN2/ESPN3 | |
10:30 p.m. | WCWS Post-Game Show | ESPNU | |
Wed, June 6 | 7:30 p.m. | WCWS Pre-Game Show | ESPNU |
8 p.m. | Championship – Game 3* | ESPN/ESPN3 | |
10:30 p.m. | WCWS Post-Game Show | ESPNU |
ESPN3 will carry every game; direct links to exclusive games included
* denotes “if necessary” game
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Media Contact: Gracie Blackburn, [email protected]