ESPN will carry the ACC and SEC Championship Games as well as provide the selections for the 68-team field NCAA Tournament.
While ESPN is not the official network to provide the brackets for the tournament, it can do them once the announcements are made on CBS.
So once the games are over, ESPN will have the announcements on a special edition of SportsCenter which begins at 5:30 p.m. ET. Then the network will talk about the field during a two-hour Bracketology special at 7 p.m. ESPN2 picks up Bracketology at 9 p.m.
Also at 9 p.m., ESPN airs a new 30 for 30 documentary “Requiem for the Big East” which looks back at the old Big East conference.
Your ESPN announcement is below.
Men’s College Hoops: Selection Sunday Highlighted by Three Title Games & Extensive Analysis of Tourney Field
Multiple Studio Shows, Greg Shaheen Returns
10 Hours of Coverage on ESPNU on Monday
Requiem for The BIG EAST Documentary Debuts SundayESPN’s extensive multiplatform coverage of Selection Sunday, March 16 – the day the 68-team field for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship is announced – will include studio shows across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU; the ACC, SEC and Sun Belt Championships; and the debut of ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 documentary Requiem for The BIG EAST.
Many of the sport’s top experts will contribute throughout the day, including Jay Bilas, Dan Dakich, Seth Greenberg, Jeff Goodman, Andy Katz, Joe Lunardi, Bruce Pearl, Digger Phelps, Miles Simon, Dick Vitale and Jay Williams.
Greg Shaheen, who oversaw the operation of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship as the senior vice president of championships and alliances until 2012, will provide insight into the selection process of the Tournament Committee across ESPN platforms for a second consecutive year.
The day will tip off with a two-hour College Basketball Live beginning at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN2 and continuing on ESPN at noon. The show will review Championship Week and provide a preview of the ACC (ESPN & ESPN Radio) and Sun Belt (ESPN2) championship games at 1 p.m. and SEC title game at 3:15 p.m. on ESPN.
Studio coverage will include two-hour Bracketology programs at 7 p.m. on ESPN and 9 p.m. on ESPN2; SportsCenter following the SEC title game that will give a thorough analysis of all tournament-bound teams; and a three-hour Tournament Countdown: The Experts at 9 p.m. on ESPNU. The college sports network will also announce the NIT field with the NIT Selection Show at 8:30 p.m.
Details of Selection Sunday studio programming:
College Basketball Live at 11 a.m. on ESPN2 and ESPN
The special two-hour College Basketball Live – 11 a.m. on ESPN2 and continuing on ESPN at noon – will review the conference tournament results, look at the potential NCAA Championship field and preview the day’s upcoming conference championships. Rece Davis will host with analysts Bilas, Phelps and Williams.
SportsCenter at 5:30 p.m. (or at Conclusion of SEC Title Game) on ESPN
In addition to reporting on the latest sports news, the SportsCenter edition following ESPN’s coverage of the SEC championship will provide up-to-the-minute updates of the tournament selections with host Davis and analysts Bilas, Dakich, Greenberg, Phelps, Vitale (via satellite) and Williams evaluating the brackets shortly after they are announced.
Bracketology at 7 p.m. on ESPN
The two-hour program will include extensive, in-depth analysis of the bracket in each region. Host Davis will be joined by analysts Bilas, Dakich, Greenberg, Phelps, and Williams with Vitale to discuss multiple tournament topics and reveal their Elite Eight, Final Four and Championship game teams. In addition, Katz will interview NCAA Championship Chairman Ron Wellman from Indianapolis.
Bracketology at 9 p.m. on ESPN2
Extensive discussion of the tournament field will continue on ESPN2 with an additional two hours of Bracketology at 9 p.m. Chris Cotter will host with analysts Dakich, Pearl and Simon providing insight and predictions for every game. In addition, a “Bracketology” National Champion will be crowned during the program.
Tournament Countdown: The Experts at 9 p.m. on ESPNU
After the selections are announced, a panel of experts will discuss each first- and second-round game, providing viewers insight into filling out their own brackets, on Tournament Countdown: The Experts at 9 p.m. on ESPNU. Anish Shroff will host with analysts Fran Fraschilla, Dino Gaudio, Adrian Branch and Tim Welsh.
Debut of 30 for 30 Documentary Requiem for The BIG EAST Premieres on Selection Sunday
ESPN’s coverage of Selection Sunday will conclude with ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 documentary Requiem For The BIG EAST will premiere on Sunday, March 16, at 9 p.m. after Bracketology on ESPN. The film, directed by Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Ezra Edelman, explores the meteoric ascension of the BIG EAST Conference and how it became the most successful college basketball sports league in America—but later found itself fighting for survival in a new era. The film is told primarily through the lens of famed BIG EAST coaches such as Jim Boeheim, Lou Carnesecca, Rick Pitino and John Thompson, former BIG EAST commissioner Mike Tranghese, and some of its most iconic players like Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin and Ed Pinckney. It chronicles the rivalries and successes that led many of them to become household names.
10 Hours of Tournament Countdown Programming Monday on ESPNU
ESPNU will provide 10 hours of Tournament Countdown programming on Monday, March 17. Coverage will begin at 1 p.m. with a five-hour Tournament Countdown: Katz Korner featuring interviews with top coaches and players, roundtable discussions and tournament predictions. Katz will be joined by Gaudio and Welsh.
ESPNU will also televise a two-hour College Basketball Live: Tournament Countdown with host Dari Nowkhah and analysts Branch and Cory Alexander at 6 p.m. and a three-hour Tournament Countdown: The Experts with Shroff, Gaudio, Branch, Welsh and Alexander at 9 p.m.
SportsCenter Tonight Selection Sunday Special on ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio will provide extensive analysis of the tournament field on the SportsCenter Tonight Selection Sunday Special on March 16 from 6:30 p.m. (or at conclusion of NBA broadcast) to 11 p.m. SportsCenter host Doug Kezirian and basketball analyst Kara Lawson will discuss the brackets and conduct interviews with tournament bound coaches and players.
ESPN.com Tournament Challenge
Both the Men’s Tournament Challenge and Women’s Tournament Challenge bracket games on ESPN.com return for their 17th seasons on the digital hard court and will once again be free for entrants to submit up to 10 entries. Last year, the Men’s Tournament Challenge game was the most popular bracket game in the nation, with nearly 8.15 million brackets, up 26 percent compared to the previous year and setting a new record. At the peak period, fans registered 8,123 brackets per minute (135 brackets per second). Additional details will be released on Monday, March 17.
ESPN, ESPNU and ESPN2’s Schedule for Sunday and Monday
Date Time (ET) Show Network Sun, Mar 16 11 a.m. College Basketball Live ESPN2 noon College Basketball Live ESPN 1 p.m. ACC Championship ESPN & ESPN Radio 1 p.m. Sun Belt Championship ESPN2 3:15 p.m. SEC Championship ESPN 5:30 p.m. SportsCenter ESPN 6:30 p.m. SportsCenter Tonight Selection Sunday Special ESPN Radio 7 p.m. Bracketology ESPN 8:30 p.m. NIT Selection Show ESPNU 9 p.m. Requiem For The BIG EAST ESPN 9 p.m. Bracketology ESPN2 9 p.m. Tournament Countdown: The Experts ESPNU Mon, Mar 18 1 p.m. Tournament Countdown: Katz Korner ESPNU 6 p.m. College Basketball Live: Tournament Countdown ESPNU 9 p.m. Tournament Countdown: The Experts ESPNU
That is all.
