As we’re in December and the holiday season, it means plenty of college bowl games. And starting next Saturday, September 19, it means some 30 bowl games on the ESPN family of networks. It also means Bowl Week which has expanded from 7 days to 14. Take a look at the press release and subsequent schedule.
BCS National Championship Game Highlights Schedule of 30 College Football Bowl Games across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Radio and ESPN360.com
BCS National Championship to be Called by Musburger, Herbstreit, Salters & Rinaldi on ABC and Tirico, Gruden, Blackledge & Nix on ESPN Radio; ESPN Radio to Broadcast 18 Games Including Entire BCSESPN’s college football bowl schedule — featuring 30 games across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Radio and ESPN360.com — will be highlighted by the BCS National Championship Game (No. 2 Texas vs. No. 1 Alabama) from the Rose Bowl Thursday, Jan. 7, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN Radio. In addition to the National Championship, ABC and ESPN Radio will broadcast the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi (No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Oregon) Friday, Jan. 1.ESPN and ESPN2 will televise 24 bowl games, highlighted by Bowl Week, one of ESPN’s most-viewed weeks of the year, from Dec. 19-Jan. 2. ESPN360.com will simulcast every ESPN and ESPN2 telecast while ESPN Radio will broadcast 18 bowl games, including all five BCS matchups. For the first time, ESPN will televise the Texas Bowl on Thursday, Dec. 31, at 3:30 p.m.Beginning next season, ESPN will televise all five BCS games – including the National Championship Game – as the result of an agreement with the BCS. It will include the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowls each season and the BCS National Championship Game in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Through a separate agreement, ESPN will also televise the Rose Bowl Game beginning in 2011.Coverage will kick off with an ESPN doubleheader Saturday, Dec. 19: the New Mexico Bowl (Fresno State vs. Wyoming) at 4:30 p.m. and the St. Petersburg Bowl (UCF vs. Rutgers) at 8 p.m. Highlights include:
- Twenty-seven games on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, all offered in high definition on ABC HD, ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD. ABC will televise two New Year’s Day bowl games: the Capital One Bowl (No. 13 Penn State vs. No. 12 LSU) at 1 p.m., followed by the Rose Bowl (No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Oregon) at 4:30 p.m. ABC will also televise the BCS National Championship (No. 2 Texas vs. No. 1 Alabama) Thursday, Jan. 7, at 8 p.m.
- ESPN360.com will offer a live simulcast of every ESPN and ESPN2 game as well as ABC telecasts of the National Championship, Rose Bowl and Capital One Bowl on short turnaround (2:30 a.m. ET on the morning of the games).
- ESPN Radio will broadcast 18 bowl games, including all five BCS matchups, highlighted by the BCS National Championship game (Thursday, Jan. 7, at 8 p.m.).
- ESPNU will offer encore presentations of 25 bowl games and two bowl preview shows.
- ESPN.com will offer a special bowl section with previews of each game as well as a fantasy bowl application.
- ESPN Classic will offer encore presentations of 25 memorable games in six days.
- ESPN, ESPN360.com and ESPN Radio will offer coverage of all six ESPN Regional Television owned-and-operated bowl games: the New Mexico Bowl and St. Petersburg Bowl Saturday, Dec. 19, at 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., respectively; Las Vegas Bowl Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 8 p.m.; Hawaii Bowl Thursday, Dec. 24, at 8 p.m.; Armed Forces Bowl Thursday, Dec. 31, at noon; and Papajohns.com Bowl Saturday, Jan. 2, at 2 p.m.
ESPN will utilize 59 on-air personalities to cover the 30 bowl games, highlights include:
- ESPN on ABC Saturday Night Football commentators Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salters will work the BCS National Championship on Jan. 7 and the Rose Bowl on ABC on Jan. 1. Reporter Tom Rinaldi will join them for the National Championship. ESPN Monday Night Football announcer Mike Tirico and analyst Jon Gruden will call ESPN Radio’s broadcast of both, with analyst Todd Blackledge joining them for the Championship game.
- Commentator Bob Wischusen will work games with a father/son duo, calling a game with analyst Bob Griese and two with Bob’s son Brian Griese.
- Brian Griese, in his first year as an analyst, will join his father, veteran analyst Bob Griese, as both work the Outback Bowl but in different booths. Bob will call the game for ESPN and Brian for ESPN Radio.
- The overtime award will go to Bill Rosinski, Dennis Franchione and Joe Schad, who will call six games for ESPN Radio.
ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Radio and ESPN360.com College Football Bowl Schedule
Date Time (ET) Game Network Sat, Dec. 19 4:30 p.m. New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State vs. Wyoming
TV: Terry Gannon & David Norrie
Radio: Carter Blackburn & Charles ArbuckleESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Radio 8 p.m. St. Petersburg Bowl: UCF vs. Rutgers
TV:
Mark Jones, Bob Davie & Rob Stone
Radio: Bill Rosinski, Dennis Franchione & Joe SchadESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Radio Sun, Dec 20 8:30 p.m. New Orleans Bowl: Southern Mississippi vs. Middle Tennessee
TV: Dave Lamont & J.C. Pearson
Radio: Clay Matvick & David Diaz-InfanteESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Radio Tue, Dec. 22 8 p.m. Las Vegas Bowl: No. 18 Oregon State vs. No. 14 BYU
Rece Davis, Lou Holtz, Mark May & Todd HarrisESPN / ESPN360.com Wed, Dec. 23 8 p.m. Poinsettia Bowl: No. 23 Utah vs. California
TV: Mike Patrick, Craig James & Heather Cox
Radio: Bill Rosinski, Dennis Franchione & Joe SchadESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Radio Thu, Dec 24 8 p.m. Hawaii Bowl: Nevada vs. Southern Methodist University
TV & Radio: Terry Gannon & David NorrieESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Radio Sat, Dec 26 1 p.m. Little Caesars Bowl: Marshall vs. Ohio
Pam Ward & Ray BentleyESPN / ESPN360.com 4:30 p.m. Meineke Car Care Bowl: No. 17 Pittsburgh vs. North Carolina
Bob Wischusen, Bob Griese, Chris Spielman & Quint KessenichESPN / ESPN360.com 8 p.m. Emerald Bowl: Boston College vs. No. 24 USC
TV: Joe Tessitore, Rod Gilmore & Todd Harris
Radio: Bill Rosinski, Dennis Franchione & Joe SchadESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Radio Sun, Dec 27 8:30 p.m. Music City Bowl: Kentucky vs. Clemson
Sean McDonough, Matt Millen & Holly RoweESPN / ESPN360.com Mon, Dec 28 5 p.m. Independence Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Georgia
Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham & Jeannine EdwardsESPN2 / ESPN360.com Tue, Dec 29 4:30 p.m. EagleBank Bowl: UCLA or Army vs. Temple
Bob Wischusen, Brian Griese & Rob StoneESPN / ESPN360.com 8 p.m. Champs Sports Bowl: No. 15 Miami vs. No. 25 Wisconsin
Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge & Holly RoweESPN / ESPN360.com Wed, Dec 30 4:30 p.m. Humanitarian Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Idaho
Eric Collins, Brock Huard & Heather CoxESPN / ESPN360.com 8 p.m. Holiday Bowl: No. 20 Arizona vs. No. 22 Nebraska
TV: Chris Fowler, Craig James, Jesse Palmer & Erin Andrews
Radio: Bill Rosinski, Dennis Franchione & Joe SchadESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Radio Thu, Dec 31 noon Armed Forces Bowl: Houston vs. Air Force
TV: Dave Lamont, J.C. Pearson & Cara Capuano
Radio: Rob Stone & Robert SmithESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Radio 3:30 p.m. Texas Bowl: Navy vs. Missouri
Mark Jones, Bob Davie & Quint KessenichESPN / ESPN360.com 7:30 p.m. Chick-fil-A Bowl: No. 11 Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee
TV: Sean McDonough, Matt Millen & Holly Rowe
Radio: TBA & Rod GilmoreESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Radio Fri, Jan 1 11 a.m. Outback Bowl: Northwestern vs. Auburn
TV: Dave Pasch, Bob Griese, Chris Spielman & Rob Stone
Radio: Bob Wischusen & Brian GrieseESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Radio 1 p.m. Capital One Bowl: No. 13 Penn State vs. No. 12 LSU
Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge & Erin AndrewsABC 4:30 p.m. Rose Bowl: No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Oregon
TV: Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit & Lisa Salters
Radio: Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden & Shelley SmithABC / ESPN Radio 8:30 p.m. Sugar Bowl: No. 5 Florida vs. No. 3 Cincinnati
Bill Rosinski, Dennis Franchione & Joe SchadESPN Radio Sat, Jan 2 noon International Bowl: South Florida vs. Northern Illinois
Mike Gleason, John Congemi & David AmberESPN2 / ESPN360.com 2 p.m. Papajohns.com Bowl: South Carolina vs. Connecticut
TV: Dave Neal, Andre Ware & Cara Capuano
Radio: Pam Ward & Ray BentleyESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Radio 5:30 p.m. Liberty Bowl: Arkansas vs. East Carolina
TV: Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham & Jeannine Edwards
Radio: Mark Jones & Bob DavieESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Radio 9 p.m. Alamo Bowl: Michigan State vs. Texas Tech
TV: Mike Patrick, Craig James & Heather Cox
Radio: Bill Rosinski, Dennis Franchione & Joe SchadESPN / ESPN360.com / ESPN Radio Mon, Jan 4 8 p.m. Fiesta Bowl: No. 6 Boise State vs. No. 4 TCU
Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge & Erin AndrewsESPN Radio Tue, Jan 5 8 p.m. Orange Bowl: No. 10 Iowa vs. No. 9 Georgia Tech
Sean McDonough, Matt Millen & Holly RoweESPN Radio Wed, Jan 6 7 p.m. GMAC Bowl: Central Michigan vs. Troy
Joe Tessitore, Rod Gilmore & Quint KessenichESPN / ESPN360.com Thu, Jan 7 8 p.m. BCS National Championship Game: No. 2 Texas vs. No. 1 Alabama
TV: Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, Lisa Salters & Tom Rinaldi
Radio: Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, Todd Blackledge & Wendi NixABC / ESPN Radio
ESPNU to Offer Encore Presentations of 25 Bowls and Bowl Preview Shows
ESPNU will offer an encore presentation of 25 bowl games airing on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 and two shows previewing and reviewing the upcoming games: ESPNU Bowl Preview Wednesday, Dec. 16, at 5 p.m., and ESPNU BCS Bowl Preview Thursday, Dec. 17 at 9:30 p.m. The schedule of ESPNU encore games:
Game Date and Time New Mexico Bowl Dec 20 at 4 a.m. & Dec 21 at 9 p.m. EagleBank Bowl Dec 30 at midnight & 6 a.m. St. Petersburg Bowl Dec 20 at midnight & Dec 21 at 3:30 a.m. Las Vegas Bowl Dec 26 at 6 a.m. New Orleans Bowl Dec 26 at 3 a.m. Poinsettia Bowl Dec 26 at midnight Little Caesars Bowl Dec 27 at 6 a.m. & Dec 29 at 1 a.m. Hawaii Bowl Dec 26 at 9 a.m. & Dec 28 at 9:30 p.m. Motor City Bowl Dec 27 at 6 a.m. Champs Sports Bowl Dec 30 at 8 a.m. Emerald Bowl Dec 27 at 11 a.m. & 6:30 p.m. Meineke Car Care Bowl Dec 27 at 8:30 a.m. & 4 p.m. Eagle Bank Bowl Dec 30 midnight & 6 a.m. Papajohns.com Bowl Jan 3 at 4 a.m. Alamo Bowl Jan 3 at 1 p.m. & Jan 8 at 8 a.m. Humanitarian Bowl Jan 5 at 6 a.m. Holiday Bowl Jan 4 at 4 a.m. Armed Forces Bowl Jan 5 at 8 a.m. Music City Bowl Dec 28 at 1 a.m. Outback Bowl Jan 5 at 1 a.m. & Jan 6 at 1 p.m. Capital One Bowl Jan 4 at 1:30 a.m. & Jan 8 at 3 a.m. Rose Bowl Jan 2 at 3 a.m. & Jan 9 at 1 a.m. & 6 a.m. Chick-fil-A Bowl Jan 1 at 12 p.m. noon & Jan 2 at midnight International Bowl Jan 6 at 1:30 a.m. GMAC Bowl Jan 8 at midnight ESPN.com to Offer Special Bowl Section and Bowl Mania
ESPN.com will offer a special section featuring individual pages for each of the BCS Bowl games, with overviews of who, what and why to watch from ESPN.com’s Brian Bennett, Heather Dinich, Tim Griffin, Chris Low, Ted Miller, Adam Rittenberg and Graham Watson.ESPN.com will also offer related video, season stats, rosters and team histories, daily SportsNation polls and live chats, complete Accuscore statistical game simulations, commentary and humor from ESPN.com’s Page 2 section, and more. Additionally, for each game, ESPN Scouts, Inc., will preview and break down each matchup.Contributors will include ESPN.com’s Ivan Maisel, Pat Forde, Mark Schlabach and Gene Wojciechowski, as well as ESPN television analysts.Tens of thousands of fantasy sports players have signed up for ESPN.com’s new and improved ‘Bowl Mania’ Fantasy game, in which users pick the winners of each of the 34 college football bowl games and rank them in the order of confidence. Players can compete against fans from around the country for prizes or create private groups to compete against friends.
Twenty-five Classic Bowls in Six Days on ESPN Classic Dec. 14-19ESPN Classic will present 25 classic bowl games in six days beginning Monday, Dec. 14.
Date Time (ET)Game Mon, Dec 14 Noon 1999 Fiesta Bowl: Florida State vs. Tennessee 2 p.m. 2000 Independence Bowl: Mississippi State vs. Texas A&M 4 p.m. 1996 Aloha Bowl: Navy vs. California 6 p.m. 1999 Rose Bowl: Wisconsin vs. UCLA 8 p.m. 2002 Independence Bowl: Nebraska vs. Mississippi Tue, Dec 15 Noon 1992 Copper Bowl: Washington State vs. Utah 2 p.m. 2004 Liberty Bowl: Boise State vs. Louisville 4 p.m. 2008 Capital One Bowl: Michigan vs. Florida 6 p.m. 2005 Rose Bowl: Texas vs. Michigan 8 p.m. 2006 Orange Bowl: Penn State vs. Florida State Wed, Dec 16 Noon 2000 Citrus Bowl: Michigan vs. Florida 1 p.m. 1998 Alamo Bowl: Kansas State vs. Purdue 3 p.m. 1983 Sugar Bowl: Penn State vs. Georgia 5 p.m. 1982 Sugar Bowl: Pittsburgh vs. Georgia 7 p.m. 2001 GMAC Bowl: Marshall vs. East Carolina Thu, Dec 17 Noon 1980 Holiday Bowl: BYU vs. SMU 2 p.m. 1997 Rose Bowl: Arizona St vs. Ohio State 4 p.m. 2000 Orange Bowl: Michigan vs. Alabama 6 p.m. 2005 Capital One Bowl: LSU vs. Iowa 8 p.m. 1984 Orange Bowl: Miami vs. Nebraska Fri, Dec 18 Noon 2001 Holiday Bowl: Washington vs. Texas 3 p.m. 1979 Cotton Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Houston 5 p.m. 1979 Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Penn State 7 p.m. 2003 Fiesta Bowl: Ohio St vs. Miami Sat, Dec 19 1 p.m. 2006 Rose Bowl: Texas vs. USC
So ESPN will have plenty of college football leading up to the BCS National Championship Game which will be on ABC.
