While Pac-12 Networks may not be on DirecTV, it still steams ahead with its schedule. Basketball season will be starting soon and the network has announced its play-by-play callers and analysts for inaugural year of broadcasts.
Familiar names to West Coasters fill the roster including Ted Robinson, Kevin Calabro, Roxy Bernstein and Paul Sunderland are among those to call the play-by-play.
Bill Walton, Don MacLean, Ernie Kent, Lenny Wilkens and Detlef Schrempf are among the analysts who will be on the basketball telecasts.
Overall, this is a strong lineup of announcers to call the games on Pac-12 Networks. Take a look at the press release below.
PAC-12 MEN’S BASKETBALL SET TO TIP OFF INAUGURAL SEASON ON PAC-12 NETWORKS
Bill Walton, Don MacLean, Ernie Kent, Lenny Wilkens & Detlef Schrempf Headline Analyst Team for Pac-12 Networks Live Game Telecasts
Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Media Day to be Held at Pac-12 Studios & Streamed Live on Pac-12.com Thursday, November 1 with ‘Pac-12 Media Day Special’ Airing on Networks at 9:00 PM PT
‘Pac-12 Networks 2012 Men’s Basketball Season Preview’ Show Debuts Wednesday, November 7 at 7:00 PM PTSAN FRANCISCO, CALIF., October 30, 2012 — Pac-12 Networks gets set to hit the hard court with its first season of men’s basketball game coverage that features 150 exciting live contests and dynamic analysis from legendary Pac-12 names. Live game action begins Friday, November 9 at 4:00 PM PT with five nonconference matchups and concludes with the first eight games of the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball tournament from its new home at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV.
For its coverage, Pac-12 Networks has assembled a talented group of voices to provide play-by-play and analysis for both live games and studio shows. Led by UCLA and NBA legend Bill Walton, Pac-12 Networks men’s broadcast team also includes:
Analyst Team:
Don MacLean
Former UCLA Bruin standout and all-time Pac-12 scoring leaderErnie Kent
Former University of Oregon head coach and Pac-10 Coach of the Year (2002)Lenny Wilkens
Hall of Fame player and coach; NBA Champion (1979) and Coach of the Year (1994)Detlef Schrempf
Former Washington Huskies forward and three-time NBA All-StarBrevin Knight
Former Stanford All-American and 12-year NBA veteranLamar Hurd
Former Oregon State guardDan Belluomini
Former University of San Francisco head men’s basketball coachJoe Cravens
Former University of Utah men’s basketball coachMatt Muehlebach
Former Arizona Wildcats guardChris Spatola
Former Army guard and Director of Basketball Operations for Duke men’s basketball
Play-by-play Team:
Kevin Calabro
Pac-12 Networks football play-by-play voice; Seattle radio personality and former voice of the Seattle SupersonicsTed Robinson
Pac-12 Networks football announcer; Two-time Emmy winner and current radio voice of the San Francisco 49ersRoxy Bernstein
Voice of Cal men’s basketball and former San Francisco radio personalityJB Long
Sports reporter and host with former assignments covering the MLB and Summer OlympicsRich Cellini
Seasoned play-by-play voice with previous assignments at CBS Sports Network, FOX Sports and ABC Sports covering college football and the NFLMark Rogondino
Pac-12 Networks lead men’s soccer announcer and current play-by-play voice for the Los Angeles GalaxyPaul Sunderland
Southern California sports personality covering the Lakers for FOX Sports Net; Also covering beach volleyball and the NBA for FSN and NBC SportsJim Watson
Multi-sport announcer with over 20 years of broadcasting experience covering the Pac-12 and professional sports for NBC, FOX Sports, ESPN3 and Universal Sports“With the incredible amount of talent Pac-12 men’s basketball is bringing to the court this season, there could not be a better time for Pac-12 Networks to showcase the tradition and strength of the conference’s 12 teams with an unprecedented amount of live coverage,” said Lydia Murphy-Stephans, Pac-12 Networks Executive Vice President and General Manager. “We’re thrilled to host the conference coaches and players in our new home to officially kick off the season, as well as introduce our all-star talent roster that includes Hall of Famers, Emmy winners and some of the best former players in the conference.”
Several of Pac-12 Networks’ men’s basketball on-air team will be on hand for Media Day, being held at Pac-12 Studios Thursday, November 1. Pac-12.com will offer live streaming of all the action including both player and coaches press conferences, while at 9:00 PM PT, MacLean, Kent and host Mike Yam put a bow on all the day’s events on the Pac-12 Media Day Special on Pac-12 Networks.
The Pac-12 Networks basketball schedule begins Friday, November 9 and over that first weekend will feature home openers for 11 Pac-12 teams. The unprecedented amount of exposure means that each school will be featured at least 11 times during the season and guarantees that every Pac-12 home game will be televised for the first time in Conference history. The schedule boasts 92 nonconference battles, including 11 contests featuring 2012 NCAA tournament-qualifying opponents. The conference season opens the first week in January with Utah at Arizona State, Stanford at UCLA, Utah at Arizona and Colorado at Arizona State.
With UCLA and Arizona bringing in top rated recruiting classes and several prominent starters returning from all 12 schools, including Allen Crabbe (California), Solomon Hill (Arizona), Brock Motum (Washington State) and Andre Roberson (Colorado), the race for the Pac-12 title figures to come down to the wire, as it did a year ago. The Pac-12 featured seven teams with 20-or-more wins and seven others with 10-or-more conference wins. Washington edged Cal for the regular season title before Colorado claimed the Pac-12 Tournament title in dramatic fashion.
Men’s hoops joins Pac-12 women’s basketball as the first programs to have postseason games televised live on Pac-12 Networks with the first eight games of the 2013 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament from its new home in Las Vegas, NV March 13-15. The Pac-12 Networks schedule also includes special neutral site regular season matchups with bay area teams San Francisco and Stanford squaring off at Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA November 9 at 8:00 PM PT, Buffalo vs. Washington State at Seattle’s Key Arena December 21 at 7:30 PM PT and Idaho State in a 3:00 PM PT contest versus the Cougars December 29 at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, WA.
That is all.
