In its increased commitment to the NCAA, the ESPN Family of Networks will have extensive coverage of the NCAA Division I Softball Championship including every game of the Women’s College World Series.
There will be coverage of up to 62 games from the regionals to the Super Regional games, all the way to the Women’s College World Series held again at Oklahoma City, OK. This will be the 12th year that the ESPN Family will carry all of the games of the WCWS.
Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza will be the main team for the Softball Championship and they’ll be assigned to the Louisville, KY Super Regional and then go to the Women’s College World Series.
The whole enchilada begins this Friday with coverage of eight games on ESPN2, ESPN3 and the Longhorn Network (that’s right) and continuing throughout the weekend.
Here’s the ESPN press release.
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. 8 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
(Schedule subject to change)
Date Time (ET) Matchup (location) Regional Game Network Friday, May 18 4:30 p.m. Kentucky vs. Michigan
(Louisville, KY)
Beth Mowins and Jessica MendozaGame1 ESPN2/ESPN3 5 p.m. Texas State vs. LSU
(College Station, TX)
Cara Capuano and Cheri KempfGame 1 ESPN3 5 p.m. Northwestern vs. No. 6 Texas (Austin, TX)
TBDGame 2 Longhorn Network 5:30 p.m. Notre Dame vs. Hawaii
(Tucson, AZ)
Pam Ward and Michele SmithGame 1 ESPNU/ESPN3 7 p.m. Valparaiso vs. No. 15 Louisville
(Louisville, KY)
Beth Mowins and Jessica MendozaGame 2 ESPN2/ESPN3 8 p.m. Bethune-Cookman vs. No. 8 Texas A&M
(College Station, TX)
Cara Capuano and Cheri KempfGame 2 ESPN3 8 p.m. North Dakota State vs. No. 13 Arizona
(Tucson, AZ)
Pam Ward and Michele SmithGame 2 ESPNU/ESPN3 Saturday, May 19 1 p.m. Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
(Louisville, KY)
Beth Mowins and Jessica MendozaGame 3 ESPN/ESPN3 2 p.m. Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
(College Station, TX)Game 3 ESPN3 3:30 p.m. Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
(Louisville, KY)
Beth Mowins and Jessica MendozaGame 4 ESPN/ESPN3 5 p.m. Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
(College Station, TX)
Cara Capuano and Cheri KempfGame 4 ESPN3 6 p.m. Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser
(Louisville, KY)
Beth Mowins and Jessica MendozaGame 5 ESPN/ESPN3 6 p.m. Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
(Tucson, AZ)
Pam Ward and Michele SmithGame 3 ESPNU/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 SmithGame 4 ESPNU/ESPN3 11 p.m. Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser
(Tucson, AZ)
Pam Ward and Michele SmithGame 5 ESPNU/ESPN3 Sunday, May 20 1 p.m. Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner
(Louisville, KY)
Beth Mowins and Jessica MendozaGame 6 ESPN2/ESPN3 2 p.m. Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner
(College Station, TX)
Cara Capuano and Cheri KempfGame 6 ESPN3 3:30 p.m. Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser
(Louisville, KY)*
Beth Mowins and Jessica MendozaGame 7 ESPN2/ESPN3 4:30 p.m. Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser
(College Station, TX)*
Cara Capuano and Cheri KempfGame 7 ESPN3 5:30 p.m. Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner
(Tucson, AZ)
Pam Ward and Michele SmithGame 6 ESPNU/ESPN3 8 p.m. Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser
(Tucson, AZ) *
Pam Ward and Michele SmithGame 7 ESPNU/ESPN3 NCAA Division I Softball Championship – Super Regionals
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, (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
That’s going to do it.