ESPN Unveils Commentators for 2015-16 Women’s College Basketball Season

ESPN will once again air a slate of women’s college basketball games, overall 137 games across its family of networks including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, online at ESPN3, Longhorn Network and SEC Network.

Dave O’Brien and Doris Burke will be the main team as they’ll call the NCAA Women’s Final Four. Beth Mowins and Stephanie White will be assigned to several marquee games including some Big Monday games on ESPN2. Pam Ward and Carolyn Peck will team to call games on both ESPN2 and SEC Network.

Joining the SEC Network as analysts will be former Georgia coach Andy Landers and former Tennessee star Candace Parker.

Here’s the announcement:

Experienced Core of Commentators Return to ESPN’s Women’s College Basketball Lineup

Former All-American Parker & Ogwumike to Join Network for Select Games and Studio Appearances

An experienced and dedicated lineup of women’s college basketball announcers return to ESPN’s 2015-16 women’s college basketball coverage – a record-high 137 games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, SEC Network and Longhorn Network.

Highlights

  • Dave O’Brien and Doris Burke – ESPN’s Final Four announcing team – will reunite for several top games, beginning with the UConn-Notre Dame Jimmy V Women’s Classic tilt on Saturday, Dec. 5.
  • Host Kevin Negandhi will join analysts Kara Lawson and Rebecca Lobo for numerous top regular-season games from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., studios.
  • Beth Mowins, the network’s multi-sport play-by-play voice, will pair with Stephanie White for several marquee games, in addition to ESPN’s Big Monday series, beginning in January 18.
  • Veteran analyst Carolyn Peck and play-by-play commentator Pam Ward will again be pulling double-duty this season, calling games across all ESPN networks, with the majority on ESPN2 and SEC Network.
  • Former Stanford All-American Chiney Ogwumike will appear as an analyst on select games and also in studio.
  • SEC Network will air more than 70 games in its second season, and welcomes new analysts longtime Georgia head coach Andy Landers and former Tennessee All-American and WNBA star Candace Parker.
    • The Network returns former head coaches Gail Goestenkors and Carol Ross to its lineup of analysts.
    • Also making appearances on the SEC Network will be analysts Debbie Antonelli and Steffi Sorenson, as well as play-by-play commentators Cara Capuano, Paul Sunderland and Brenda VanLengen.
  • Familiar names returning to the analyst chair are Sue Bird, LaChina Robinson, Katie Smith and Brooke Weisbrod.
  • Longhorn legends Fran Harris and Nell Fortner will call most of LHN’s 12 exclusive women’s games.

espnW.com

  • A comprehensive two-week season preview November 2-13 will include a preseason top-25 poll, preseason All-America teams, preseason Bracketology and a ranking of top 25 players in the nation.
  • Writers Mechelle Voepel, Graham Hays, Kate Fagan and Michelle Smith, as well as analyst Rebecca Lobo, will write in-depth profiles of some of the nation’s top teams, players and coaches throughout the season.
  • Prior to each Big Monday game, espnW.com will offer an updated Bracketology segment from Charlie Creme and a game preview for that night’s matchup, as well as postgame coverage with video analysis.
  • For the fourth consecutive season, espnW will name a national player of the week each Monday.

2015-16 ESPN Networks Women’s Basketball Announcer Assignments (subject to change)

Date Time (ET) Matchup Network
Sat, Nov. 14 8 p.m. UT San Antonio at Texas
Fran Harris, Nell Fortner
Longhorn Network
Sun, Nov 15 8 p.m. Louisiana-Lafayette at Ole Miss
Paul Sunderland, Gail Goestenkors
SEC Network
Mon, Nov 16 5:30 p.m. Tip-Off Marathon: UConn at Ohio State
Beth Mowins, Stephanie White
ESPN2
Florida State at Florida
Brenda VanLengen, Carol Ross
SEC Network
Wed, Nov 18 Noon Northwestern State at Texas
Fran Harris, Nell Fortner
Longhorn Network
  8 p.m. Penn State at Tennessee
Cara Capuano, Carolyn Peck, Steffi Sorensen
SEC Network
Thu, Nov 19 7 p.m. Virginia at Auburn
Cara Capuano, Steffi Sorensen
SEC Network
Sun, Nov 22 4 p.m. Georgia Tech at Georgia
Pam Ward, Gail Goestenkors
SEC Network
  8 p.m. Wake Forest at Missouri
Brenda VanLengen, Carol Ross
SEC Network
Wed, Nov 25 8 p.m. Hampton at Texas
Fran Harris, Nell Fortner
Longhorn Network
Sun, Nov 29 2:30 p.m. Feast Week: Texas at Tennessee
TBD, Carolyn Peck
ESPN
Mon, Nov 30 9 p.m. Air Force at Vanderbilt
Brenda VanLengen, Carol Ross
SEC Network
Wed, Dec 2 8 p.m. Mississippi State at Texas
Fran Harris, Nell Fortner
Longhorn Network
Thu, Dec 3 7 p.m. Louisville at Michigan State
Pam Ward, Rebecca Lobo
ESPN2
Sat, Dec 5 5:15 p.m. Jimmy V Women’s Classic: Notre Dame at UConn
Dave O’Brien, Doris Burke
ESPN2
Sun, Dec 6 2 p.m. Duke at South Carolina ESPN2
  Virginia Tech at Tennessee
Cara Capuano, TBD
SEC Network
  4 p.m. Michigan at Princeton ESPN2
Mon, Dec 7 Noon SMU at Texas A&M
Brenda VanLengen, Carol Ross
SEC Network
Thu, Dec 10 7 p.m. Louisville at Kentucky
Brenda VanLengen, Carolyn Peck, Steffi Sorensen
SEC Network
  9 p.m. Oral Roberts at Arkansas

Jenn Hildreth, Gail Goestenkors

SEC Network
Fri, Dec 11 6 p.m. Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Holiday Showcase: Florida State vs. UConn (Uncasville, Conn.)
TBD, Rebecca Lobo
ESPN2
Sat, Dec 12 1 p.m. Georgetown at Alabama
Jenn Hildreth, TBD
SEC Network
  3 p.m. DePaul at Texas A&M
Roy Philpott, Gail Goestenkors
SEC Network
Sun, Dec 13 1 p.m. Stanford at Texas ESPN
  2 p.m. Winthrop at South Carolina SEC Network
  4 p.m. UC Santa Barbara at LSU SEC Network
Wed, Dec 16 8 p.m. Canisius at Texas
Fran Harris, Nell Fortner
Longhorn Network
  9 p.m. Holiday Hoops presented by Kay Jewelers: Tennessee at Stanford ESPNU
Sun, Dec 20 7 p.m. Duke at Kentucky SEC Network
Mon, Dec 21 5 p.m. Holiday Hoops: Florida State at Arizona State ESPNU
Tue, Dec 22 1 p.m. Little-Rock Arkansas at Texas A&M SEC Network
Sun, Dec 27 3 p.m. Sam Houston State at Texas
Fran Harris, Nell Fortner
Longhorn Network
Mon, Dec 28 7 p.m. Tennessee State at Kentucky SEC Network
  8:30 p.m. Maggie Dixon Classic: Maryland vs. UConn (New York City) ESPN2
Wed, Dec 30 4:30 p.m. American/SEC Challenge: USF vs. Mississippi State (Jacksonville, Fla.) SEC Network
  7 p.m. American/SEC Challenge: UCF vs. Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.) SEC Network

And that concludes our college basketball posts for today.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013. He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television. Fang celebrates the three Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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