Wednesday, November 17, 2004

SPARTANBURG, SC (Nov. 17, 2004) -- The Southern Conference has announced its 2004-05 slate of men's and women's basketball games to be televised during the coming season.  Four networks, both national and regional, are scheduled to carry 51 games including a men's Game of the Week package on FSN South.  The schedule includes games on ESPN/ESPN2, FSN South, C-SET (Carolinas Sports Entertainment Television) and CSS (Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast).

ESPN and ESPN2 will also televise the February 19 Bracket Buster Saturday event that includes four SoCon teams this season.  East Tennessee State and the College of Charleston will host home Bracket Buster games while Chattanooga and Georgia Southern will play on the road.  The television plans for the Bracket Buster Saturday contests will not be known until early February.

ESPN2 has three games scheduled including the SoCon men's championship game on March 5 and a regular season match-up between defending North Division champion East Tennessee State at defending South Division co-champion Georgia Southern on Feb. 26.  ESPN 2 will also air a non-conference game when Davidson hosts Duke at the Charlotte Coliseum on Nov. 22.

The FSN South SoCon Game of the Week will feature a top conference match-up each Saturday in January and February with the exception of Feb. 19.  The Game of the Week package begins with the College of Charleston at East Tennessee State on Dec. 4.  FSN South will carry a total of 11 contests involving SoCon teams including non-conference games between UNC Greensboro and Duke on Nov. 27; East Tennessee State at Alabama on Dec. 1, and Auburn at the College of Charleston on Dec. 7.

"FSN South is pleased to expand our partnership with the Southern Conference, by providing a men's basketball game of the week package this season. Having a regular, weekly time slot should enable SoCon fans to make these games appointment viewing opportunities. SoCon basketball has a strong tradition, and our relationship with the conference is very important to our network," said Hunter Nickell, FSN South senior vice president and general manager.

FSN South reaches 10.6 million cable subscribers in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky. SoCon games on FSN South will also be simulcast on the new Fox College Sports (FCS) network, which is available in 40 million homes nationally on Comcast, Time Warner, Charter, Cox, Adelphia, Insight, Mediacom and other systems.

C-SET will carry 13 men's games including both SoCon Tournament semifinal games from the McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga on Friday, March 4.  C-SET will also carry six women's games including both March 4 women's semifinal games and the women's championship contest on March 5.  C-SET will carry 11 men's regular season games and six women's regular season contests.

"We are excited about our growing and maturing partnership with the Southern Conference," said Naomi Travers, Executive Vice President, C-SET. "We are a Carolinas ‘ network and our inaugural college basketball schedule reflects just that, by great regular-season and post-season coverage, with Southern Conference men's and women's match-ups as a major component."

ETSU head men's basketball coach Murry Bartow is also very excited to be part of the 2004-2005 television line-up:

"Television games help both our recruiting efforts and our ability for our fans to see us play.  Having both our team and the women televised on the same day will give our viewers a full day of ETSU basketball," Bartow said.

C-SET, with nearly 1 million subscribers, is a new regional sports network that launched in October and will air Charlotte Bobcats NBA games to viewers in North and South Carolina.  C-SET will air a number of conference and non-conference games.

Lady Bucs basketball will also be carried by C-SET.  ETSU head coach Karen Kemp is thrilled to be part of the television slate this season:

"We are very excited to be part of the televised double-header," Kemp said.  "This is a great opportunity for both of our team's as well as the Southern Conference to benefit from a wide spread audience."

CSS will carry 14 men's games and one women's games during the 2004-05 season.  CSS, which partners with ESPN Regional Television as a content provider, will carry six non-conference games and nine conference games.  The conference games on CSS are produced by individual member institutions.

"The Southern Conference is one of the premier Division I conferences in the nation, and we look forward to broadcasting 15 games featuring SoCon teams this season," said Mark Fuhrman, general manager of CSS.  "We welcome the opportunity to bring the excitement and energy of SoCon hoops to our viewers throughout the region."

CSS is a 24-hour regional sports network serving approximately 4.5 million cable subscribers across eleven southeastern states.  Launched in 1999, the network is a partnership between Comcast Corporation and Charter Communications and provides a comprehensive mix of live sports programming, sports news and in-depth sports analysis exclusively geared toward fans in the Southeast.  CSS is only available on cable.

"This is the most extensive television schedule that the Southern Conference has ever assembled," said Commissioner Danny Morrison.  "We are indeed fortunate to have such outstanding television partners who recognize the value of Southern Conference basketball.  This expanded schedule will allow our many fans to see a great selection of both men's and women's games throughout the season."

A complete listing of Southern Conference basketball games available on television this season follows:

2004 Southern Conference Basketball Television Schedule

ESPN2

Nov. 22         Davidson vs. Duke at Charlotte Coliseum                      7:00

Feb. 19         ESPN Bracket Busters Saturday                                    TBA

Feb. 26         East Tennessee State at Georgia Southern                   4:00

Mar. 5           Southern Conference Men's Championship                   8:00

FSN South (also carried nationally on Fox College Sports)

Nov. 27         UNC Greensboro at Duke                                                7:30

Dec. 1          East Tennessee State at Alabama                                  8:00

Dec. 4          College of Charleston at East Tennessee State             4:30

Dec. 7          Auburn at College of Charleston                                      7:00

Jan. 8           Furman at East Tennessee State                                   2:00

Jan. 15         College of Charleston at Davidson                                  2:00

Jan. 22         East Tennessee State at Chattanooga                           2:00

Jan. 29         Georgia Southern at College of Charleston                     2:00

Feb. 5           Elon at Chattanooga                                                        2:00

Feb. 12         Georgia Southern at Davidson                                        2:00

Feb. 26         Furman at Chattanooga                                                   2:00

C-SET (Carolinas Sports Entertainment Television)

Dec. 8          Charlotte at Davidson                                                      7:00

Dec. 16        UNC Wilmington at College of Charleston                      7:00

Dec. 18        Western Carolina at Iowa                                                8:00

Dec. 29        UNC Greensboro at Minnesota                                        8:00

Dec. 31        Elon at UNC Wilmington                                                  7:00

Jan. 15         The Citadel at Furman                                                     4:00

Jan. 31         UNC Greensboro at Elon                                                 7:00

Feb. 3           Western Carolina at College of Charleston                     7:00

Feb. 7           Davidson at Wofford                                                        7:00

Feb. 10         College of Charleston at The Citadel                               7:00

Feb. 22         Western Carolina at Appalachian State                          7:00

March 4        Southern Conference Tournament Men's Semifinal       6:00

March 4        Southern Conference Tournament Men's Semifinal       8:30

CSS (Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast)

Nov. 27         Chattanooga at Ohio State                                              8:00

Dec. 5          Chattanooga at Tennessee                                             2:00

Dec. 5          Wofford at Auburn                                                            4:00

Dec. 19        Wofford at Georgia                                                          3:00

Dec. 22        Appalachian State at Vanderbilt                                       9:00  

Jan. 2           Furman at Indiana                                                            2:00

Jan. 10         College of Charleston at Georgia Southern*                   7:00

Jan. 17         Furman at College of Charleston*                                   7:00

Jan. 24         UNC Greensboro at College of Charleston*                    7:00

Feb. 7           College of Charleston at Chattanooga*                           7:00

Feb. 12         Wofford at Furman^                                                         4:00

Feb. 14         Davidson at College of Charleston*                                7:00

Feb. 23         College of Charleston at Furman*                                   7:00

Feb. 26         The Citadel at College of Charleston*                             6:00

* College of Charleston production • ^ Furman production

Other Telecasts

Nov. 24         Appalachian State at Virginia                                           8:00   Comcast

Dec. 19        Georgia Southern at Florida                                             1:00   Sunshine

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

C-SET (Carolinas Sports Entertainment Television)

Jan. 8           Davidson at East Tennessee State                                 7:00   C-SET

Jan. 15         Elon at Davidson                                                              7:00   C-SET

Feb. 5           Western Carolina at Chattanooga                                   7:00   C-SET

March 4        Southern Conference Tournament Women's Semifinal 12:00  C-SET

March 4        Southern Conference Tournament Women's Semifinal 2:30   C-SET

Mar. 5           Southern Conference Women's Championship             4:00   C-SET

Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast

Feb. 12         College of Charleston at Furman^                                   1:30   CSS (tape delayed at 6 pm)