IRVINE, Calif. – A total of 24 Big West basketball games this season will be carried on ESPN3, commencing with opening night in men's regular season conference play and culminating with the women's tournament semifinals at Honda Center in March.
The package features 18 conference dates, including a minimum of 13 men's games and three women's games. Two additional ESPN3 matchups will not be determined until ESPNU makes "wildcard" selections approximately 3-4 weeks in advance of Jan. 16 and Feb. 1 game dates.
All games will originate from Southern California member institutions Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, UC Irvine and UC Riverside.
Through the Big West's new mobile production facility, each game will be produced by the Conference utilizing full ESPN production standards, including graphics, replay and on-air crew. It is the first fully operational mobile production unit of its kind that expands upon what ESPN Emerging Technology has already done at the institutional level.
Cal State Fullerton's Dedrique Taylor, will bring his Titans into battle against visiting Cal Poly on Thursday, Jan. 23, and Fullerton's game against Hawai'i on Saturday, Feb. 15, from Titan Gym will also be broadcast on ESPN3.
ESPN3 is ESPN's live multi-screen sports network accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Xbox, Apple TV and Roku. It is available in more than 85 million households nationwide at no additional cost to fans who receive their high speed internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated provider.
The Big West successfully rolled out its mobile production facility two weeks ago at the women's soccer tournament semifinals at Cal State Fullerton.
"The Big West's basketball presence on ESPN3 expands upon what is already offered through ESPN2 and ESPNU, giving fans opportunities all season long to watch their favorite team in action," said Big West Commissioner Dennis Farrell. "We anticipate our institutions will be able to use this endeavor as an additional avenue to promote and publicize their programs."
Currently, Cal State Fullerton has eight men's basketball games scheduled to be broadcast, starting with last Wednesday's game in Seattle, which was aired on ROOT Sports Northwest. In addition, Fullerton's game at USC on Tuesday will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network. Each of Fullerton's three games at the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy Tournament will be aired on the ESPN family of networks. Fullerton's contest against UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 25 will be aired on Fox Sports Prime Ticket from Titan Gym.