CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A minimum of six games involving America East teams will air on the ESPN family of networks during the upcoming season with another 19 to be produced by the conference, in partnership with ESPN Regional Television, and broadcast on regional sports networks. Those 25 games highlight the 2009-10 America East television schedule, which will include more than 40 games on national, regional or local networks.
For the third consecutive year, ESPNU will broadcast a regular-season conference game when Boston University travels to Patrick Gym to take on Vermont on Sunday, January 17 at 2 p.m. in a matchup featuring two of the league favorites. Albany will appear on ESPNU twice during the regular season when it faces instate-rival Syracuse in the 2KSports Classic on the first day of the season (Nov. 9) and takes on defending national champion North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Dec. 30.
Binghamton and Hartford will battle national powers on ESPN2 during the regular season. The Bearcats face Big East power Pittsburgh in the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic on Nov. 17, while the Hawks travel to historic Rupp Arena for a matchup with Kentucky on Dec. 29.
Both America East Championship games will be aired live on Saturday, March 13. The men’s title bout will take place at 12 p.m. on ESPN2, marking the 23nd straight year the conference championship has been nationally televised. The women’s championship contest will be televised on Comcast Sports Net at 8 p.m. All four semifinal contests will be aired regionally on Sunday, March 7 from Hartford’s Chase Arena, site of the 2010 America East Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship.
During the regular season, America East, in partnership with ESPN Regional Television, will produce 14 games, which will be distributed among regional sports networks and local carriers. Eric Frede returns as the play-by-play announcer for America East basketball. Frank Sullivan, who coached in the ranks for 33 years, returns for his third season as men’s basketball color analyst. Leah Secondo, a veteran of America East television productions, is the color analyst for women’s basketball games.
The conference television slate begins Jan. 2 when Stony Brook battles Boston University on MSG and NESN at Case Gym, site of last year’s four-overtime thriller between the two schools. In women’s action, Vermont will host Hartford on Jan. 26 on NESN in a rematch of a 2009 semifinal game.
As result of a partnership with Pack Network, each of the conference-produced games will also be streamed and available for free at AmericaEast.tv, the league’s new home for live webcasts. First-round and quarterfinal action from the America East Men’s & Women’s Championship will also be aired on the new site.
America East will also produce four episodes of America East On Campus, a 30-minute magazine show devoted to showcasing the conference’s best and brightest student-athletes. The fifth-year show, which will air on regional sports networks including NESN beginning in January, is hosted by Frede, who produces the show along with his Cod Rock Media Productions partner, Dan Hannigan.