2015-16 BIG EAST National Television Schedule
NEW YORK – The BIG EAST Conference 2015-16 women’s basketball schedule, announced on Thursday, tips off Nov. 13-14 for all 10 teams. Conference play will begin on Dec. 29, with all teams playing at least one BIG EAST game prior to the New Year. FOX Sports 1 and 2 will air a total of 32 games including the quarterfinal, semifinal and championship games of the BIG EAST Tournament, set for March 5-8 on the campus of DePaul University in downtown Chicago.
In all, the 25 regular-season games carried by FS1 and FS2 is 10 more than in 2014-15. All 10 BIG EAST teams will appear on at least three nationally televised games during regular-season play across the FOX Sports family of networks, while an additional two games will be featured on CBS Sports Network.
For the first time since it launched in 2014, the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) will air all women’s basketball games during conference play that are not scheduled for a television broadcast. Select non-conference tilts will also be featured, more than doubling the BEDN broadcast total from a season ago, as at least 75 women’s basketball games are scheduled to air.
For the third consecutive year, FS1 and FS2 will provide coverage of the BIG EAST Tournament, with this season’s event moving to McGrath-Phillips Arena at DePaul. FS2 will air the quarterfinal round on March 6, with games set for 1, 3:30, 7 and 9:30 p.m. (ET). FS1 picks up the remainder of the tournament, with the semifinals on March 7 slated for 4 and 6:30 p.m., and the championship game set to tip off at 8 p.m. on March 8. The BIG EAST Digital Network will live stream both first round games on March 7, with tip times not yet determined.
The Conference is in the third year of its multi-year contract with FOX Sports, which has exclusive television rights to all BIG EAST competitions. Through its first two seasons as a 10-team league, four women’s basketball teams have earned NCAA Championship berths, including the first by Seton Hall (2015) in 20 years, and a Sweet 16 run by DePaul (2014). Nine teams have qualified for the WNIT since conference reconfiguration, with Villanova advancing to the quarterfinals this past season.
In 2014-15, four players combined for six All-America certificates, including Aliyyah Handford of St. John’s. Handford is one of three All-BIG EAST First Team selections from 2015 that will suit up once again this season, along with Villanova’s Caroline Coyer and 2014 BIG EAST Player of the Year Marissa Janning of Creighton.
Handford and Janning will square off in the first nationally televised league game of the season, set for Dec. 29 in Omaha, Neb. St. John’s and Creighton will tip off at 7 p.m. on FS2. The Bluejays have five regular-season games set for FS1 and FS2, while the Red Storm have five BIG EAST games set for the FOX Sports networks along with a non-conference tilt against 2015 NCAA Tournament qualifier South Florida on Nov. 29 in Queens, N.Y. St. John’s and Creighton will meet again on the final day of the regular season in a game which could have profound postseason implications. That Feb. 28 game will air on FS2 at 3 p.m.
The Red Storm have the first of two CBS Sports Network games on the BIG EAST schedule when they host DePaul on Jan. 3 at 5 p.m. The reigning champion Blue Demons will be featured in the second CBSSN game as well, when they host Villanova on Jan. 10 at 4 p.m.
DePaul, which has six games set for FS1 and FS2, make their national television debut against reigning NCAA champions Connecticut on Dec. 2, with a 7:30 p.m. tip slated for FS1. The Blue Demons will make their BIG EAST debut on FS2 on Jan. 5 in what will be a title game rematch with fellow 2014-15 co-regular-season champion Seton Hall. Both teams earned NCAA Championship berths in 2015, which marked the 13
th consecutive trip to the Big Dance for DePaul. Other notable national broadcasts for the Blue Demons include Jan. 31 against St. John’s (FS2) and a late-season date with Creighton (Feb. 21, FS1).
Coyer and Villanova make their FS2 debut on Jan. 24 when they host longtime foe Georgetown at 1 p.m. The Wildcats move to FS1 five days later when they travel to Creighton. In total, Villanova has five games slated for national broadcasts.
Seton Hall will get a chance to avenge its 2015 NCAA Tournament loss in its FS2 season debut when the Pirates host longtime rival Rutgers on Nov. 16. The battle of New Jersey continues for The Hall on FS2 three days later when fellow 2015 NCAA qualifier Princeton travels to South Orange. The Pirates, which had one of their most successful seasons in program history in 2014-15, have six games slated for the FOX Sports networks, including a Feb. 7 matchup on FS1 with nearby foe St. John’s.
In addition to a generous BIG EAST television slate, Butler, Marquette and Providence will also have non-league games to show on FS1 and FS2. The Bulldogs make their television debut against 2015 postseason qualifier TCU on Dec. 1 (7 p.m., FS2), followed by the Golden Eagles’ matchup on Dec. 3 against Oregon State (7 p.m., FS1). The Friars will host 2015 NCAA contender Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 12 in the first of three PC appearances on the FOX Sports family of networks.
BEDN is also scheduled to pick up a pair of intriguing non-conference tilts, beginning with Creighton’s season opener against Wichita State (Nov. 13) and Georgetown’s home opener against Virginia Tech (Nov. 18).
Xavier, which ranked ninth in 2015 among all Division I teams in win improvement following a 10-game bump from the previous season, has four games slated for national broadcasts. The Musketeers make their national television debut on Jan. 8 at Creighton on FS1 and will also have games against Providence (Feb. 5, FS1), Marquette (Feb. 14, FS2) and Villanova (Feb. 26, FS1) televised. Additionally, XU’s season opener against Evansville will be produced by the BIG EAST Digital Network and air on FOX Sports Ohio. The game is part of the inaugural “Lauren Hill Tipoff Classic” which will be followed by Mount St. Joseph versus Hiram in honor of the late Lauren Hill, an MSJ student who played for the Lions despite battling an inoperable brain tumor.