With the 2015-16 women’s basketball season fast approaching, the NCAA and ESPN are hosting a Women’s Basketball Media Day that will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 3, on the ESPN campus in Bristol, Conn.
Participants in the event include the 2015 Women’s Final Four head coaches Geno Auriemma of UConn, Muffet McGraw of Notre Dame, Dawn Staley of South Carolina and Brenda Frese of Maryland. They will be joined by a “Starting Five” of the top student-athletes for the coming season in Nina Davis, Baylor; Diamond DeShields, Tennessee; Moriah Jefferson, UConn; Tiffany Mitchell, South Carolina and Breanna Stewart, UConn.
“NCAA women’s basketball is celebrating its 35th anniversary and this event will help establish momentum for what should be a great year ahead,” said Anucha Browne, NCAA vice president for women’s basketball championships. “We continue to appreciate ESPN’s partnership in growing women’s basketball over the last 20-plus years and are excited to celebrate our student-athletes and teams as another season gets set to tipoff.”
Women’s Basketball Media Day will include coach and student-athlete appearances on a number of ESPN shows throughout day on Nov. 3, including SportsCenter, Mike & Mike, His & Hers, First Take and SEC Now. Additional content, including stories and video interviews will be available on espnW. ESPN The Magazine will be conducting interviews. NCAA media and social media outlets will also produce original content.
In addition to exposure on the numerous ESPN platforms, additional breakout interviews with the participants will be conducted by national/regional media agencies that will also be in attendance at ESPN’s headquarters in Connecticut for the event.
ESPN’s 2015-16 women’s college basketball regular-season schedule includes 137 games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network and Longhorn Network – topping the number of games previously aired on ESPN networks.
ESPN2’s women’s basketball schedule opens with the annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon on Monday, Nov. 16, showcasing three-time defending national champion and No. 1 ranked UConn at No. 13 Ohio State at 5:30 p.m. ET – the first of 10 games tipping off about every two hours before programming switches over to ESPN.
The exclusive live announcement of the 64-team NCAA tournament field will be unveiled on Selection Monday, March 14, at 7 p.m., with ESPNU offering a bonus hour of coverage on the NCAA Women’s’ Basketball Selection Special Extended Coverage at 8 p.m.
All 63 games of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship will air on ESPN networks for the 11th consecutive year. ESPN and ESPN2 will present regionalized telecasts with home market protection through the first two rounds. ESPN3 and ESPN College Extra will offer first- and second-round games in their entirety as a supplement to ESPN and ESPN2’s coverage. The final 15 games, beginning with the Regional Semifinals, will have national telecast windows on ESPN or ESPN2.
The Women's Final Four in 2016 will mark the 35th year of the championship. For the first time, national championships for all three divisions of NCAA women's basketball will take place in the same city. The national semifinal games will be played Sunday, April 3 at 7 and 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Division II and III national championship games will take place on Monday, April 4 (game times TBD). The national championship game will take place Tuesday, April 5 at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. All games will be played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
