All But One of URI Conference Games to be Carried on National Television
URI news release…
KINGSTON, R.I. — Seventeen of Rhode Island’s 18 Atlantic 10 contests during the 2016-17 season will air on national television, it was announced today by the league as part of its comprehensive schedule release.
Rhode Island will make a school-record seven regular season appearances on the ESPN networks, including four Friday night games as part of the league’s partnership with the Worldwide Leader in Sports. The first Friday night A-10 matchup will feature the Rams as they open play on Dec. 30 at Saint Louis which will air on ESPNU.
ESPN2 will air three additional Friday night A-10 games – Jan. 6 at Dayton and Feb. 3 at Davidson as well as the Friday, Feb. 10 matchup against Dayton at the Thomas M. Ryan Center. Rhody will also host VCU on Saturday, Feb. 25 with the time and network to be announced at a later date.
With both games at Mohegan Sun for the Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic on Nov. 19-20 airing on an ESPN network, Rhody’s total of seven regular season ESPN network appearances is a new record, breaking the previous record of six set last season. URI’s five ESPN games during A-10 play tie with Dayton for the most in the league in 2016-17. Over the past two seasons, Rhode Island has made 11 regular season appearances on ESPN. Between 2008-15, the Rams made 12 total regular season appearances on the Worldwide Leader.
The CBS Sports Network will also air six of URI’s A-10 matchups, beginning with the conference home opener vs. Saint Joseph’s on Jan. 3. Rhody will host La Salle on Jan. 12 and George Washington on Jan. 31 and the Rams’ games at Richmond on Jan. 25, at UMass on Feb. 7, and at La Salle on Feb. 21 will also air on CBSSN. For the third straight year, CBS Sports Network will also produce four A-10 dedicated episodes of its popular college basketball show, Inside College Basketball, branded A-10 Tip-Off, which will air prior to selected conference games.
The Rams will play on the NBC Sports Network four times during conference play, with back-to-back games on Jan. 15 at home vs. UMass and at Duquesne on Jan. 21. The Jan. 28 home matchup vs. St. Bonaventure and the road contest at George Mason on Feb. 18 will both air live on NBCSN. Every NBCSN Atlantic 10 broadcast will be a double, triple or quadruple-header.
The American Sports Network will carry Rhody’s final two A-10 games of the season – at Saint Joseph’s on March 1 and the regular season finale on March 4 at home against Davidson. A-10 games on ASN are regularly available in up to 60 million households nationwide via their 24/7 dedicated sports channel, dozens of Sinclair Broadcasting-owned stations, a national affiliate network of regional sports networks and via their digital platform.
CBS Sports, CBS Sports Network, NBCSN and ASN will combine to air every game of the 2017 Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship, held March 8-12 at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. with the championship final airing on CBS for the eighth straight year as part of the network’s Selection Sunday coverage.
