Northeast Conference Announces 2010-11 Basketball Television Package 22 Games on the Slate, Including Four Postseason Contests
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Northeast Conference 399 Campus Drive • 1st Floor • Somerset, NJ 08873 (732) 469-0440 • Fax (732) 469-0744 • www.northeastconference.org For Immediate Release November 8, 2010 Northeast Conference Announces 2010-11 Basketball Television Package 22 Games on the Slate, Including Four Postseason Contests Somerset, NJ -- The Northeast Conference (NEC) announced its 2010-11 basketball television package this afternoon, a lineup that will feature 20 regionally produced games and two national postseason broadcasts on the ESPN family of networks. Regional broadcast partners for the upcoming year include flagship station Madison Square Garden Network (MSG), along with FSN-Pittsburgh, Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), Fox College Sports (FCS), Cox Sports and Connecticut Sports Network (CTSN). The 2010-11 package includes eight prime time contests and four NEC Tournament games. In total, the league will air 17 men’s games and five women’s contests, including four as part of men/women doubleheaders. For the first time, both NEC men’s semifinal playoff games will be broadcast live. “We are very excited to present this extensive television package for the Northeast Conference men's and women's basketball programs and fans,” said Noreen Morris, NEC Commissioner. “With 22 games and a total of 60 exposures, our regional partners have continued to provide tremendous support for our programs. This year's slate includes 18 regular season games, including a rematch of the 2010 NEC men's basketball championship between Quinnipiac and Robert Morris, as well as a number of local rivalries that always prove to be competitive and thrilling matchups. With each institution receiving at least two television games in addition to the four NEC Championship contests, this package provides a great forum to celebrate basketball within the Northeast Conference.” MSG/MSG+ plan to televise 16 games this season beginning on January 8th as Saint Francis (PA) visits new look Wagner in Staten Island, NY. Additionally, the NEC will once again partner with Fox College Sports to air 20 games on its regional channels, available to approximately 56 million digital cable homes nationwide. NEC Rivalry Week will be prominently featured within the package with seven games airing in six days from February 9-February 14. Rivalry Week tips off on February 9th as Central Connecticut State hosts Bryant on MSG. On February 12th, an MSG Network doubleheader features the annual Battle of Brooklyn (Long Island at St. Francis (NY)) and the Garden State Rivalry Series (Monmouth at Fairleigh Dickinson). That same day, FSN-Pittsburgh airs a doubleheader pitting Western Pennsylvania rivals Robert Morris and Saint Francis (PA) in Loretto. Rivalry Week concludes on February 14th with a Constitution State doubleheader as Quinnipiac visits Sacred Heart on MSG. FSN-Pittsburgh is slated to broadcast five games involving Robert Morris and Saint Francis (PA), Cox Cable in Connecticut and Rhode Island will air four games featuring CCSU and Bryant, MASN will pick up a pair of Mount St. Mary’s games and CTSN is set to air the Sacred Heart-Mount St. Mary’s men’s tilt on January 20th. The NEC participation in ESPN’s Full Court package includes four games on tap, including both ends of the aforementioned Robert Morris-Saint Francis (PA) doubleheader during Rivalry Week. All Full Court games will air simultaneously on ESPN3, the network’s broadband network for sports programming. On Sunday, March 6, both MSG and FCS will televise the first NEC Tournament men’s semifinal game at noon. FCS carries the second semifinal at 2:00 pm. Additional regional networks may also broadcast the semifinals pending the matchups. As part of the network’s Championship Week coverage, the NEC men's title game runs live on ESPN2 for the 24th straight year on Wednesday, March 9 at 7:00 pm. For the fourth year in a row, ESPNU airs the NEC Women’s Championship game on Sunday, March 13th at 3:00 pm. (1-of-2; Northeast Conference 2010-11 Basketball Television Release) Bryant University (2012-13) • Central Connecticut State University • Fairleigh Dickinson University Long Island University • Monmouth University • Mount St. Mary’s University • Quinnipiac University Robert Morris University • Sacred Heart University • St. Francis (NY) College Saint Francis (PA) University • Wagner College Now in his 11th season, Dave Popkin will serve as the primary play-by-play announcer on men’s broadcasts, with Paul Dottino (12th year) and Matt Harmon (second year) filling in. Tim Capstraw (12th year), Terry O’Connor (ninth year) and Joe DeSantis (fourth year) will split color analyst duties. Dottino is set to handle sideline duties during men’s games and once again serve as the play-by-play voice of women’s telecasts. Second-year NEC announcer Tara Petrolino, along with Pam Roecker, now in her ninth season, will serve as analysts for women’s broadcasts. Making their announcing debuts this year will be Joey Wahler (play-by-play) and John Schmeelk (sideline). Eric Singer is the Producer of NEC basketball telecasts. About The Northeast Conference Now celebrating its 30th Anniversary season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 12 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 23 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic or play-in access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island, Mon- mouth, Mount St. Mary's, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis (NY), Saint Francis (PA) and Wagner. Bryant will become the NEC’s 12th member upon completion of the NCAA Division I reclassification process in 2012. For more information on the NEC, visit www.northeastconference.org. Northeast Conference 2010-11 Basketball Television Schedule Day/Date Opponents Time Carrier Saturday, January 8 Saint Francis (PA) at Wagner 7:00 pm MSG+, FCS, FSN-Pitt (TD-10:00 pm) Thursday, January 20 Sacred Heart at Mount St. Mary's 7:00 pm MASN, FCS, CTSN, ESPN3, ESPN FC Thursday, January 27 Robert Morris at Quinnipiac 7:00 pm MSG, FCS, FSN-Pitt Saturday, January 29 LIU at Monmouth (women) 11:30 am MSG, FCS LIU at Monmouth (men) 2:00 pm MSG, FCS NEC Rivalry Week (February 9-14) Wednesday, February 9 Bryant at CCSU 7:00 pm MSG+, FCS, Cox (TD-9:00 pm) Saturday, February 12 LIU at St. Francis (NY) 12:00 pm MSG, FCS Monmouth at FDU 2:00 pm MSG, FCS Robert Morris at Saint Francis (PA) (women) 6:00 pm FSN-Pitt, FCS, ESPN3, ESPN FC Robert Morris at Saint Francis (PA) (men) 8:30 pm FSN-Pitt, FCS, ESPN3, ESPN FC Monday, February 14 Quinnipiac at Sacred Heart (women) 5:00 pm MSG, FCS Quinnipiac at Sacred Heart (men) 7:30 pm MSG, FCS Saturday, February 19 St. Francis (NY) at Wagner 12:00 pm MSG, FCS Sacred Heart at Bryant 2:00 pm MSG, FCS, Cox (TD-2/20 @12:00 pm) Thursday, February 24 Mount St. Mary's at Robert Morris 7:00 pm MSG, FCS, FSN-Pitt, MASN Saturday, February 26 CCSU at LIU (women) 11:30 am MSG, FCS, Cox (CT only) CCSU at LIU (men) 2:00 pm MSG, FCS, Cox (TD-8:00 pm) FDU at Quinnipiac 4:00 pm MSG, FCS Sunday, March 6 NEC Semifinal Game (men) 12:00 pm MSG, FCS NEC Semifinal Game (men) 2:00 pm FCS, ESPN3, ESPN FC Wednesday, March 9 NEC Men's Championship Game 7:00 pm ESPN2, ESPN3 Sunday, March 13 NEC Women's Championship Game 3:00 pm ESPNU, ESPN3 TD - Tape Delay Viewership Carrier Region Households MSG MSG Network Three states in NY metro area 11 million MASN Mid-Atlantic Sports Network MD, DE, VA and DC, plus portions of PA, WV and NC 6 million FSN-Pittsburgh Fox Sports Net-Pittsburgh Western PA, portions of WV, OH and MD 2.4 million CTSN Connecticut Sports Network Connecticut & Rhode Island 500,000 Cox Cox Sports Connecticut & Rhode Island 450,000 FCS Fox College Sports Digital cable systems (Atlantic, Central & Pacific feeds) 56 million ESPNU Nationwide 72 million ESPN2 Nationwide 99 million ESPN3 Nationwide Broadband 65 million ESPN FC ESPN Full Court Nationwide PPV Package (2-of-2; Northeast Conference 2010-11 Basketball Television Release).