Schedule: Seven Conference Championship Games Highlight Regular Season’s Final Week
College GameDay Returns to Big Ten Championship in Indy
SEC Network Expands On-Site Coverage of SEC Football Championship Coverage
Sunday, Dec. 6: Full Day of ESPN Coverage Dedicated to Final College Football Playoff Rankings and Bowl Selection
FCS Playoff Second Round Matchups
Air Force Reserve Joins Inaugural Celebration Bowl as Title Sponsor
ESPN Week 13 Ratings: Ohio State at Michigan: Highest-Rated and Most-Watched College Football Game of Week 13, across All Networks
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Schedule: Seven Conference Championship Games Highlight Regular Season’s Final Week
contact: Derek.Volner@ESPN.com
This weekend, ESPN/ABC will televise seven conference championship games and the Big 12 matchup featuring Texas at No. 12 Baylor, while ESPN3 will carry five Sun Belt games, as the 2015 college football regular season wraps up and heads into the bowl season.
On Saturday, Dec. 5, the Dr Pepper ACC Championship Game featuring No. 10 North Carolina vs. No. 1 Clemson (8 p.m. ET) will air on ABC with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Heather Cox and Tom Rinaldi on the call from Charlotte, N.C. The Pac-12 Championship Game presented by Dr Pepper featuring No. 20 USC vs. No. 7 Stanford (7:45 p.m.) will air on ESPN with Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge, and Holly Rowe calling the action from Santa Clara, Calif. ESPN Radio will broadcast both games.
The American (ABC at noon), Conference USA (ESPN2 at noon), SWAC (ESPNU at 4 p.m.) and Sports Authority Mountain West (ESPN2 at 7:30 p.m.) Championship Games will also be televised on Saturday, Dec. 5. The Marathon MAC Football Championship (ESPN2 at 8 p.m.) will air on Friday, Dec. 4.
Full Schedule: http://es.pn/1MRwoNe
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College GameDay Returns to Big Ten Championship in Indy
contact: Rachel.M.Siegal@espn.com
ESPN College GameDay Built by The Home Depot – college football’s longest running and most celebrated pregame show – will make its second appearance from Pan Am Plaza in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship on Saturday, Dec. 6. The Emmy Award-winning show – 9 a.m.-noon on ESPN – is in advance of title matchup, No. 5 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Iowa, likely with a slot in the College Football Playoffs at stake.
Full Release: http://es.pn/1YNVnGL
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SEC Network Expands On-Site Coverage of SEC Football Championship Coverage
contact: Gracie.Blackburn@espn.com
The SEC Network caps off its second year of regular season college football by expanding on-site coverage of the 2015 SEC Football Championship Game: Florida vs. Alabama with multiple set locations, three live shows on-site and the nation’s leading experts on the matchup.
For the first time, SEC Now, SEC Network’s flagship news and information show, joins with live coverage from Atlanta. The Paul Finebaum Show and SEC Nation return, utilizing a set in SEC Dr Pepper FanFare and on the Georgia Dome sidelines.
The network will deliver special guests, extensive previews and a desk of experts that includes former quarterbacks for both teams playing in this year’s matchup. SEC Network analysts Tim Tebow (Florida) and Greg McElroy (Alabama) played against each other as starting quarterbacks in the 2009 SEC Championship game. McElroy led the team to an undefeated season, an SEC Championship and BCS National Championship title that year. They were both on their respective teams in 2008 when Florida beat Alabama with Tebow as the starter. He went on to win the Heisman Trophy and the BCS National Championship shortly after.
In addition to Tebow and McElroy on SEC Nation, SEC Now’s desk includes former Florida wide receiver Chris Doering. Doering won three SEC Championships (1993, 94, 95), two of which were against Alabama (1993, 94).
The network rounds out its SEC Championship panel of experts with a special guest analyst, Missouri’s former head football coach Gary Pinkel. His team played in two SEC Championships (2013, 14), including one against Alabama in 2014. Commentators* on SEC Network’s 2015 coverage have 13 SEC Championship game appearances between them.
In addition to SEC Network’s extensive coverage, ESPN Radio will have two shows on-site, live from Atlanta (more details).
Full Release: http://es.pn/1Oxcs4S
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Sunday, Dec. 6: Full Day of ESPN Coverage Dedicated to Final College Football Playoff Rankings and Bowl Selection
contact: Rachel.M.Siegal@espn.com
The College Football Playoff Selection Day presented by AT&T – airing Sunday, Dec. 6, from noon-4 p.m. ET – will feature the announcement of the teams participating in the two Playoff Semifinals – the Capital One Orange Bowl and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl – at approximately 12:30 p.m., as well as extensive analysis and discussion. Additionally, teams selected for the other four New Year’s Six bowls (Allstate Sugar Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual, Fiesta Bowl) and the final Top 25 rankings will be announced close to 3 p.m.
ESPN’s Rece Davis will host the four-hour show with analysts Joey Galloway, Kirk Herbstreit, Danny Kanell and David Pollack all live from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., studios. Davis will conduct his weekly interview with College Football Playoff Committee Chair Jeff Long, who will appear twice around 12:40 p.m. and 3:10 p.m.
The discussion and analysis will continue on ESPN from 8:30-11 p.m. with Championship Drive: Who’s In featuring host Adnan Virk, along with analysts Mack Brown, Brad Edwards, Mark May and Robert Smith.
Date
Time (ET)
Show / Commentators
Network
Sun, Dec 1
8 a.m.-Noon
CFB Sunday: Championship Drive Special
Matt Schick, Kevin Carter, Jason Sehorn
ESPNU
Noon-4 p.m.
College Football Playoff Selection Day
Rece Davis, Joey Galloway, Kirk Herbstreit, Danny Kanell, David Pollack
ESPN
4-6 p.m.
Championship Drive: Bowl Selection Special
Brendan Fitzgerald, Tom Luginbill, Charles Arbuckle
ESPNU
6-8 p.m.
SEC Now: Bowl Special
Dari Nowkhah, Peter Burns with Paul Finebaum, Greg McElroy, Booger McFarland, Marcus Spears
SEC Network
8:30-11 p.m.
Championship Drive: Who’s In
Adnan Virk, Mack Brown, Brad Edwards, Mark May, Robert Smith
ESPN
Full Release: http://es.pn/1NsK9zg
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FCS Second Round Matchups
contact: Derek.Volner@ESPN.com
The FCS Playoff second round will be played on Saturday, Dec. 5, and ESPN3 will carry each of the eight games. The eight-seeded teams, including No. 1 Jacksonville State, will play their first post season game. A complete schedule:
Date
Time (ET)
Game
Network
Link
Sat, Dec. 5
Noon
William & Mary at No. 7 Richmond
Roy Philpott, Al Groh
ESPN3
http://es.pn/1Su80mH
1 p.m.
The Citadel at No. 8 Charleston Southern
Bob Picozzi, Tom O’Brien
ESPN3
http://es.pn/1PYh5Go
Colgate at No. 5 James Madison
Doug Sherman, Matt Chatham
ESPN3
http://es.pn/1RjcNc3
2 p.m.
Chattanooga at No. 1 Jacksonville State
Jim Barber, Pete Najarian
ESPN3
http://es.pn/1jx5vUh
Western Illinois at No. 2 Illinois State
Michael Reghi, Dustin Fox
ESPN3
http://es.pn/1Ti2B1V
3:30 p.m.
Montana at No. 3 North Dakota State
Trey Bender, Jay Taylor
ESPN3
http://es.pn/1PrrLgV
7 p.m.
Sam Houston State at No. 4 McNeese State
Alex Faust, Chad Brown
ESPN3
http://es.pn/1MTLhik
10 p.m.
UNI at No. 6 Portland State
Shawn Kenney, Forrest Conoly
ESPN3
http://es.pn/1Otko7b
Full Release: http://es.pn/1SwWEhy
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Air Force Reserve Joins Inaugural Celebration Bowl as Title Sponsor
contact: Rachel.M.Siegal@espn.com
Air Force Reserve will join the new Celebration Bowl as title sponsor of the game that will open the college football bowl season. The Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl will feature the tradition, legacy and pageantry of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and will crown an HBCU football champion as the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) square off against the champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) on ABC at noon on Saturday, Dec. 19, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
“We are very excited to be the title sponsor of the inaugural Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl,” said Col. Christopher Nick, the Air Force Reserve’s Recruiting Service commander. “We feel that spotlighting the top teams from the Historically Black Colleges and Universities aligns well with the Air Force Reserve’s commitment to diversity. We hope that the players, attendees and viewers will gain greater awareness about Air Force Reserve opportunities to serve part-time in the military while living in their local communities.”
“As we continue to build toward creating a pinnacle event when the inaugural Celebration Bowl kicks off on December 19, it is exciting to have the Air Force Reserve join us as our title sponsor,” said John Grant, Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl executive director. “This game being the first kickoff on the first day of the college bowl season is a tremendous opportunity, made all the more exceptional with such a valued sponsor and representative of the United States Armed Forces.”
Full Release: http://es.pn/1QkAno2
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Ohio State at Michigan: Highest-Rated and Most-Watched College Football Game of Week 13, across All Networks
contact: Derek.Volner@ESPN.com
Then-No.8 Ohio State at No. 10 Michigan (noon ET on ABC) earned a 6.4 HH rating resulting in 10,830,000 viewers, the highest-rated and most-watched college football game of week 13 across all networks. Additionally, ‘The Game’ is tied for the second highest-rated and is the third most-watched college football game of the season, both across all networks.
Additional Buckeyes-Wolverines Superlatives
ABC’s most-watched noon game in more than 18 years (Nov. 22, 1997), a game which also featured the same two teams.
Third most-watched Buckeyes-Wolverines matchup on ABC on record – notably surpassing the 2002 matchup (Ohio State’s BCS National Championship season), but trailing the 2006 and 1997 matchups.
Up 32% in viewership from last year’s matchup (Ohio State’s College Football Playoff National Championship season) between the two teams (Nov. 29, 2014, at noon on ABC).
On WatchESPN, it was the most-streamed game of Week 13, adding 118,000 average minute impressions to the TV audience and a total of 455,000 unique viewers resulting in 25,000,000 minutes watched.
*All ABC records date back to 1991
Full Release: http://es.pn/1N10Y7s
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