ESPNU will preview the college basketball season with on-site coverage from six conference media days, expanding to 9.5 hours over four days of ESPNU College Basketball Media Day Specials. In addition to featuring interviews and analysis from the ACC, American, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC, ESPNU’s Charlotte, N.C. studios will host all 15 ACC head coaches, mascots and two key players from each team.
Media Days on ESPNU tips off on Wed, Oct. 16 at 1 p.m., with the two winningest coaches of all time – Jim Boeheim and Mike Krzyzewski – in-studio. ESPNU host Dari Nowkhah will be joined by ESPN analysts Jay Bilas, Sean Farnham, Fran Fraschilla, Dino Gaudio and Jay Williams to discuss the season and interview coaches and players.
Bilas will host a roundtable discussion with ACC head coaches to discuss issues in the game, while players display their signature moves on the ESPNU basketball court with Williams and Farnham. Coaches will also plot X’s & O’s with the return of Coaches Clicker (similar to ESPNU Film Room). The best player shots, Coaches Clicker segments and reporter interviews will be compiled in one of two Katz’s Korner shows airing Friday, Oct. 18.
ESPNU College Basketball Media Day Specials continue on October 17, 22 and 31, from American, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC. ESPN will have Dan Dakich (Big Ten), Jimmy Dykes (SEC), Fran Fraschilla (Big 12), Bruce Pearl (American), Miles Simon (Pac-12), Tim Welsh (American) and Holly Rowe (Big 12) reporting from media day locations throughout the country. In addition to on-site interviews, ESPNU’s studio coverage will include previews of conferences, teams and top early season games.
ESPNU’s Media Days Coverage Plans:
| Date | Time (ET) | Programming (Conference Coverage/In-Studio Commentators) |
| Wed, Oct. 16 | 1 p.m. | ESPNU College Basketball Media Day Special (ACC) Dari Nowkhah with Jay Bilas, Sean Farnham, Fran Fraschilla, Dino Gaudio & Jay Williams |
| 6 p.m. | The Experts: ACC Coaches Roundtable Jay Bilas |
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| 6:30 p.m. | The Experts: ACC Coaches Roundtable Jay Bilas |
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| Thu, Oct. 17 | 2:30 p.m. | ESPNU College Basketball Media Days (American, Pac-12, SEC) Dari Nowkhah with Seth Greenberg & Andy Katz |
| 6 p.m. | The Experts: ACC Coaches Roundtable Jay Bilas |
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| Fri, Oct. 18 | 8 p.m. | Katz’s Korner Andy Katz |
| 8:30 p.m. | Katz’s Korner Andy Katz |
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| Tue, Oct. 22 | 2:30 p.m. | ESPNU College Basketball Media Days (Big 12) Anish Shroff with Dino Gaudio & Adrian Branch |
| Thu, Oct. 31 | 2:30 p.m. | ESPNU College Basketball Media Days (Big Ten) Matt Schick with Dino Gaudio & Adrian Branch |
ESPNU
The 24-hour college sports television network airs more than 650 live events annually and offers over 600 original studio shows. ESPNU has seen a steady increase since its inception on March 4, 2005 and is now in over 75 million households. The brand is also available in high definition on ESPNUHD, now in over 20 million homes. The network has long-term carriage agreements with all 10 of the top multichannel TV providers – Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV (Channel 208), DISH Network (Channel 141), Mediacom, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV and AT&T U-verse.
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Media Contact: gracie.blackburn@espn.com