MAAC Announces 2015-16 ESPN Basketball Television Schedule
MAAC Sports
EDISON, NJ – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) 2015-16 men’s and women’s basketball television schedule will feature 52 nationally televised games on ESPN networks, which include 42 contests during the regular season and 10 contests at the 2016 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York.
“I’m extremely pleased with the quality and scope of the 2016 MAAC ESPN telecast schedule,” noted MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor. “The expanding relationship between the MAAC and ESPN is reflected in the schedule and also on member school campuses where Canisius, Fairfield, Monmouth, and Siena have invested in production efforts to increase the league’s exposure and branding. The MAAC is particularly pleased that its men’s championship final on March 7 at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York will be hosted on ESPN this year at 7 p.m.”
The schedule features some of the MAAC’s premiere rivalry matchups, and culminates with 10 televised games at the MAAC Basketball Championships on March 3-7. The MAAC Women’s Championship Game will be televised on ESPNU on March 7 at 2:30 p.m., and the Men’s Championship Game will be televised later that night at 7:00 p.m., on ESPN.
Live coverage for the season will begin on Jan. 4, and features Siena at MAAC men’s tournament champion, Manhattan on ESPN3 with the tip time of 7:00 p.m.
The season’s first double-header will be hosted by Iona at the Hynes Athletic Center, in New Rochelle, New York on Jan. 7 with both games carried on ESPN3. The Gaels women’s team host Marist at 5:00 p.m., in a battle of two top five finishers from a season ago and the Gaels men’s team welcomes Rider at 8:00 p.m., in a matchup of last season’s top two regular season teams.
Among the featured regular season matchups for the men is the Jan. 17 rematch between Iona and Rider, with the Broncs hosting the Gaels at Alumni Hall at 4:00 p.m., on ESPN3. On Jan. 21 at 8:00 p.m., Manhattan host 2015 MAAC semifinalist, Monmouth on the newly renovated court at Draddy Gymnasium in Riverdale, New York. Two hOURglass rivalry matchups between the three New Jersey schools of Monmouth, Rider, and Saint Peter’s will be on ESPN3 in 2016. The first contest will be played at the Yanitelli Center in Jersey City on Jan. 28 at 8:00 p.m., when Rider visits Saint Peter’s. The second game will be telecast two days later on Jan. 30 at 7:00 p.m., with Monmouth welcoming Saint Peter’s to the MAC in West Long Branch. On Feb. 25, Western New York rivals Canisius and Niagara meet in the Battle of the Bridge at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN3 with the Griffs hosting the contest at the Koessler Athletic Center. On the final day of the regular season, Rider will host Manhattan on ESPN3 with tip set for 6:00 p.m.
The women’s matchups to be highlighted include a Jan. 14 matchup at Rider between Fairfield and the Broncs on ESPN3 set for a 5:00 p.m. tip. Jan. 28 will feature a contest between a pair of MAAC semifinalists from a year ago in Siena and Marist at 5:00 p.m. on ESPN3, with the game played at McCann Arena in Poughkeepsie, New York on the campus of Marist. Quinnipiac will travel to Siena on Feb. 5 in a 2015 semifinal rematch, for a 5:00 p.m. tip on ESPNU. On Feb. 18 at 5:00 p.m., the last two MAAC champions and last year’s tournament finalist Marist and Quinnipiac meet at the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, Connecticut on ESPN3. Iona will play host to Quinnipiac on Feb. 28 at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN3, to conclude the regular season.
The MAAC telecast schedule will also feature an all-time high of 13 wildcard games during the 2015-16 season. The wildcard format allows ESPN to pick any game on schedule for the selected date to air on the designated platform (ESPN2, ESPNU, or ESPN3). ESPN will announce which game has been selected for the wildcard telecast 21 days out. The format enables the MAAC and ESPN flexibility to showcase the best possible matchups. This season’s wildcard dates will be January 15, 22, 29 and February 12, 19, and 26.
Of the 52 game slate, 41 will be on ESPN3, nine will air on ESPNU including the women’s championship title game, one regular season game will be on ESPN2, and the men’s tournament championship game will air on ESPN. There will be 38 men’s games and 14 women’s games on ESPN networks.