Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs' WAC ESPN Slate Announced
9/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 23, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - The Western Athletic Conference announced its 2009-10 men's basketball ESPN television schedule, a slate that includes 20 total WAC games to be broadcast by the television sports leader, highlighted by three games showing the Fresno State men's basketball team.
"We are thrilled everytime we play before a national audience," head coach Steve Cleveland said. "There is great parity throughout the league so there should be a lot of great basketball games for fans to see the quality of the WAC teams."
Fresno State will be featured twice on the road and once at home.
The Bulldogs will appear on ESPN Regional on Jan. 14 at 5 p.m. PT for an away game at Louisiana Tech. The highly anticipated rematch with Utah State in the Save Mart Center on Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. will also be shown on ERT. Mo< the="" dogs="" will="" then="" make="" their="" first="" appearance="" on="" espnu="" since="" last="" year's="" wac="" quarterfinals="" when="" they="" hit="" the="" road="" for="" the="" final="" trip="" of="" the="" season="" for="" a="" saturday="" night="" date="" at="" 7="" p.m.="" against="" san="" jose="">
In all, six regular season games will be shown on ESPN2, six on ESPNU and five on ESPN Regional Television (ERT). In addition, the WAC Tournament championship game and a minimum of one semifinal will also be shown on ESPN2, while ESPNU will broadcast a minimum of one quarterfinal game. Each of the WAC's nine schools will be featured by the network.
Complete 2009-10 WAC ESPN Television Schedule
Nov. 16 Northern Colorado at Hawai`i 11 p.m. HT ESPN2
Jan. 2 Utah State at New Mexico State TBA ESPNU
Jan. 4 Nevada at New Mexico State 9 p.m. MT ESPNU
Jan. 11 New Mexico State at Idaho 8 p.m. PT ESPNU
Jan. 13 Utah State at Nevada 8 p.m. PT ESPN2
Jan. 14 Fresno State at Louisiana Tech 5 p.m. PT ERT
Jan. 21 Utah State at Fresno State 7 p.m. PT ERT
Feb. 3 Idaho at Utah State 9 p.m. MT ESPN2
Feb. 4 San Jose State at Louisiana Tech 7 p.m. CT ERT
Feb. 6 Nevada at Utah State 8 p.m. MT ESPNU
Feb. 6 Idaho at Boise State 10 p.m. MT ESPNU
Feb. 8 Louisiana Tech at New Mexico State 7 p.m. MT ERT
Feb. 10 Nevada at Idaho 8 p.m. PT ESPN2
Feb. 17 Louisiana Tech at Utah State 9 p.m. MT ESPN2
Feb. 24 Idaho at New Mexico State 9 p.m. MT ESPN2
Feb. 27 Fresno State at San Jose State 7 p.m. PT ESPNU
Mar. 4 San Jose State at Idaho 7:00 p.m. PT ERT
Mar. 11 WAC Tournament Quarterfinal(s) TBA ESPNU
Mar. 12 WAC Tournament Semifinal(s) TBA ESPN2
Mar. 13 WAC Tournament Championship 7:00 p.m. PT ESPN2
Fresno State to be Featured Again in ESPN's BracketBusters
The eighth annual BracketBusters event, a two-day men's college basketball extravaganza pitting potential NCAA Tournament hopefuls against each other Feb. 19-20, will feature 11 nationally televised games - on either ESPN2 or ESPNU -- selected from a pool of 98 teams.
Fresno State is scheduled to host their contest on Feb. 20, with the opponent and time to be determined in February 2010.
The Bulldogs are fresh off their ESPN BracketBusters' 2009 victory on the road at UC Davis by a score of 71-70.
For the fifth straight year, ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network, will televise five BracketBusters games while ESPN2 will televise six contests.
BracketBusters, named because of the success of the teams in NCAA Tournament play, will provide the 22 televised teams an opportunity to play other top non-conference opponents three weeks before Selection Sunday. The 76 teams not selected for BracketBusters will compete against each other through the same two days.
The 98-team field will feature 12 teams from the Mid-American and Colonial Athletic; 11 from the Ohio Valley, 10 from the Missouri Valley, Horizon League and Metro Atlantic Athletic; nine from the Western Athletic and Big West; four from the Big South and Southern; three from the America East; two from the MEAC; and one from the Big Sky and Summit League.
As part of the agreement, all 11 of the BracketBusters home teams, as well as the remaining 38 home squads, will play a "return" game at the home facility of their opponent in November or December of the 2011-12 season.
BracketBusters is part of ESPN's college basketball franchise programming, along with Rivalry Week Presented by Cisco, Feast Week, Holiday Hoops Presented by Kay Jewelers, Judgment Week and Championship Week Presented by Dick's Sporting Goods.
Teams participating this season in BracketBusters have produced 89 appearances in the last six NCAA Tournaments, including a team in the Final Four - George Mason (2006); one in the Elite Eight - Davidson (2008); and six Sweet Sixteen squads - Butler (2007), Southern Illinois (2007), Bradley (2006), Wichita State (2006), UW-Milwaukee (2005) and Nevada (2004).
"We Are Your Team" - The Fresno State men's basketball team returns to the hardwood for their 2009-10 season and home opener on Friday, Nov. 13, 2009 at 7 p.m. in the Save Mart Center. For the latest ticket information, continue visiting www.gobulldogs.com.
