Big Ten Network Unveils Baseball, Softball Schedules

Feb. 14, 2008

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CHICAGO — The Big Ten Network will nationally televise 25 regular season baseball games, 25 regular season softball games and Big Ten Tournament championship games for both sports, all in high-definition.

“The Big Ten Network is thrilled to bring an unprecedented amount of Big Ten baseball and softball to a national audience,” network president Mark Silverman said. “Fans should really enjoy that all these games will be in stunning HD.”

The network’s live baseball coverage begins with the first three games of the Penn State-Ohio State series. Game one of the series is slated for 5:30 p.m. CT on Friday, March 28.

The Big Ten Network baseball schedule features seven doubleheaders and 22 of the 25 regular season games on the network will be conference match-ups.

The network will televise multiple games each weekend, plus three intriguing mid-week non-conference match-ups. At 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday, April 8, Iowa hosts border rival and perennial Big 12 power Nebraska. Michigan State will get an opportunity to play against the pros in an exhibition against the Lansing Lugnuts, a Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays at 5 p.m. CT on Thursday, April 24. Additionally, Indiana takes on regional rival Louisville at 2 p.m. CT on Tuesday, May 6.

Michigan has won the last two Big Ten Championships while Ohio State is the defending Big Ten Tournament Champion. Entering the 2008 campaign, the Wolverines are ranked eighth in the Baseball America preseason poll.

Softball coverage starts with a Big Ten Network quadruple-header on Sunday, March 30. Indiana hosts Penn State in a doubleheader beginning at 10 a.m. CT. Action continues at 5 p.m. CT when Illinois travels to Ohio State for a doubleheader. The network will carry the action from Columbus on a delayed basis.

The Big Ten Network will televise a softball doubleheader every Sunday as well as games on selected Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The schedule includes seven doubleheaders, with 23 of the 25 regular season games consisting of conference match-ups.

Ohio State is the defending Big Ten Champion and won last year’s Big Ten Tournament, while Northwestern has advanced to the last two Women’s College World Series. The Big Ten features three teams listed in the USA Softball preseason top 25, including the sixth-ranked Wildcats, 12th-ranked Michigan and the 22nd-ranked Buckeyes.

The complete regular season television schedule for Big Ten baseball and softball appears below, including information on whether the events will be televised live or on a delayed basis. For more information on Big Ten baseball or softball, go to www.bigten.org or www.BigTenNetwork.com.

The Big Ten Network launched August 30, 2007, and became the first new network in cable or satellite television history to reach 30 million homes in its first 30 days. The network is available through DIRECTV, DISH Network, AT&T U-Verse, Insight Communications, WideOpenWest, RCN, Service Electric and nearly 200 other cable operators.

About the Big Ten Conference: The Big Ten Conference is an association of 11 world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. Founded in 1896, the Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in student-athletes’ lives and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness and competitiveness. Big Ten universities provide approximately $94 million in direct financial aid to more than 8,400 men and women student-athletes who compete for 25 championships, 12 for men and 13 for women. Conference institutions sponsor broad-based athletic programs with more than 270 teams. For more information, visit www.bigten.org.

About the Big Ten Network: The Big Ten Network is dedicated to covering the Big Ten Conference and its 11 member institutions. The Big Ten Network provides unprecedented access to an extensive schedule of conference sports events and shows; original programs in academics, the arts and sciences; campus activities; and associated personalities. Sports programming includes live coverage of more major men’s and women’s events than ever before, along with news, highlights and analysis, all complemented by hours of university-produced campus programming. The network is available to all cable and satellite carriers and television distributors nationwide, with most programs offered in stunning high-definition television (HDTV). The Big Ten Network is a joint venture between subsidiaries of the Big Ten Conference and Fox Cable Networks. For more information regarding the Big Ten Network, visit www.BigTenNetwork.com.

2008 BIG TEN NETWORK BASEBALL SCHEDULE

2008 BIG TEN NETWORK SOFTBALL SCHEDULE

DH = Doubleheader
*Game 2 of each doubleheader begins approximately 30 minutes after first game

Click HERE for the Big Ten Network home page.