“We are thrilled to continue to deliver NEC men’s and women’s basketball fans a comprehensive slate of national broadcasts, with 22 appearances on ESPN networks and four with CBS Sports Network,” said Noreen Morris, NEC Commissioner. “And to make sure our fans can get their fill of NEC basketball throughout the season, those national exposures will be complemented with over 250 broadcasts through NEC Front Row, our state-of-the-art digital network available free of charge on any computer, tablet or mobile device.”
ESPNU will televise a pair of regular season men’s contests, beginning with a rematch of the most memorable game from the 2018 NEC Tournament when Fairleigh Dickinson hosts defending champion LIU Brooklyn on Thursday, January 31 at 5:00 pm. The NEC semifinal contest between the two teams last March was a back-and-forth affair won by the Blackbirds on two Jashaun Agosto free throws with three seconds to play. The second ESPNU tilt on Thursday, February 7 will pit a rising CCSU squad against NEC preseason favorite Saint Francis U in Loretto, PA. Tipoff is set for 5:00 pm.
The NEC will team up with ESPN to deliver 13 games non-exclusively on ESPN3 and five games exclusively on ESPN+. ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible on computers, smart phones, tablets and connected streaming devices through the ESPN app. Access to live programming on the ESPN3 channel of WatchESPN.com is available at no additional cost to fans with subscriptions to participating high speed internet service providers. It is also available at no cost to U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks. ESPN+ is the first-ever
multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International and ESPN. It offers fans thousands of additional live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks. This includes hundreds of MLB, NHL and MLS games, Grand Slam tennis, Top Rank boxing, PGA Tour golf, college sports, international rugby, cricket, the full library of ESPN Films (including 30 for 30) and more. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year). ESPN+ is an integrated part of the completely redesigned ESPN App. Already the leading sports app, the new ESPN App is the premier all-in-one digital sports platform for fans and is a showcase of the company’s culture of innovation. With a richer, increasingly more personalized experience, the new ESPN App curates all of ESPN’s incredible content into an experience unique to each fan’s individual tastes. ESPN+ is also available through ESPN.com.
ESPN3 and ESPN+ will serve as the home to NEC women’s basketball this winter with 10 games on the docket, matching the record number for the Conference. The women’s package opens on Monday, January 7 with St. Francis Brooklyn visiting Bryant in a 7:00 pm start on ESPN3. The most highly anticipated matchup on the 2018-19 slate takes place on Monday, February 18 when defending champion Saint Francis U hosts Keystone state rival Robert Morris on ESPN3 in a rematch of the 2018 NEC title game.
ESPN3 will also be on hand for the NEC’s biggest rivalry, airing a special MLK doubleheader on Monday, January 21 between LIU Brooklyn and St. Francis Brooklyn. The women tipoff at noon, while the men square off at 3:00 pm in the annual “Battle of Brooklyn” clash.
The NEC’s four-game package on CBS Sports Network, the 24-hour home of CBS Sports, will tipoff on January 10 in Brooklyn Heights as St. Francis Brooklyn hosts Robert Morris at 9:00 pm. With love in the air on Valentine’s Day, the marquee game on this year’s TV slate is slated that night at the Rothman Center when Saint Francis U visits Fairleigh Dickinson in a battle of top contenders. Wagner travels to Bryant on February 21 and the CBS schedule wraps with a Wildcard game on February 28. CBS Sports Network is widely available through all major cable, satellite and telco distributors as well as via OTT streaming service providers YouTube TV, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue, DirecTV and Hulu. Additionally, a live CBS Sports Network stream is available through CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports App by authenticating with select providers. For more information, including a full programming schedule, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.
Come the postseason, ESPN3 will carry the men’s semifinals on Saturday, March 9 and the women’s semis on Thursday, March 14. As part of the network’s Championship Week coverage, the NEC men’s title game will be televised by ESPN or ESPN2 for the 32nd straight year on Tuesday, March 12th at 7:00 pm. For the 12th year in a row, ESPNU will carry the NEC Women’s Championship game. This year’s final is scheduled for Sunday, March 17th at 2:00 pm.
Now in his 19th season, Dave Popkin will serve as the primary play-by-play announcer on men’s broadcasts, with Paul Dottino (20th year) and John Schmeelk (eighth year) filling in. Tim Capstraw (20th year), Terry O’Connor (17th year) and Joe DeSantis (12th year) will split color analyst duties. Dottino will serve as the NEC’s primary sideline reporter.
Dottino and Craig D’Amico (tenth year) will once again handle play-by-play voice on women’s telecasts. Pam Roecker is back for her 17th year as color analyst.
PS Wolf Media returns as the packager for CBSSN telecasts, with Eric Singer back in the fold as the longtime producer of NEC basketball. Pack Network will handle production duties for the league’s ESPN3/ESPN+ package.
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 38th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#22), Baltimore (#26), and Hartford/New Haven (#30). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 15 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. Merrimack will join the NEC as a full-time member in July, 2019. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, all @NECsports.
