Extensive Coverage of College Lacrosse Games Planned for ESPN Networks

ESPNU announces its 2011 college lacrosse coverage of more than 50 games – including a rematch of the 2010 NCAA National Championship game between Duke and Notre Dame in Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 20, at noon on ESPN and ESPN3.com. The schedule includes 53 total games – featuring 35 regular-season matchups, 33 men’s and two women’s games and all 15 games of the NCAA Men’s Championship. Coverage begins on ESPN3.com – one of 12 exclusive games for the online network – with Johns Hopkins at Towson Saturday, Feb. 19 at noon ET. All games on ESPN and ESPN2 will also be simulcast on ESPN3.com.

Schedule highlights include:

• The Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore – home of the 2011 NCAA Championship – Saturday, March 12. ESPNU will air a BIG EAST matchup between Syracuse and Georgetown at 11 a.m., and a non-conference game pitting Cornell vs. Virginia at 1:30 p.m. ESPN3.com will carry the third game of the event – Johns Hopkins against UMBC at 4 p.m.
• The Konica Minolta Big City Classic at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Saturday, April 3, in its second year at the newly opened stadium. The tripleheader will include BIG EAST teams Rutgers vs. St. John’s at 1 p.m. on ESPN3.com, followed by two games on ESPNU – Johns Hopkins vs. North Carolina at 4 p.m., and Syracuse vs. Duke at 6:30 p.m., the winners of the last three NCAA Championship titles.
• The ESPNU Warrior Classic at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn., Saturday, April 23, which will showcase CAA opponents Massachusetts and Hofstra will face-off at 3 p.m., followed by a BIG EAST tilt between Rutgers and Syracuse at 5:30 p.m.
• Eleven of 16 teams that qualified for the 2010 NCAA Championship will be featured, including five appearances from the defending national champion Duke.
• Johns Hopkins women’s program will be shown twice on ESPNU – at Georgetown on Wednesday, March 16, at 6 p.m. and at home against Penn Wednesday, March 23, at 5 p.m.

For the fifth straight year, the ESPN networks will televise the complete NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship, beginning with first-round action on Saturday, May 14. ESPNU will televise six first-round and two quarterfinal games May 14-22. ESPN2 will televise two-first round games and two quarterfinals, plus the National Semifinals Saturday, May 28 at 4 & 6:30 p.m. ESPN will offer the National Championship game Monday, May 30 at 3:30 p.m. ESPN3.com will simulcast the entire championship weekend.

ESPN Network’s 2011 College Lacrosse Schedule (Schedule subject to change)

ESPN Network’s 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship Schedule (Schedule subject to change)

About ESPNU
ESPNU launched March 4, 2005. The 24-hour college sports television network televises more than 650 live events annually. Action includes a variety of top football and men’s and women’s basketball games, as well as Olympic sports from 26 Division I conferences. ESPNU is the destination for premier high school programming, including elite football and basketball events. The network also has a wide-ranging agreement with the NCAA for extensive coverage of 22 NCAA Championships.

ESPNU offers over 400 original studio shows, including SportsCenterU, ESPNU Recruiting Insider, The Experts, The Bracket, BCS Countdown and is the television home of ESPN Radio’s The Herd with Colin Cowherd. The brand is also available in high definition on ESPNU HD, now in over 17 million homes. In addition, ESPNU Campus Connection is a multiplatform, student-generated content initiative to enhance the network’s link to college campuses nationwide.

ESPNU has seen a steady increase since its inception and is now in approximately 73 million households across the country. 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.

About ESPN3.com

ESPN3.com delivers thousands of live, global sports events annually.  It is available in approximately 65 million households nationwide via dozens of affiliated service providers including Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, Cox, Charter, Windstream, RCN, Insight, Frontier, Cavalier, Mediacom, Conway, Grande Communications and many more.  It is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks.  For more information about the service, click HERE.

-30-

No. 10 Georgetown, No. 16 UMass, No. 18 Fairfield and No. 20 Denver Make up Inaugural Field

The ESPNU Warrior Classic, a men’s college lacrosse doubleheader, will feature four teams currently ranked among the nation’s top 20, according to the USILA Coaches’ Poll for April 12. Tickets are on sale now for the event that will be played Saturday, April 24, at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn.

The doubleheader will feature No. 18 Fairfield vs. No. 20 Denver in the first game at 11 a.m. ET, followed by No. 16 Massachusetts vs. No. 10 Georgetown at 1:30 p.m. Both games will be televised live on ESPNU. Carter Blackburn will call play-by-play with analysis from Quint Kessenich, while Eamon McAnaney will report from the sidelines.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $9 for senior citizens, children and students with ID (must show ID at box office). Children under 2 will be admitted free. Tickets are available at www.Ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000. Group discounts are available by calling the XL Center at 860-524-5794.

The Rentschler Field parking lot opens at 8 a.m. for the ESPNU Lacrosse Tour and Warrior FanFest, where fans can play games, win prizes and meet lacrosse legend Mike Powell.

ESPNU has been televising NCAA lacrosse matches since the first week the network was launched in March 2005.

ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership
The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 1,000 telecasts of sporting events. Programming includes football, basketball, NCAA events, golf and NHRA events accounting for more than 2,200 live and/or original hours of programming. In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network; syndication rights-holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (e.g. – SEC, BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, WAC).

ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events, including collegiate football events: the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg; Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas); MAACO Bowl Las Vegas; New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Papajohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Texas Bowl (Houston); the MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.); and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards; collegiate basketball events: the 76 Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); Cancun Governor’s Cup; Charleston Classic (S.C.); DIRECTV SEC/BIG EAST Invitational; Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Puerto Rico Tipoff (San Juan); SONIC All-College Basketball Classic (Oklahoma City) and BracketBusters; as well as the new ESPNU Warrior Classic (Lacrosse) and the ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway. For more information, visit ESPNPlus.com.

-30-

Major League Lacrosse 2010 Schedule on ESPN

Six Games on ESPN2 & ESPN2 HD, 39 on ESPN3.com

The schedule of Major League Lacrosse (MLL), celebrating its 10^th Anniversary Season as the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, on ESPN platforms will include six games live in high definition on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD, and 39 on ESPN3.com, ESPN’s 24/7 broadband sports network. The schedule will include the MLL All-Star Game, one semifinal and the MLL Championship Game.

Play by play announcer Joe Beninati and analyst Quint Kessenich (four-time Johns Hopkins All-American) will once again serve as the team for the MLL on ESPN2. Beninati will be returning for his ninth season, while Kessenich will begin his tenth season as analyst.

The 2010 national television schedule released by MLL Commissioner David Gross is highlighted by three regular-season games, as well as the MLL All-Star Game from Boston on July 8, a semifinal August 21, and the Championship Game on August 22 from Annapolis, Md., as part of Major League Lacrosse Championship Weekend Presented by Warrior.

“Once again we are excited to work with ESPN to bring the highest level of lacrosse in HD to lacrosse fans across the country”, said MLL Commissioner David Gross.

This summer’s MLL All-Star Game will be played July 8 at Harvard Stadium in Boston and will pit players from Team USA against the MLL All-Stars.  Team USA will use the game as preparation for this summer’s Lacrosse World Championships in Manchester, England.  During halftime of the game, stars from both teams will take place in the Bud Light Skills Competition, which will also air live. The skills include a fastest shot competition and a freestyle contest.

The 2010 MLL television schedule kicks off on Saturday, May 22, with the defending Major League Lacrosse champion Toronto Nationals hosting the Chesapeake Bayhawks at 2 p.m. ET. Live games continue on Saturday, June 12, when the Denver Outlaws travel to Boston to take on the Cannons at 3 p.m. The final regular-season game on ESPN2 will see the Chicago Machine against the Long Island Lizards on July 3 at 3 p.m. ESPN’s complete 2010 MLL telecast schedule:

ESPN2 has been the national television home of Major League Lacrosse since 2003, and in 2004 aired the New Balance Championship Game, the first live national telecast of a Major League Lacrosse competition. In 2007, Major League Lacrosse and ESPN signed a multi-year agreement, which extends their relationship through the 2016 season.

About Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse (MLL), the premiere professional outdoor lacrosse league, was founded by Jake Steinfeld and commenced play in June of 2001.  The MLL’s six teams will begin the league’s 10th season of action on May 15th, 2010.  The 2010 MLL All-Star Game will take place on Thursday, July 8th in Boston, MA at Harvard Stadium.  The season will culminate with the MLL Championship Weekend Presented by Warrior, which will take place on Saturday and Sunday, August 21st and 22nd at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, MD.

ESPN, Inc.

ESPN, Inc. is the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of over 50 multimedia sports assets. The company is comprised of six domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU), ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS and ESPNU HD simulcast services, ESPN Regional Television, ESPN International (46 networks, syndication, radio, web sites), ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Enterprises, ESPN PPV, ESPN Zones (sports-themed restaurants), and other growing new businesses including ESPN3.com (Broadband), ESPN Mobile Properties, ESPN on Demand and ESPN Interactive.  Based in Bristol, Ct., ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.  The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.

Schedule Features 57 Games, Every NCAA Tournament Game in HD for First Time

ESPN’s 2010 men’s and women’s college lacrosse season — featuring the most extensive schedule to date with 57 games, primarily on ESPNU — will begin Friday, Feb. 19, with a regular-season matchup and conclude with the NCAA National Championship May 31.

For the first time, every NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship game will be offered in high definition through ESPNU HD, ESPN2 HD and ESPN HD. In addition, ESPNU will produce 16 regular-season games in high definition.

Overall, ESPNU, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN360.com will combine to offer 42 regular-season and all 15 NCAA Tournament games. ESPNU, which will celebrate its fifth anniversary March 4, will televise the majority of the action with 40 regular-season games and every first-round and quarterfinal matchup of the men’s NCAA Tournament. Regular season schedule highlights:

• 17 of the top 20 teams ranked in the men’s Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and every team in the top 11;
• All but one of the men’s telecasts will include a team in the media poll, highlighted by 28 matchups featuring a showdown between ranked teams, including seven with both teams in the top five and 16 with teams in the top 10;
• Coverage will include all seven of the men’s programs that have won an NCAA Championship — Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, North Carolina, Princeton, Syracuse and Virginia — including 11 telecasts between them:

• No. 7 Princeton vs. No. 5 Johns Hopkins Saturday, March 6, at 1:30 p.m. (ESPNU);
• No. 1 Syracuse at No. 3 Virginia Sunday, March 7, at 1 p.m. (ESPN360.com);
• No. 1 Syracuse at No. 5 Johns Hopkins Saturday, March 20, at 8 p.m. (ESPNU), which is a rematch of the 2007 National Championship game, won by Syracuse 13-10;
• No. 5 Johns Hopkins at No. 3 Virginia (ESPN2) and No. 8 Maryland at No. 4 North Carolina (ESPNU) Saturday, March 27, at noon and 2 p.m., respectively;
• No. 4 North Carolina at No. 5 Johns Hopkins (ESPNU) and No. 3 Virginia at No. 8 Maryland (ESPNU) Saturday, April 3, at noon and 8 p.m., respectively;
• No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 3 Virginia (ESPNU) and No. 7 Princeton vs. No. 1 Syracuse (ESPNU) Saturday, April 10, at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., respectively;
• No. 8 Maryland vs. No. 5 Johns Hopkins Saturday, April. 17, at 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU);
• No. 6 Cornell at No. 7 Princeton Saturday, May 1, at 5 p.m. (ESPNU);

• Six telecasts involving two-time defending men’s National Champion Syracuse;
• This will mark the first year of a four-year exclusive agreement with the BIG EAST conference, which will begin its inaugural season formally sponsoring lacrosse. ESPNU will televise BIG EAST members No. 1 Syracuse, No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 13 Georgetown and Rutgers.
• ESPNU will televise four doubleheader events:

• The inaugural ESPNU Warrior Lacrosse Invitational, organized by ESPN Regional Television, from Rentschler Field in Hartford, Conn. April 24: No. 18 Denver vs. Fairfield at 11 a.m. and No. 17 Massachusetts vs. No. 13 Georgetown at 1:30 p.m.
• Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on March 6: No. 2 Duke vs. No. 8 Maryland at 11 a.m. and No. 7 Princeton vs. No. 5 Johns Hopkins at 1:30 p.m.
• Konica Minolta Big City Classic from New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. on April 10: No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 3 Virginia at 4 p.m. and No. 7 Princeton vs. No. 1 Syracuse at 6:30 p.m. This will be the first sporting event held at New Meadowlands Stadium, the new home for the NFL New York Giants and Jets.
• Smartlink Day of Rivals from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on April 17: No. 11 Navy vs. Army at 4 p.m. and No. 8 Maryland vs. No. 5 Johns Hopkins at 6:30 p.m.

• The women’s schedule will include Towson at Johns Hopkins on Wednesday, March 10, at 4 p.m. and Ohio State at Johns Hopkins on Sunday, May 2, at noon, both on ESPNU.

For the fourth straight year, the ESPN networks will televise the entire NCAA pision I Men’s Lacrosse Championship, with 2010 being the first year in which every game will be in high definition. ESPNU will televise all eight first-round and the four quarterfinal contests May 15-23. ESPN2 will televise the semifinals on May 29 while ESPN will offer the championship May 31. ESPN360.com will simulcast the semifinals and championship games.

Commentators

ESPN will feature the addition of top experts to a deep roster of returning knowledgeable commentators:

• Returning analysts will include Quint Kessenich (Four-Time Johns Hopkins All-American), Mark Dixon (Johns Hopkins), Jack Emmer (former Army Head Coach and the NCAA’s winningest DI head coach), Matt Ward (Virginia and Tewaaraton winner) and Stephen McElduff (North Carolina).
• Play-by-play announcers will include Carter Blackburn, who will serve as the primary commentator for ESPN’s coverage; ESPN Major League Lacrosse commentator Joe Beninati; and Eamon McAnaney, who played lacrosse at Notre Dame. Sean McDonough, the voice of many top college sports on ESPN, will call the NCAA Championship semifinals and championship.
• Coverage will feature the addition analyst Jamie Munro, former head coach at Denver and assistant at Yale.

2010 ESPNU College Lacrosse Regular-Season Schedule

*Will co-exist on WMAR-TV (ABC affiliate in Baltimore)

^Tape delay

2010 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship Coverage on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU

-30-

ESPNU Warrior Classic, New Lacrosse Event, to Launch in 2010

UMass, Georgetown, Denver and Fairfield Make up Inaugural Field

ESPN Regional Television, Inc., a subsidiary of ESPN, announced today the creation of the ESPNU Warrior Classic, a doubleheader that will be played Saturday, April 24, at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn.

The doubleheader will feature No. 17 Denver vs. Fairfield at 11 a.m. ET, followed by No. 18 Massachusetts vs. No. 13 Georgetown at 1:30 p.m. Both games will be televised live on ESPNU.

“We jumped at the opportunity to partner with ESPNU for the inaugural ESPNU Warrior Classic,” said Dave Morrow, President, Warrior. “ESPN’s commitment to lacrosse is making the sport accessible to more players and fans than ever, and this event is an extension of our shared passion for grassroots events and competition. It will be very exciting for lacrosse enthusiasts to have four elite programs, the worldwide leader in sports media and the premier lacrosse brand team up for the first ever Warrior Classic.”

“We are excited to launch a collegiate lacrosse event with ESPNU and Warrior Lacrosse,” said Clint Overby, senior director of events, ESPN Regional Television. “We look forward to growing the event as a fixture in the collegiate lacrosse landscape.”

Massachusetts won the East Coast Athletic Conference championship last season before falling to Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Minutemen, who finished the season with a 9-6 record, are leaving the ECAC this year for the Colonial Athletic Association. In the ESPNU Warrior Classic, UMass faces former ECAC rival Georgetown, which is also joining a new conference, the BIG EAST. The Hoyas finished with a 7-7 record last season.

Fairfield posted a 7-6 record in 2009, its first winning campaign since 2006. The Stags will face ECAC rival Denver in the ESPNU Warrior Classic. Fairfield won three of five meetings when the two teams were part of the Great Western Lacrosse League from 2001-05. Denver welcomes new head coach Bill Tierney, who won six NCAA titles in 22 seasons at Princeton. The Pioneers were 7-8 in 2009.

“We’re very excited to be invited to play in the first annual ESPNU Warrior Classic,” said Dave Urick, Georgetown head coach. “This is a tremendous opportunity for the sport of lacrosse to have increased exposure in the Northeast, and this field brings together some very talented teams. ESPNU has provided great television exposure for the sport of lacrosse and this event shows their commitment to the sport.”

“The Denver Pioneers are thrilled to be a part of the inaugural ESPNU Warrior Classic,” said Bill Tierney, Denver head coach. “To play alongside such prestigious programs as Georgetown and UMass and compete in an important ECAC matchup with Fairfield is an honor for our team. We are trying to create excitement about lacrosse in Colorado and in the West, and this event will certainly help us spread the good news about the University of Denver and our lacrosse program. ESPN has been so instrumental in the visibility and rising popularity of college lacrosse, through its coverage of the NCAA Tournament and regular-season telecasts.”

“We are very excited to be a part of the ESPNU Warrior Classic,” said Greg Cannella, Massachusetts head coach. “We are looking forward to playing one of our former ECAC rivals, Georgetown. When these two teams get together and play, it is always exciting and fast, the way college lacrosse should be played. We look forward to the opportunity and thank ESPN for putting the event together.”

“We’re thrilled about the opportunity to play in the ESPNU Warrior Classic,” said Andy Copelan, Fairfield head coach. “Having a nationally televised lacrosse doubleheader featuring four great teams at Rentschler Field is great for the development of our sport in this region. We thank ESPN and everyone involved for putting this together and we are looking forward to a great day of college lacrosse.”

ESPNU will lead ESPN’s college lacrosse coverage with increased game coverage this season, including 40 men’s and women’s regular-season contests combined. For more information on the ESPNU Warrior Classic, visit http://ESPNPlus.com.

ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership
The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 1,000 telecasts of sporting events. Programming includes football, basketball, NCAA events, golf and NHRA events accounting for more than 2,200 live and/or original hours of programming. In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network; syndication rights-holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (e.g. – SEC, BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, WAC).

ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events, including collegiate football events: the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg; Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas); MAACO Bowl Las Vegas; New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Papajohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Texas Bowl (Houston); the MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.); and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards; collegiate basketball events: the 76 Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); Cancun Governor’s Cup; Charleston Classic (S.C.); DIRECTV SEC/BIG EAST Invitational; Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); SONIC All-College Basketball Classic (Oklahoma City) and BracketBusters; as well as the new ESPNU Warrior Classic (Lacrosse, April 2010); ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway. For more information, visit ESPNPlus.com.

ESPNU

ESPNU launched March 4, 2005. The 24-hour college sports television network televises more than 600 live events annually, including college football, college basketball and Olympic sports from more than 25 pision I conferences, as well as premier high school content. The network also has a wide-ranging, long-term agreement with the NCAA for enhanced coverage of 22 NCAA Championships.

ESPNU also offers comprehensive studio programming, including live simulcasts of ESPN Radio’s The Herd with Colin Cowherd, and replays the best games of the week from ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Regional Television. The brand is also available in high definition on ESPNU HD and online at ESPNU.com.

In addition, ESPNU Campus Connection, a multi-platform student-generated content initiative, was introduced in August 2007. ESPNU is available in more than 65 million households and has long-term carriage agreements with nine of the top 10 providers – Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV (Channel 614), DISH Network (Channel 148), Mediacom, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV and AT&T U-verse.

Warrior Sports

Headquartered in Warren, Michigan, Warrior Sports is recognized as one of the sporting goods industry’s premier manufacturers of innovative, high performance, cutting-edge equipment, footwear and apparel for lacrosse and hockey athletes of all ages and abilities. Founded in 1992 by former champion lacrosse player David Morrow, Warrior was acquired by privately-held New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. in February 2004. The 2007 acquisition of Boston-based Brine Sporting Goods further established Warrior Sports as the dominant force in the lacrosse world.

Warrior is dedicated to a core set of philosophies and strengths: technical superiority, grassroots marketing, original and creative youthful expression, and strong partnerships with retailers and suppliers. Since creating the first titanium shafts in 1992, Warrior has constantly pushed the envelope in the evolution of the game. By taking a fresh, energetic approach to the game, and employing young, enthusiastic lacrosse players like Jesse Hubbard and Mark Millon, Warrior set out to change the game – the best gear in the world, developed by the best players in the world.

-30-

ESPNU Headlines ESPN’s 2010 College Lacrosse Schedule with Increased Game Coverage; New Lacrosse Doubleheader in April

ESPNU will lead ESPN’s college lacrosse coverage with increased game coverage this season, including 40 men’s and women’s regular-season contests combined, in addition to one live ESPN2 and ESPN360.com game. The networks will televise 57 games overall, including 42 regular-season contests (up from 30) and 15 NCAA Tournament games across ESPNU, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN360.com. Coverage will begin on ESPNU on Friday, Feb. 19, at 5 p.m. ET, when No. 6 Johns Hopkins hosts Manhattan.

ESPNU highlights include the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic, which will showcase No. 1 Duke vs. No. 7 Maryland at 11 a.m. and No. 8 Princeton vs. No. 6 Johns Hopkins on Saturday, March 6, at 1:30 p.m. at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The schedule will also feature the second annual Konica Minolta Big City Classic on Saturday, April 10, with No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 3 Virginia at 4 p.m. and No. 2 Syracuse vs. No. 8 Princeton at 6:30 p.m. from New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Included in this year’s schedule will be a new lacrosse doubleheader, the ESPNU Warrior Lacrosse Invitational, organized by ESPN Regional Television. The event will take place at Rentschler Field in Hartford, Conn., on Saturday, April 24, and will showcase No. 18 Massachusetts vs. No. 13 Georgetown at 11 a.m., followed by No. 17 Denver vs. Fairfield at 1:30 p.m.

The men’s schedule will be highlighted by appearances from 19 of the top 25 teams ranked in the Inside Lacrosse’s Face-Off Yearbook Top 25. Also, defending NCAA Champion Syracuse, ranked No. 2, will make six appearances on air, along with No. 3 Virginia. No. 1 Duke will appear four times. ESPNU will also feature two women’s matchups: Towson at Johns Hopkins on Wednesday, March 10, at 4 p.m. and Ohio State at Johns Hopkins on Sunday, May 2, at noon.

For the fourth year in a row, the ESPN networks will televise the complete NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship. ESPNU will televise all eight First Round games and Quarterfinal contests May 15-23. ESPN2 will televise the National Semifinals on May 29 and ESPN will offer the National Championship game on May 31 from M&T Bank Stadium. ESPN360.com will simulcast the National Semifinals and Championship games.

2010 ESPNU College Lacrosse Regular-Season Schedule

*Will co-exist on WMAR-TV (ABC affiliate in Baltimore)

^Tape delay

2010 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship Coverage on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU

ESPNU

ESPNU launched March 4, 2005. The 24-hour college sports television network televises more than 600 live events annually, including college football, college basketball and Olympic sports from more than 25 Division I conferences, as well as premier high school content. The network also has a wide-ranging, long-term agreement with the NCAA for enhanced coverage of 22 NCAA Championships.

ESPNU also offers comprehensive studio programming, including live simulcasts of ESPN Radio’s The Herd with Colin Cowherd, and replays the best games of the week from ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Regional Television. The brand is also available in high definition on ESPNU HD and online at ESPNU.com. In addition, ESPNU Campus Connection, a multi-platform student-generated content initiative, was introduced in August 2007.

ESPNU is available in more than 65 million households and has long-term carriage agreements with nine of the top 10 providers – Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV (Channel 614), DISH Network (Channel 148), Mediacom, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV and AT&T U-verse.

-30-

Expanded Coverage in HD; 2009 Commentator Lineup

This weekend, ESPNU will open the ESPN networks’ exclusive coverage of all 15 games from the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship for the third year in a row. For the first time ever, this year’s coverage will present early round games in high definition, including four of the eight First Round matchups and every Quarterfinal contest on ESPNU HD (May 9-May 17). The National Semifinals on May 23 and the National Championship game on May 25 will continue to be offered in high definition on ESPN2 HD and ESPN HD, respectively, and will also be available on ESPN360.com.

To supplement the NCAA Tournament action, ESPN2 will air a special studio show, ESPNU Lacrosse Championship Preview, on Monday, May 18, at 3:30 p.m. ET, previewing the final four teams competing for the national title. The show will re-air later that day at 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU. Lowell Galindo will host, alongside lacrosse analyst Quint Kessenich. ESPNU.com will also have extensive online coverage of lacrosse, integrating coverage from Insidelacrosse.com and Inside Lacrosse Magazine.

ESPN’s NCAA lacrosse coverage will feature some of the top analysts in the sport: Mark Dixon (former Johns Hopkins midfielder), Jack Emmer (former Army head coach and the NCAA’s winningest DI head coach), Kessenich (former All-American Johns Hopkins goalie), Stephen McElduff (former North Carolina defensemen) and Matt Ward (former Virginia attackman and 2006 Tewaaraton winner). Play-by-play announcers include Joe Beninati, Dave Cohen, Eamon McAnaney, Dave Ryan and Rob Simmelkjaer.

In 2009, ESPNU featured 30 Division I regular-season college lacrosse games in national telecasts – more than any other network – along with unprecedented coverage of college lacrosse games in high definition on ESPNU HD and ESPN2 HD.

ESPN NCAA Lacrosse Championship Coverage Highlights:

• ESPNU Lacrosse on Facebook. Fans can access schedule updates and behind-the-scenes videos, as well as post questions for ESPN analysts throughout the NCAA Tournament;
• Fifth consecutive year in which NCAA officials will wear a wireless microphone during the National Semifinals and National Championship;
• 11 games offered in high definition;
• Telestrator used during National Semifinals and National Championship will highlight plays, thereby bringing fans closer to the action.

2009 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

FIRST-ROUND COMMENTATORS

QUARTERFINALS COMMENTATORS

NATIONAL SEMIFINALS AND CHAMPIONSHIP COMMENTATORS

-30-