College Softball Conference Tournaments: More than 55 Games, 12 Championships in Five Days

• ESPN Televises Tripleheader Featuring ACC, American and SEC Championship Games on May 14
• ESPN3: Atlantic Sun, Big South, Horizon League, MAC, Southland, Southern, Sun Belt, SWAC Championship Games; Entire Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
• All ACC Tournament Games Covered
• Entire SEC Tournament Televised; SEC Network Live from Starkville, the Site of the SEC Tournament
• ESPNU Debuts Two College Softball-Centric Shows

ESPN will cover 11 college softball conference championship games and more than 55 conference tournament games in five action-packed days (May 11-15) to conclude a record-setting regular season schedule.  The schedule will lead into the NCAA Softball Championship Selection Special Presented by Capital One (May 15 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPNU) when the NCAA Division I Softball Championship bracket is unveiled. Once again, ESPN will be the home of the NCAA Division I Softball Championship throughout the month of May and into June.

ESPN will televise a tripleheader of conference championship games Saturday, May 14: the American Championship game (noon), ACC Championship game (2 p.m.) and SEC Championship game (5 p.m.). Prior to Saturday’s slate, ESPNU will televise the SEC Tournament semifinals (3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.) on Friday, May 13, and SEC Network will televise the tournament’s quarterfinals and first round (noon, 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. both rounds) on May 12 and May 11, respectively. Prior to the ACC Championship game airing on ESPN, ESPN3 will stream the tournament’s semifinals (1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.) and quarterfinals (11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7:30 p.m.) on May 13 and May 12, respectively, making every game from the tournament available.

ESPN3 will stream nine conference championship games, including seven on Saturday, May 14: the Horizon League (noon), MAC (1 p.m.), Atlantic Sun (1 p.m.), Southern (1 p.m.), Sun Belt (2 p.m.), Big South (2 p.m.), Missouri Valley (2 p.m.), and SWAC (3 p.m.). On Friday, May 13, the Southland Conference Championship game (3 p.m.) will be carried. Additionally, the Horizon League (2:30 p.m.), Southern (3 p.m.), Atlantic Sun (3:30 p.m.) and MAC (3:30 p.m.) ‘if necessary’ Championship games will be carried on Saturday, May 14, and the Southland Conference’s (5:30 p.m.) on Friday, May 13.  In addition to being live on ESPN3, the SWAC Championship Game will air on Sunday, May 15, at 10 a.m. on ESPNU.

ESPN3 will carry early round action from the Atlantic Sun (May 12-13), Horizon League (May 12-13), and Sun Belt (May 13) conferences, in addition to the aforementioned ACC action. The entire Missouri Valley Tournament (May 12-14) will also be streamed. A complete ESPN3 schedule is below.

NCAA Softball Championship Selection Special Presented by Capital One
Host Beth Mowins and analysts Amanda Scarborough and Michele Smith  will unveil the 64-team NCAA Division I Softball Championship bracket throughout the NCAA Softball Championship Selection Special on Sunday, May 15, at 10 p.m. on ESPNU. During the one-hour special, Smith and Scarborough will analyze the field, preview each region and determine teams likely to advance. Head coaches from teams named to the field are expected to join the show.

The NCAA released in-season rankings for the first time on April 30 and espnW’s Graham Hays wrote “5 Observations from NCAA Top 10 Softball Rankings Reveal.”

Road to the Women’s College World Series and College Softball Featured Debut on ESPNU
ESPNU will debut two new shows leading into the NCAA Division I Softball Championship: Road to the Women’s College World Series and College Softball Featured.

Road to the Women’s College World Series will first air on Monday, May 16 at 1 p.m. following the unveiling of the 64-team field the night prior. Mowins will anchor and be once again joined by Scarborough and Smith who will further discuss the regional action, including the strength and weakness of specific teams and matchups. The analysts will predict how the tournament could unfold throughout the month, including specific team’s path to get to Oklahoma City, the home of the Women’s College World Series. Student-athletes are expected to join the show.  All airings of Road to the Women’s College World Series schedule on ESPNU:

College Softball Featured will also be shown throughout the month of May, including Monday, May 16, at 5 p.m. The 30-minute special will feature a compilation of college softball features that have been produced throughout the season, highlighting the sport’s best stories including the building of the Florida Gators’ dynasty and the Romero sisters: Michigan’s Sierra and Oklahoma’s Sydney. Holly Rowe narrates of each story. All airings of College Softball Featured on ESPNU:

SEC Network at the SEC Tournament
SEC Network will have a presence in Starkville, Miss. for the entirety of the SEC Tournament. SEC Now, the home for Southeastern Conference news and information, will air its first episode from Nusz Park on Wednesday, May 11, at 11:30 a.m. prior to the tournament’s first quarterfinal game: South Carolina vs. Missouri. A new edition of the show will then air in-between each quarterfinal game (approx. 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 7 p.m.) and conclude the day with a one-hour recap show (approx. 9:30 p.m.). The same schedule will be in place for the quarterfinals on Thursday, May 12.

On Friday, May 13, a 30-minute SEC Now will air on SEC Network (2:30 p.m.) leading into both the semifinals on ESPNU and a special edition of The Paul Finebaum Show (3 p.m.) live from Gainesville, Fla. on the SEC Network.  SEC Now on SEC Network will cap off the week with two episodes on Saturday, May 14, with an episode prior to the championship game (approx. 4 p.m.) and then reports from Starkville during the late-night edition (10:30 p.m.).  For the majority of the week, Maria Taylor will anchor SEC Now and be joined by college softball analysts Kayla Braud and Jenny Dalton-Hill and reporter Jane Slater.

Additionally, SEC Inside: Softball Tournament is in Starkville filming during the semifinals and finals, debuting unique vantage points and new sound from the Championship run following the tournament, on Wednesday, May 18 at 7 p.m. SEC Inside premiered during the football season and has continued into the spring, profiling Winter and Spring Championships.

***Taped Delayed (Live on ESPN3, Saturday, May 14 at 3 p.m.)

ESPN3 College Softball Schedule (May 12 – May 14)

*If necessary
**Subject to blackout

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Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; Derek.Volner@ESPN.com and @DerekVolner