ESPNU to Televise Coverage of Inaugural ESPN RISE Games July 25-29

ESPNU to Televise Coverage of Inaugural ESPN RISE Games July 25-29

Game Coverage, Recap Shows and More

ESPNU will provide extensive coverage from the ESPN RISE Games Presented by Target, beginning Saturday, July 25 through Wednesday, July 29.  Televised events will include the 2009 Under Armour All-America Softball Game, Champion® Gridiron Kings, the AAU Super Showcase presented by Champion, and a 30-minute recap show. ESPN RISE Games Presented by Target is a new weeklong, multi-sport event that will feature elite and competitive sports.  The inaugural event takes place at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex; the nation’s leading multi-sport complex for amateur and professional sports, in suburban Orlando, Fla.

The ESPN RISE Games Presented by Target is anchored by the Under Armour High School Softball All-American (UA) game (July 21), ESPN RISE’s newly developed, elite high school football event Champion® Gridiron Kings (GK) and the AAU 17-under Boys Basketball Super Showcase presented by Champion® (July 26-27), which will all be featured on ESPNU.

The Under Armour All-America Softball game will showcase 30 of the top high school All-Star players in the nation divided into two squads.  Players are selected by a committee of high school softball experts. ESPNU will televise two hours of coverage on tape delay Saturday, July 25 at 7 p.m. ET.

The Champion® Gridiron Kings is an elite high school football event that features 64 of the best players in the game’s seven skill positions – quarterback, running back, tight end, wide receiver, linebacker, cornerback and safety.  The event includes performance training, position specific training, skills challenges and a 7-on-7 competition. One-hour coverage of this event will air on ESPNU Tuesday, July 28, at 7 p.m.

The AAU Super Showcase attracts the top college basketball coaches in the land and some of the top high school players in the country.  ESPNU will provide viewers with in-depth analysis of the players and interviews by Andy Katz with 30-plus college coaches, including Bruce Pearl (Tennessee), John Calipari (Kentucky), Roy Williams (North Carolina), Billy Donovan (Florida) and Jamie Dixon (Pittsburgh).  Meanwhile ESPNU anchor Lowell Galindo and ESPN Scouts, Inc. Basketball Recruiting Director Paul Biancardi will be announcing games between some of the top AAU teams in the nation during the live four-hour telecast from 5 -9 p.m., July 26-27.  Some of the top players to be featured include several ESPNU 100 players: No. 4 Jared Sullinger (All-Ohio Red), No. 12 Will Barton (Baltimore Elite), No. 13 Reggie Bullock (Chris Paul All-Stars, N.C.), No. 19 Tobias Harris (Albany City Rocks, N.Y.), No. 14 Dion Waiters (Team Final, Pa.).  In addition, ESPNU Super 60’s No. 1 Mike Gilchrist, who will represent Team Final and No. 2 Austin Rivers of Team Stat (Fla.), will be on display. 

The ESPN RISE Games Recap Show Presented by Target will be hosted by Lowell Galindo on Wednesday, July 29, at 7 p.m. The show will review the first-year event with video highlights and commentary from the attendees and ESPN commentators.

 ESPNU TV Schedule for ESPN RISE Games Presented by Target:

About ESPNU

ESPNU launched on March 4, 2005. The 24-hour college sports television network features more than 550 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 will be available nationwide in more than 46 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.

About ESPN RISE

ESPN RISE represents ESPN’s commitment to engage and elevate high school athletes by providing them with recognition, resources, information and inspiration that can motivate them to improve their skills and achieve their goals to be the best athletes they can.  ESPN RISE assets include ESPN RISE, GIRL, Hardwood and Gridiron magazines; ESPNRISE.com, Hoopgurlz.com and DyeStat.com; and more than 160 high school events including Elite 11, Elite 24, ESPN RISE Games, ESPN RISE National High School Invitational, Faster to First, Area Code Baseball and Nike Combines/Nike SPARQ Mini Camps.  ESPN RISE is uniquely positioned to provide high school athletes and the company’s core fans with compelling high school sports content across all ESPN platforms.

About Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex

Opened in 1997 at Walt Disney World Resort, Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex is the leading multi-sport venue for amateur and professional sports in the United States. The sprawling 220-acre state-of-the-art complex features the Milk House, a 165,000-square-foot field house which seats 5,500 for basketball; the 9,500-seat Champion® Stadium ballpark; the Hess Sports Fields, which include multiple baseball, softball and soccer fields; and the Jostens Center, an 80,000 square foot multi-sport field house. In addition, the complex has 11 tennis courts, including a stadium court, and a track and field complex. The complex is home to more than 180 amateur and professional sports and entertainment events each year, including the Major League Baseball Atlanta Braves spring training, the Pop Warner Super Bowl, the Old Spice Classic college basketball tournament, Chelsea Football Club events, Disney’s Soccer Showcase, the Special Olympics Florida Summer Games and the World Cheerleading Championships. Please visit disneysports.com for more information.

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