NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship: Notre Dame & UConn Meet for Second Straight Year National Title Game on ESPN

Top-seeds UConn and Notre Dame – meeting for the second-straight season and the fourth time in five years – will face off in the NCAA National Championship game on Tuesday, April 7, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and WatchESPN from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. UConn holds a perfect 9-0 all-time record in the NCAA title games, including wins in both 2013 and 2014. Notre Dame heads to its fourth national championship game in five years.

The NCAA Women’s Championship Special Presented by Capital One will air prior to the National Championship game with an hour-long preview special on ESPN and WatchESPN, and will be hosted by Kevin Negandhi, Kara Lawson and Rebecca Lobo, at 7:30 p.m.

Features and storylines to be highlighted leading into and during title game, include:

• ESPN explores this exceptional rivalry, as UConn and Notre Dame’s history dates back to the 1995-96 season and includes 43 games.

• Looking back at the last 21 seconds of Notre Dame’s National Semifinal win over South Carolina.

• Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins penned an essay an essay on Notre Dame.

• UConn head coach Geno Auriemma is chasing John Wooden’s NCAA-record 10 national titles.

• Auriemma discusses five topics, other than women’s basketball.

• ESPN’s Lawson joins UConn’s Moriah Jefferson, a recently names WBCA, USBWA and Second Team Associated Press All-American, for an on-court demonstration.

• During the pregame special, a segment from E:60’s, ESPN’s award-winning news magazine show, upcoming profile of Coach Acey Shaw will be featured. Playing for his 10th National Championship Tuesday, UConn’s Auriemma lends his voice to this high school basketball story of the year, set to air this spring. Located two hours south of Boise, Idaho, the town of Dietrich has just over 300 people, and some thirty thousand cows, and is home to one of the most successful high school girls basketball programs in the country. Coach Shaw has led the Dietrich girls to four consecutive state championships, gunning for a record fifth this spring. In 2011, shortly after their first title, the 40 year-old coach and cattle farmer saw his two worlds collide in one of the most improbable ways imaginable, forever changing his life and the town who loves him so much. Unable to walk and barely able to talk, this father, husband, farmer and coach, with the help of his family, community and team, reached the pinnacle of his sport. Trailer Preview

A 90-minute College Basketball Live: Women’s National Championship Special airs on ESPNU Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. Hosted by Matt Schick with analysts Steffi Sorensen and Brooke Weisbrod, the trio highlights and previews the Women’s National Championship title game.

NCAA Women’s Final Four content will be available across multiple platforms, including espnW.com, SportsCenter, ESPNEWS and ESPN International.

WatchESPN is accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

NCAA Division I Women’s Final Four Schedule (subject to change)

ESPN Classic will feature a marathon on Tuesday, April 7, beginning at 7 a.m. with five recent Notre Dame vs. UConn games, plus the 2001 National Championship game that saw the Fighting Irish win their first title.