Midcontinent, ESPN to broadcast all Summit League championship games

The Summit League has teamed up with Midcontinent Communications and ESPN to provide television coverage of all 14 games of the 2010 Summit League Basketball Championships. Midcontinent Communications will air the first 12 games of the tournament, which begins Saturday, March 6, at the Sioux Falls Arena.

Broadcasts can be seen in the following South Dakota markets on Midcontinent Channel 23: Aberdeen, Huron, Mitchell, Pierre, Rapid City, Spearfish and Watertown. Additional Midcontinent markets in the Upper Midwest are listed below. The Midcontinent broadcasts will be blacked out in the Sioux Falls, Yankton and Vermillion areas unless tournament sessions sell out in advance. Tournament games in those markets, as well as in Brookings through Mediacom, will be shown on a tape-delayed basis.

In addition, five men’s games will be carried on the ESPN Full Court subscription package. Saturday’s second opening-round game between second-seeded IUPUI and seventh-seeded Western Illinois kicks off the ESPN Full Court coverage. Both men’s opening-round games on Sunday, March 7, including South Dakota State versus IPFW, will be shown on ESPN Full Court. Coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. Central Time on Saturday and 6 p.m. both Sunday and Monday. Blackout restrictions do not apply to ESPN Full Court customers.

Tuesday’s championships will be aired by the ESPN family of networks. The women’s championship game at 3 p.m. will be broadcast on ESPNU, with the men’s final slated for an 8 p.m. start on ESPN2. All games shown on ESPN Full Court, ESPNU or ESPN2 will also be streamed at ESPN360.com.

Fans outside the Midcontinent coverage area can view the first 12 games of the tournament via video streaming through SummitTV at www.thesummitleague.org. A complete tournament package costs $19.95, with single games available on a pay-per-view basis for $4.95 per game.

A complete tournament viewing schedule follows:

SATURDAY, MARCH 6

Women’s Quarterfinals:

• No. 1 Oral Roberts vs. No. 8 Southern Utah, noon (Midcontinent/SummitTV)
• No. 2 Oakland vs. No. 7 Western Illinois, 2:30 p.m. (Midcontinent/SummitTV)

Men’s Quarterfinals:

• No. 1 Oakland vs. No. 8 UMKC (Midcontinent/SummitTV)
• No. 2 IUPUI vs. No. 7 Western Illinois (Midcontinet/ESPN Full Court/SummitTV)

SUNDAY, MARCH 7

Women’s Quarterfinals:

• No. 4 UMKC vs. No. 5 North Dakota State, noon (MIdcontinent/SummitTV)
• No. 3 South Dakota State vs. No. 6 IPFW, 2:30 p.m. (Midcontinent/SummitTV)

Men’s Quarterfinals:

• No. 4 South Dakota State vs. No. 5 IPFW, 6 p.m. (Midcontinet/ESPN Full Court/ESPN360SummitTV)
• No. 3 Oral Roberts vs. No. 6 North Dakota State 8:30 p.m. (Midcontinet/ESPN Full Court/ESPN360/SummitTV)

MONDAY, MARCH 8

Women’s Semifinals:

• Oral Roberts/Southern Utah winner vs. UMKC/North Dakota State winner, noon (Midcontinent/SummitTV)
• Oakland/Western Illinois winner vs. South Dakota State/IPFW winner, 2:30 p.m. (Midcontinent/SummitTV)

Men’s Semifinals:

• Oakland/UMKC winner vs. South Dakota State/IPFW winner, 6 p.m. (Midcontinet/ESPN Full Court/ESPN360/SummitTV)
• IUPUI/Western Illinois winner vs. Oral Roberts/North Dakota State winner, 8:30 p.m. (Midcontinet/ESPN Full Court/ESPN360/SummitTV)

TUESDAY, MARCH 9

• Women’s Championship, 3 p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN360)
• Men’s Championship, 8 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPN360)

Midcontinent Markets: South Dakota— Aberdeen, Bath, Belle Fourche, Big Stone City, Black Hawk, Bowdle, Box Elder, Bristol, Central City, Deadwood, Doland, Ellsworth AFB, Fort Pierre, Frederick, Huron, Ipswich, Java, Lead, Milbank, Miller, Mina, Mitchell, Mobridge, Piedmont, Pierre, Redfield, Roscoe, Roslyn, St. Lawrence, Rapid City, Selby, Spearfish, Sturgis, Warner, Watertown, Waubay, Webster, Whitewood, Wolsey. Minnesota— Breckenridge, Crookston, Dilworth, East Grand Forks, Moorhead, Ortonville, Sabin. North Dakota— Anamoose, Aneta, Barlow, Beulah, Binford, Bisbee, Bismarck, Bottineau, Bowman, Burlington, Buxton, Cando, Carrington, Center, Cooperstown, Devils Lake, Dodge, Drake, Drayton, Dunseith, Edmore, Emerado, Fairmount, Fessenden, Galesburg, Gladstone, Glenburn, Glen Ullin, Golden Valley, Grafton, Grandin, Halliday, Hankinson, Hannaford, Harvey, Hatton, Hazen, Hebron, Hettinger, Hillsboro, Hope, Kensal, Killdeer, Langdon, Lansford, Larimore, Lidgerwood, Lincoln, Mandan, Manvel, Mayville, Minot, Minot AFB, Minto, Mohall, New Rockford, New Salem, Page, Pick City, Portland, Reeder, Reynolds, Rhame, Richardton, Riverdale, Rolette, Rolla, Rugby, Ruthville, Saint John, Scranton, Stanton, Starkweather, Surrey, Thompson, Towner, Turtle Lake, Underwood, Wahpeton, Walhalla, Washburn, Williston, Willow City, Wimbledon, Zap (Note that the Saturday night games will air on Channel 322 in North Dakota and Minnesota communities bordering North Dakota.)