DENVER Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Karl Benson today announced both the mens and womens basketball television schedule. The schedule is a combination of at least 14 games that will be telecast by both Fox Sports Net and ESPN2.
Fox Sports Net will show six mens games on the affiliate of the teams involved each week beginning Jan. 16. Last years regular season co-champions Hawaii and Tulsa will each be shown twice. The Golden Hurricane open the Fox Sports Net schedule on Thursday, Jan. 16 when they travel to UTEP for a 6:00 p.m. (MT) tip-off. Tulsa will be featured again on Feb. 13 when it hosts Boise State at 7:00 p.m. (CT). Hawaiis games at SMU on Feb. 8 and at Rice on March 1 will give the two-time defending WAC tournament champions two appearances on Fox Sports Net.
WAC teams will make three appearances on ESPN2 throughout the season. Tulsa will host Nevada at 3:00 p.m. (CT) on Jan. 4. The network will show the Feb. 27 clash between Hawaii and Tulsa at 9:00 p.m. (CT). ESPN2 will also feature the WAC mens championship game on March 15 at 8:00 p.m. (CT). This years tournament will again be played at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Okla. WAC teams will also be featured Feb. 22 on ESPNs Bracket Buster Saturday. ESPN and ESPN2 will televise five of nine games involving teams from seven conferences. Fresno State, Hawaii, Louisiana Tech and Tulsa are the WACs representatives that day.
On the womens side, four games will be regionally televised by the participating schools Fox Sports Net affiliate. Louisiana Tech will be featured at SMU on Jan. 4 and again on Jan. 11 when it hosts Hawaii in a rematch of last years WAC tournament championship game. On Feb. 22, Rice hosts SMU. All three games will be shown at 8:00 p.m. (CT). Fox Sports Net will also televise the WAC womens championship game on March 15 at 1:00 p.m. (CT).
This years basketball season should be another exciting campaign for the WAC, said Benson. We have several outstanding teams, and this television package gives our fans and the rest of the nation numerous chances to witness the high level of basketball played in the Western Athletic Conference.
2002-03 WAC Basketball Television Schedule Fox Sports Net-MenJan. 16 Tulsa at UTEP, 6:00 p.m. (MT)
Jan. 23 SMU at Rice, 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Feb. 8 Hawaii at SMU, 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Feb. 13 Boise St. at Tulsa, 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Feb. 22 Nevada at San Jose St., 6:00 p.m. (PT)
March 1 Hawaii at Rice, 4:00 p.m. (CT)
Fox Sports Net-WomenJan. 4 Louisiana Tech at SMU, 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Jan. 11 Hawaii at Louisiana Tech, 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Feb. 22 SMU at Rice, 8:00 p.m. (CT)
March 15 WAC Championship Game, 1:00 p.m. (CT)
ESPN2-MenJan. 4 Nevada at Tulsa, 3:00 p.m. (CT)
Feb. 22 Bracket Buster Saturday (ESPN/ESPN2)
Feb. 27 Hawaii at Tulsa, 9:00 p.m. (CT)
March 15 WAC Championship Game, 8:00 p.m. (CT)