BIG EAST Announces 2017-18 Men's Basketball Conference Schedule

FS1 To Telecast More Than 100 Games

FOX Broadcast Network Exposure Increases

BIG EAST Tournament at MSG on FOX and FS1

Highlights of the 2017-18 schedule:

BIG EAST coverage on FOX broadcast network includes 15 league games and a pair of non-league contests. The first BIG EAST league contest on FOX is Xavier at Providence at noon ET on Saturday, Jan. 6. FOX will carry BIG EAST doubleheaders on three straight Saturdays in February – Feb. 10, 17 and 24. Each twinbill will begin at noon ET. On Saturday, March 3, the last day of the regular season, FOX will have a tripleheader of Wild Card selections starting at noon. The two non-league contests confirmed are Butler versus Purdue in the Crossroads Classic on Dec. 16 and Duke at St. John’s from Madison Square Garden on Feb. 3. The FOX broadcast network schedule is listed in this release following the composite league schedule. CBS Sports will telecast at least two games involving BIG EAST teams: Georgetown hosts Syracuse on Saturday, Dec. 16 and Villanova plays at Butler on Saturday, Dec. 30.

CBS Sports Network again will carry a strong lineup of BIG EAST play, including 16 conference games and at least two non-conference games.

The BIG EAST will play a holiday doubleheader on MLK Day, Jan. 15. Butler plays at Providence at 4:30 p.m. and DePaul travels to Marquette at 9 p.m. Both games will be telecast on FS1.

For the third straight season, the BIG EAST Tournament championship final will be carried on FOX. Tipoff will be 6:30 p.m. ET. The FS1 tourney coverage will begin with a first-round-doubleheader on Wednesday, March 7. Quarterfinal doubleheaders will be played Thursday afternoon and evening, March 8. The semifinal doubleheader is held Friday, March 9, followed by the championship game on Saturday evening, March 10.

FS2 and the FOX Sports Regional Networks will air games not carried by FOX, FS1, CBS or CBS Sports Network, including conference and non-conference contests.

For the fifth straight year, the BIG EAST will feature an 18-game double round-robin conference schedule.

About the BIG EAST

– The 2017-18 BIG EAST Conference men’s basketball schedule was released Tuesday and features a fifth straight season of comprehensive coverage by FOX Sports, the league’s television partner. The BIG EAST will enjoy increased exposure on the FOX broadcast network with at least 17 games televised in the regular season, the most over-the-air national telecasts of any conference. The league’s continuing double round-robin competition climaxes with FOX Sports complete coverage of the 36th BIG EAST Tournament played at Madison Square Garden.This season, FS1 will carry more than 100 BIG EAST games overall, and each of the FOX broadcast network’s telecasts will be a weekend contest. All 90 conference regular-season games again will be nationally televised. Eighty-four of the 90 BIG EAST contests will include at least one team that made the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Gus Johnson and Bill Raftery return as the FOX Sports lead announce team.CBS Sports and CBS Sports Network again will televise selected BIG EAST games, with CBS Sports carrying at least two contests on its broadcast network. The two games are Georgetown hosting long-time rival Syracuse on Dec. 16 and Villanova playing at Butler on Dec. 30.The CBS Sports Network schedule includes 16 conference contests and at least two non-league games.The conference season begins Dec. 27 and Dec. 28. Three contests will be played on the 27th, with Villanova, on a BIG EAST-record streak of four straight regular-season titles, visiting DePaul. In a battle of two 2017 NCAA tourney teams, Xavier, which reached the Elite Eight, plays at Marquette. Butler travels to Georgetown in a game between the conference’s two new head coaches, Butler’s LaVall Jordan and Georgetown’s Patrick Ewing.On Dec. 28, Seton Hall hosts Creighton in a battle of two squads that made the NCAA Tournament last March. Providence, coming off a school-record fourth straight NCAA appearance, meets St. John’s at Carnesecca Arena.Last season, seven of the 10 BIG EAST schools – Butler, Creighton, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier -- earned NCAA Championship bids. Xavier advanced the farthest, reaching the West Regional final. Butler made it to the round of Sweet 16.The BIG EAST will play two games on MLK Day, Jan. 15. Butler will visit Providence at 4:30 p.m. and DePaul will travel to Marquette at 9 p.m. Both games will be telecast on FS1.FOX and FS1 again will serve as the television home of the BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 7-10. Held at the World’s Most Famous Arena for the 36th consecutive year, the event is college basketball’s longest running postseason conference tourney conducted at the same venue. The FOX broadcast network will carry the Championship game at 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 10. All other rounds will be telecast on FS1.Additionally, FS1 will telecast all four BIG EAST home games in the third annual Gavitt Tipoff Games, a series between the BIG EAST and the Big Ten Conferences held during the first full week of the regular season. Those games are: Minnesota at Providence on Nov. 13, Purdue at Marquette on Nov. 14, Indiana at Seton Hall on Nov. 15 and Nebraska at St. John’s on Nov. 16.BIG EAST basketball during the 2017-18 season will also be seen on the BIG EAST Digital Network. BEDN has its own branded channel within FOX Sports GO, the app that provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content at home or on-the-go. FOX Sports GO app users who are also subscribers of participating video providers can live stream men’s basketball telecasts carried on the FOX broadcast network, FS1, FS2, and the FOX Sports Regional Networks.In addition to BEDN’s 225 live streamed events, including every women’s basketball conference game not carried by FOX Sports or CBSSN, the BIG EAST has launched a live weekly men’s basketball online show called Shootaround on Thursdays at 3 p.m.BEDN content also will include highlights, selected news coverage and shoulder programming.The BIG EAST will conduct its Men’s and Women’s Basketball Media Day on Oct. 18 at Madison Square Garden.Each of the BIG EAST’s 10 schools will separately announce their full individual schedules.The BIG EAST Conference is an association of ten nationally prominent colleges and universities that foster healthy athletic competition, community service and the pursuit of excellence in academic environments. The athletic programs of BIG EAST institutions provide national-caliber participation opportunities for more than 3,727 student-athletes on over 180 men’s and women’s teams in 22 sports. Established in 1979 and headquartered in New York City, the BIG EAST’s members are located in seven of the country’s top 36 largest media markets and include Butler University, Creighton University, DePaul University, Georgetown University, Marquette University, Providence College, St. John’s University, Seton Hall University, Villanova University and Xavier University. For more information, visit www.bigeast.com Contact: John Paquette ( jpaquette@bigeast.com ) 646-663-3443 or Kristin Quinn (kquinn@bigeast.com)