Iconic Voices Return for FOX Sports’ Extensive College Basketball Coverage
New York – With the college basketball season set to tip off this weekend, FOX Sports announces its lineup of broadcasters for the 2014-15 season, one that features some of the most recognizable voices in the game. The announcement was made today by FOX Sports Executive Vice President, Production, John Entz.
The incomparable Gus Johnson and Bill Raftery return for their second season as FOX Sports’ lead game announcers, while iconic play-by-play announcer Tim Brando takes the mic for his first season calling FOX Sports college basketball. Joining Johnson and Brando on play-by-play, Kevin Burkhardt, who calls NFL on FOX action and serves as MLB on FOX’s studio host, and Joe Davis, a FOX Sports college football and MLB broadcaster, debut courtside for FOX Sports this season. Also calling action are Justin Kutcher, Aaron Goldsmith, Dick Stockton, Kevin Kugler, Eric Collins, Cory Provus and Brian Anderson, who all return for their second seasons.
In addition to Raftery, Jim Jackson, Donny Marshall, Tarik Turner, Jim Spanarkel, Stephen Bardo, Ron Thompson, Bob Wenzel, Vin Parise and Sean Elliott are back as game analysts, while Stanford All-American Casey Jacobsen joins primarily on Pac-12 games.
In the studio, Rob Stone returns as host of FOX Sports’ and FOX Sports 1’s college hoops studio coverage, sharing duties with Burkhardt, Don Bell and Greg Wolf. Former Providence standout Austin Croshere is back as a studio analyst, sitting alongside Marshall, Kevin O’Neill and Ben Howland, who each coached in both the BIG EAST and Pac-12 conferences. Croshere, Marshall and O’Neill contributed to FOX Sports’ college basketball game and studio analysis a season ago, while Howland is in his first season behind the desk. Insiders Stewart Mandel and Reid Forgrave also contribute to the network’s extensive college basketball coverage with Mandel serving as FOX Sports’ bracketologist, projecting who’s in, who’s out and who’s on the bubble as March Madness draws near.
“We are incredibly excited about the group of broadcasters covering college basketball for FOX Sports this season,” Entz said. “With some of the most legendary and respected names in college basketball broadcasting, plus several other exciting voices that are sure to become household names, we can’t wait to start the season and begin our full schedule of great games.”
College basketball on the FOX Sports family of networks tips off Friday, Nov. 14, with a doubleheader on FOX Sports 2, as Villanova hosts Lehigh at 8:00 PM ET, followed by an intra-city showdown between the University of Illinois at Chicago and DePaul at 10:00 PM ET. FOX Sports 1 opens its schedule on Sunday, Nov. 16, as Creighton hosts Chicago State (5:30 PM ET), followed by doubleheaders on back-to-back nights, with Villanova hosting Maryland Eastern Shore (7:00 PM ET) and Providence welcoming Binghamton (9:00 PM ET) on Monday, Nov. 17, and Xavier facing Long Beach State (7:00 PM ET) and DePaul playing Drake (9:00 PM ET) on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
FOX Sports’ coverage of BIG EAST basketball presented by New York Life includes more than 150 men’s games on the FOX broadcast network, FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2, FOX Sports Regional Networks and FOX College Sports, including a five-game, 12-hour marathon to open conference play on New Year’s Eve and the entire BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Tournament Presented by New York Life from Madison Square Garden in New York City on FOX Sports 1. FOX Sports also presents Pac-12 men’s, Big 12 women’s and Conference-USA men’s and women’s regular- and postseason packages across its family of networks.
To download FOX Sports’ complete BIG EAST men’s and women’s basketball schedules to your calendar and mobile device, visit cal.foxsports.com/ncaa and cal.foxsports.com/ncaaw or Tweet #BIGEASTMBBgames and #BIGEASTWBBgames to @FOXSports1.
Brief biographical information on each announcer can be found on the attached PDF. For more FOX College Basketball, follow @FOXSports1 on Twitter and “Like” FOX Sports on Facebook (facebook.com/foxsports).
