BIG EAST Announces 2021-22 Men’s Basketball Television Schedule
Broadcast Network Exposure Matches Most in League History
FS1 To Telecast More Than 100 Games
The 40th BIG EAST Tournament at MSG Continues on FOX and FS1
New BIG EAST Opening Night Tip-Off Features Whip-Around Coverage
NEW YORK – The 2021-22 BIG EAST Conference men’s basketball television schedule released today includes a ninth straight season of wall-to-wall coverage by FOX Sports, the league’s television partner. Through its relationship with FOX, the BIG EAST has maintained its status as a national college sports leader in the number of basketball games appearing on an over-the-air national network.
The exposure on the FOX broadcast network includes 20 games, all on weekends. The league’s continuing double round-robin competition concludes with FOX Sports’ complete coverage of the BIG EAST Tournament played at Madison Square Garden March 9-12 for the 40th consecutive year.
The BIG EAST will have at least 22 over-the-air network broadcasts, matching the highest total in league history – 20 on FOX for the regular season and the BIG EAST Tournament title game, and two on CBS Sports.
The number of FS1 telecasts again will top 100. All 110 regular-season conference games will be televised. Play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson along with analysts Bill Raftery and Jim Jackson are back to form the FOX Sports lead announce teams.
For the first time, FOX Sports will provide whip-around BIG EAST coverage on Nov. 9, the opening night of the college basketball season. The BIG EAST Opening Night Tip-Off will include live look-ins on FS1 of seven non-conference contests. Full game coverage will be available on the Fox Sports App.
The 110-game BIG EAST conference schedule begins Friday, Dec. 17, when defending regular-season champion Villanova plays at Creighton on FS1. Tip time will be 8 or 9 p.m. ET. The Wildcats and the Bluejays were the two BIG EAST squads that advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament last March.
Two more conference openers are set for the following day when Providence plays at UConn on FOX at 5 p.m. and Marquette travels to Xavier on FS1 at 4 p.m. on Dec. 18.
The BIG EAST is coming off a season that had four teams reach the NCAA Tournament. For the seven years of NCAA Tournament play for the league since it re-formed in 2013, the BIG EAST has earned 36 NCAA invitations, averaging more than five NCAA bids per season.
FOX and FS1 again serve as the television home of the BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden. The 2022 tourney will be played March 9-12. It is college basketball’s longest running conference tournament held at the same venue. The FOX broadcast network will carry the championship game at 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 12. All other rounds, which total 10 games, will be telecast on FS1.
FOX Sports will once again televise the Gavitt Tipoff Games. The BIG EAST’s four home games include Illinois at Marquette on Nov. 15, Michigan State at Butler on Nov. 17, and a doubleheader on Nov. 18, Ohio State at Xavier and Rutgers and DePaul.
FOX Sports again will telecast the five BIG EAST home contests in the annual Big 12-BIG EAST Battle. The games: Texas Tech at Providence on Dec. 1, Kansas at St. John’s on Dec. 2, Iowa State at Creighton on Dec. 4, Texas at Seton Hall on Dec. 9 and TCU at Georgetown on Dec. 18. All games will be carried on FS1.
Highlights of the 2021-22 schedule:
- BIG EAST coverage on the FOX broadcast network includes 16 league games and three non-league contests. FOX will carry a doubleheader on Dec. 11 when former BIG EAST rivals Georgetown and Syracuse meet at the Capital One Arena at noon ET. At 2:30 p.m., Marquette hosts UCLA, a Final Four squad last year. The remaining non-league game on FOX comes a week later on Dec. 18 when Butler meets Purdue in the Crossroads Classic.
- The regular season concludes on Saturday, March 5, with a FOX Wildcard day. FOX or FS1 will carry all five games, though telecast decisions will not be made until late in the season.
- For the seventh straight year, the BIG EAST Tournament championship game will be carried on FOX. Tipoff will be 6:30 p.m. ET. The FS1 tourney coverage will begin with a first-round tripleheader on Wednesday, March 9. Quarterfinal doubleheaders will be played Thursday afternoon and evening, March 10. The semifinal doubleheader will be held Friday, March 11, followed by the title game on Saturday evening, March 12.
- With the addition of UConn in 2020-21, the BIG EAST conference slate has expanded to 110 games and features a 20-game double round-robin schedule.
BIG EAST basketball during the 2021-22 season will also be covered on the BIG EAST Digital Network. Shootaround, the BIG EAST’s live weekly men’s basketball online show that captures interviews and highlights of league action, will begin its fifth season in 2021-22. The award-winning program will air on the league’s social media platforms ahead of the biggest games. Be sure to follow @BIGEASTMBB and @BIGEAST on Twitter and follow the league on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube @BIGEAST.
The FOX Sports App provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content at home or on-the-go. FOX Sports App users, who are also subscribers of participating video providers, can live stream men’s basketball telecasts carried on the FOX broadcast network, FS1 and FS2.
Each of the BIG EAST’s 11 schools will announce their full individual schedules separately.
For complete BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Schedule, click here.
