Contests at Murray State on Jan. 14, at Morehead State on Jan. 28 picked up by Worldwide Leader in Sports

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Tech will play at least two games in front of a national audience on the ESPN networks during the 2011-12 season, with the potential for several more.

The Ohio Valley Conference announced its television schedule for the upcoming season Wednesday, with the league set for 10 total men’s basketball games to air across the ESPN platform.

The Golden Eagles’ games at Murray State on Jan. 14 will be televised on ESPNU at 5 p.m. while the Jan. 28 matchup at Morehead State will also be seen on ESPNU at 2 p.m.

Additionally, Tech’s home game against Southeast Missouri on Jan. 21 as well as its Feb. 2 battle at Austin Peay are listed as “wild card” games and have the potential to be picked up by ESPNU 21 days before the contest. The wild card format helps ensure the most competitive games featuring the teams at the top of OVC standings are selected for telecast.

“We are thrilled to have two of our games, and potentially more, selected by ESPN,” said head coach Steve Payne. “The exposure our program receives by playing on national television is immeasurable. It’s also great for our fans who live outside the area and will be able to see us play on TV when they can’t be at the games.”

In addition to the seven regular-season OVC games shown on ESPN networks, both OVC Tournament semifinal matchups on March 2 and the championship game on March 3 will be televised. The first semifinal can be seen on ESPNU while the second will air on ESPN3. The title matchup will be picked up by either ESPN or ESPN2. The tournament will be held at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn.

ESPNU launched on March 4, 2005 with the Southeast Missouri State/Eastern Kentucky OVC Tournament semifinal contest being the first event aired live on the network. The 24-hour college sports television network airs more than 650 live events annually. Each season, ESPNU televises more than 300 men’s and women’s basketball games, including regular season and conference tournament matchups from a wide variety of schools representing 27 different conferences. ESPNU is available nationwide in approximately 73 million households and has long-term carriage agreements with all 10 of the top multichannel TV providers – Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV (Channel 208), DISH Network (Channel 141), Mediacom, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV and AT&T U-verse.

ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, a 24/7 destination that delivers thousands of global sports events annually and accessible online via WatchESPN.com. It is available to approximately 70 million homes at no cost to fans who receive a high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated provider. The network is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks. It can be accessed on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and on ESPN on Xbox LIVE through an affiliated provider.

The full OVC television schedule is listed below:

2011-12 ESPN Television Schedule
Saturday, December 31
Austin Peay at Morehead State, 11:00 a.m. CT (ESPNU)
Saturday, January 7
Murray State at Austin Peay, 7:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
Saturday, January 14
Tennessee Tech at Murray State, 5:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
Saturday, January 21
Wild Card Game (Teams TBD), 8:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Potential Wild Card Games for Jan. 21
Austin Peay at Eastern Illinois
UT Martin at Morehead State
Murray State at SIUE
Southeast Missouri at Tennessee Tech
Saturday, January 28
Tennessee Tech at Morehead State, 2:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
Thursday, February 2
Wild Card Game (Teams TBD), 7:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Potential Wild Card Games for Feb. 2
Tennessee Tech at Austin Peay
Eastern Kentucky at Eastern Illinois
Morehead State at SIUE
Southeast Missouri at Murray State
Jacksonville State at UT Martin
Thursday, February 23
Wild Card Game (Teams TBD), 7:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Potential Wild Card Games for Feb. 23
Austin Peay at UT Martin
SIUE at Eastern Kentucky
Murray State at Tennessee State
Eastern Illinois at Morehead State
Southeast Missouri at Jacksonville State
Friday, March 2
OVC Tournament Men’s Semifinal #1, 6:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
OVC Tournament Men’s Semifinal #2, 8:00 p.m. CT (ESPN3)
Saturday, March 3
OVC Tournament Men’s Championship, 1:00 p.m. CT (ESPN or ESPN2)