COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Ohio Valley Conference announced its slate of games across ESPN platforms for the 2010-11 season on Thursday, including two slots that may potentially air Tennessee Tech men’s basketball contests.

As per usually, the schedule includes eight men’s basketball games that will appear on ESPNU and one contest that will appear on ESPN2. That includes the OVC Tournament men’s semifinals (which will air on ESPNU) and men’s final (which will air on ESPN2). The tournament will be held at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn.

However this year, for the first time, this slate will also include two regular season match-ups on Jan. 20 and Feb. 3 as “Wild Card” selections.

It’s during these “Wild Card” spots that Tech basketball might debut on ESPN, either against Austin Peay in Clarksville on Jan. 20 or on their own home court against Eastern Kentucky on Feb. 3. The official contest that will air will feature the teams selected 21 days in advance.

“Having the opportunity to play in a nationally televised game means a lot to our guys,” said head coach Mike Sutton. “It gives the team a lot to look forward to as the season gets underway.”

“We’re very proud of both of our basketball programs at Tennessee Tech University,” said director of athletics Mark Wilson. “We have some incredibly hard-working student-athletes representing our basketball programs, and we would welcome the opportunity for the rest of the nation to see our men’s team in action on the court.”
 
Additional games, including women’s basketball contests, that will be televised on national, regional or local television networks will be released at a later date.

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 and offers over 400 original studio shows. Action includes a variety of top football and men’s and women’s basketball games, as well as Olympic sports from 26 Division I conferences. The network also has a wide-ranging agreement with the NCAA for extensive coverage of 22 NCAA Championships.

ESPNU has seen a steady increase since its inception in March, 2005, and is now in over 73 million households across the country. The network is also available in high definition on ESPNUHD.

20010-11 ESPNU/ESPN2 Television Schedule

Saturday, January 8
Austin Peay at Murray State, 11:00 a.m. CT (ESPNU)
 
Saturday, January 15
Austin Peay at Tennessee State, 3:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
 
Thursday, January 20
Wild Card Game (Teams TBD), 6:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Potential Wild Card Games for Jan. 20
Southeast Missouri at UT Martin
Jacksonville State at Tennessee State
Tennessee Tech at Austin Peay
Eastern Illinois at Murray State
 
Saturday, January 22
Eastern Kentucky at Morehead State, 12:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
 
Thursday, February 3
Wild Card Game (Teams TBD), 8:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
                Potential Wild Card Games for Feb. 3
UT Martin at Austin Peay
Murray State at Tennessee State
Eastern Kentucky at Tennessee Tech
Morehead State at Jacksonville State
 
Thursday, February 24
Morehead State at Murray State, 8:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
 
Friday, March 4
OVC Tournament Men’s Semifinal #1, 6:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
OVC Tournament Men’s Semifinal #2, 8:00 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
 
Saturday, March 5
OVC Tournament Men’s Championship, 7:00 p.m. CT (ESPN2)