IRVINE, CA – Big West Conference Commissioner Dennis Farrell today announced the 2011-12 Big West basketball television schedule, which includes a minimum of 25 games on the ESPN networks and FOX Sports Net.

The package features five nationally televised men’s basketball regular season conference games on ESPN2 and ESPNU, with an additional seven regionally televised regular season games on PRIME TICKET and FOX Sports West.

The partnership with both networks extends to Honda Center, the site of the 2012 Big West Basketball Tournament. On Friday, March 9, ESPNU will televise the men’s semifinals – the 9:00 p.m. (PST) game will air live while the 6:30 p.m. semifinal will follow on a delayed basis. In addition, the 6:30 p.m. semifinal will be shown live on ESPN3. The men’s championship game is scheduled for Saturday, March 10 on ESPN2 at 7:00 p.m. (PST). The Big West women’s championship game, which will be televised on FSN for the 15th consecutive season, will air on PRIME TICKET at 2:00 p.m. (PST).

A minimum of nine additional national broadcasts will appear in the package on the ESPN Networks. UC Riverside will appear in three games at the 76 Classic, the annual eight team men’s basketball Thanksgiving tournament hosted by the Big West at the Anaheim Convention Center. The Highlanders begin the tournament with a Thanksgiving Day showdown against Villanova on ESPN2. Long Beach State’s participation in the Diamond Head Classic on the islands of Hawai’i presents three more exposures on ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN3. The 49ers also appear in two more non-conference road matchups versus Louisville and Kansas on ESPNU.

The Big West’s first appearance on an ESPN network takes place on Tuesday, November 15 as part of the ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon, a 24-hour smorgasbord of college hoops that includes Cal State Northridge travelling to future Big West member Hawai’i for a 1:00 a.m. (PST) tip.

The Big West package potentially could grow in exposures with the 10th annual ESPN sponsored SEARS BracketBusters event, a three-day men’s basketball extravaganza pitting NCAA Tournament hopefuls from a variety of NCAA Division I conferences. Thirteen nationally televised contests will be selected from a pool of 142 teams from 16 conference and will be shown on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN3. The SEARS BracketBusters matchups, game times and network assignments will be announced on Monday, January 30.

“The continued strong partnerships with ESPN and FSN present great opportunities for the Big West Conference to gain national and regional exposure of its basketball programs,” said Big West Commissioner Dennis Farrell. “We feel we have selected some very competitive games that will showcase the conference’s talent and a tight race leading up to the tournament at Honda Center.”

The conference package will be highlighted by a pair of clashes between Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara – the schools that have met in the previous two Big West Tournament championship games. The FSN package commences on Saturday, January 14 with a Pacific at Long Beach State matchup on PRIME TICKET. The lineup also features a “Wild Card” Saturday on February 4 in which ESPNU and FS West will select two games among the four on that day’s schedule.

* The 6:30 pm semifinal will air live on ESPN3 and will be replayed on ESPNU on a delayed basis immediately following the completion of BIg West Tournament semifinal No. 2.