College Hockey:
CCHA final pushes back NCAA selection show on ESPN

USCHO Staff Report • Sept. 17, 2012

The CCHA will crown its final Mason Cup champion on Sunday, March 24, 2013, thereby pushing back the annual NCAA tournament selection show on ESPNU to 9 p.m. EST on March 24.

For the CCHA’s “Celebrate the Legacy” final season, four teams will travel to Joe Louis Arena in Detroit in hopes of capturing the 42nd CCHA championship and 32nd straight at “The Joe.”

The semifinals will take place at 1:05 p.m. and 4:35 p.m. EST on March 23 and the championship game will be played at 2:05 p.m. EST March 24. There will be no third-place game this season.

Permission to hold the championship on Sunday, on a one-time only basis, was granted by the NCAA Division I Ice Hockey Committee.

“Joe Louis Arena was unavailable for college hockey on Friday, March 22,” CCHA commissioner Fred Pletsch said in a statement. “We looked at the options and a Saturday-Sunday format is the best one. Both the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Committee and ESPN have been very accommodating in assisting us in finalizing our championship schedule.

“We look forward to an outstanding championship weekend.”

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Scott
How many college hockey games is the ESPN Network of channels televising this season? Exactly – ZERO. I hate that they can cherry pick the Selection Show and NCAA Tourney. I’d love to see NBC Sports Network or CBS Sports Network get the College Hockey NCAA Championships, can you imagine a Selection Show and actual National Championship game on NBC itself?! Would be awesome!!!
- bronxbomberz41
  ever since the NHL bolted for Versus (now NBC) ESPN has just shat over hockey in general (rarely any coverage or discussion on the family of TV and radio networks). They probably get the NCAA tourney as a result of some deal with the NCAA to broadcast championships, and thats it.
  I wouldn’t mind seeing it on NBCSports or CBS Sports, but I would actually prefer just more coverage in general.
  - Joseph Crowley
    ESPN has a blanket agreement to cover ALL NCAA championships, with the exception of Football, which does not have a playoff, but bowls, and Men’s Basketball, which is a cash cow with CBS.
    ESPN guarantees that every Division I championship game will be televised. Some are on the flagship station, some, like hockey, are on ESPN2, others on ESPNU, plus all on the 360 thing.
    Having said that, ESPN does a pretty bad job covering men’s hockey, not showing all the tournament games live on television (like the West Regional last year) and moving the Frozen Four coverage to ESPN2.
    The regular season and league playoff numbers during the year for NBC Sports, CBS Sports and The Big Ten Network will be the key to getting ESPN to put more enhanced coverage of men’s hockey. I cannot see ESPN ceding NCAA Hockey Tournament, since they want to be the home of NCAA Championships. ESPN is interested in marketing its overall NCAA relationship than in growing D-I hockey, either men’s or women’s.
chickod
We have this discussion EVERY year…when is everyone going to accept the fact the college hockey is a regional, niche sport and we should be thankful that ANY of the games are on at all…
- Joseph Crowley
  I will be voting with my TV remote on Fios again this year. I watched CBS Sports Network on non-HD to see college hockey. I watched NBC Sports coverage of college hockey. I hope that the NESN that is finally on my Fios in Virginia will broadcast the Beanpot live without a blackout like we have for Red Sox.
  I watched a lot of college hockey last year. More than I could imagine. In 1987, I watched BU host North Dakota live in the first round of the NCAA tournament, sitting in section 8. That game was not even televised in Boston. Last year, I watched the Terriers playing Minnesota in St Paul on a computer in Virginia. If BU played in any other regional, I could have seen them live on the television. So what if ESPN does not give 100% attention to D-I hockey. The fact that I can watch it live at my house is a vast improvement.

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