TvPat
05-17-2006, 05:30 PM
ABC will tackle prime-time college football next season.
ABC Saturday Night College Football will feature showdowns between top football programs at 8 p.m. ET.
Notre Dame kicks off the 12-week season Sept. 2 at Georgia Tech followed by Ohio State at defending national champion Texas the next week.
Commentator Brent Musburger will be the play-by-play voice with Bob Davie as the analyst. They will be joined by ESPN College GameDay and ESPN College Football Thursday prime-time analyst Kirk Herbstreit on certain weeks. Lisa Salters, an NBA sideline reporter and general assignment correspondent for multiple ESPN news outlets, will report from the sidelines.
"This prime-time series will be terrific for fans as more top-quality sports product comes to the ABC Television Network," said George Bodenheimer, president, ESPN, Inc. and ABC Sports. "These games join a strong lineup of sports on ABC, including the NBA Finals, NASCAR's playoffs -- Chase for the Nextel Cup -- in 2007, Belmont Stakes and Indianapolis 500."
It's the first college football series in prime time on broadcast television and will also be available in high definition. The schedule does not include games on Oct. 21 and 28.
College GameDay will kick off its 20th season by originating from the site of the first two ABC prime-time telecasts: Georgia Tech Sept. 2 and Texas Sept. 9.
"The combined resources of ABC and ESPN offer unparalleled coverage of the sporting world and we're thrilled to have the opportunity to add unprecedented coverage of college football to our prime-time schedule," said Stephen McPherson, President of ABC Entertainment. "College football has extremely devoted fans and we look forward to bringing the excitement of the game to them on Saturday nights this fall."
2006 ABC Saturday Night College Football schedule
• Sept. 2, 8 p.m. ET: Notre Dame at Georgia Tech
• Sept. 9, 8 p.m. ET: Ohio State at Texas
• Sept. 16, 8 p.m. ET: Nebraska at USC
• Sept. 23, 8 p.m. ET: Notre Dame at Michigan State; USC at Arizona
• Sept. 30, 8 p.m. ET: Ohio State at Iowa or Michigan at Minnesota*
• Oct. 7, 8 p.m. ET: Oregon at California; ACC, Big 12 or BIG EAST (12-day selection)
• Oct. 14, 8 p.m. ET: Michigan at Penn State; Arizona State at USC
• Nov. 4, 8 p.m. ET: UCLA at California; ACC, Big 12 or BIG EAST (12-day selection)
• Nov. 11, 8 p.m. ET: ACC, Big 12 or BIG EAST (12-day selection)
• Nov. 18, 8 p.m. ET: California at USC; ACC, Big 12 or BIG EAST (12-day selection)
• Nov. 25, 8 p.m. ET: Notre Dame at USC
• Dec. 2, 8 p.m. ET: Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship Game
* One game will be on ABC and the other in primetime on ESPN or ESPN2.
ABC Saturday Night College Football will feature showdowns between top football programs at 8 p.m. ET.
Notre Dame kicks off the 12-week season Sept. 2 at Georgia Tech followed by Ohio State at defending national champion Texas the next week.
Commentator Brent Musburger will be the play-by-play voice with Bob Davie as the analyst. They will be joined by ESPN College GameDay and ESPN College Football Thursday prime-time analyst Kirk Herbstreit on certain weeks. Lisa Salters, an NBA sideline reporter and general assignment correspondent for multiple ESPN news outlets, will report from the sidelines.
"This prime-time series will be terrific for fans as more top-quality sports product comes to the ABC Television Network," said George Bodenheimer, president, ESPN, Inc. and ABC Sports. "These games join a strong lineup of sports on ABC, including the NBA Finals, NASCAR's playoffs -- Chase for the Nextel Cup -- in 2007, Belmont Stakes and Indianapolis 500."
It's the first college football series in prime time on broadcast television and will also be available in high definition. The schedule does not include games on Oct. 21 and 28.
College GameDay will kick off its 20th season by originating from the site of the first two ABC prime-time telecasts: Georgia Tech Sept. 2 and Texas Sept. 9.
"The combined resources of ABC and ESPN offer unparalleled coverage of the sporting world and we're thrilled to have the opportunity to add unprecedented coverage of college football to our prime-time schedule," said Stephen McPherson, President of ABC Entertainment. "College football has extremely devoted fans and we look forward to bringing the excitement of the game to them on Saturday nights this fall."
2006 ABC Saturday Night College Football schedule
• Sept. 2, 8 p.m. ET: Notre Dame at Georgia Tech
• Sept. 9, 8 p.m. ET: Ohio State at Texas
• Sept. 16, 8 p.m. ET: Nebraska at USC
• Sept. 23, 8 p.m. ET: Notre Dame at Michigan State; USC at Arizona
• Sept. 30, 8 p.m. ET: Ohio State at Iowa or Michigan at Minnesota*
• Oct. 7, 8 p.m. ET: Oregon at California; ACC, Big 12 or BIG EAST (12-day selection)
• Oct. 14, 8 p.m. ET: Michigan at Penn State; Arizona State at USC
• Nov. 4, 8 p.m. ET: UCLA at California; ACC, Big 12 or BIG EAST (12-day selection)
• Nov. 11, 8 p.m. ET: ACC, Big 12 or BIG EAST (12-day selection)
• Nov. 18, 8 p.m. ET: California at USC; ACC, Big 12 or BIG EAST (12-day selection)
• Nov. 25, 8 p.m. ET: Notre Dame at USC
• Dec. 2, 8 p.m. ET: Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship Game
* One game will be on ABC and the other in primetime on ESPN or ESPN2.