Sports Media Report
ESPN and The Basketball Tournament (TBT) presented by Jack Link’s® Protein Snacks today announced the broadcast teams for the quarterfinals, semi-finals and final of the $2 million winner take all event, which began with opening rounds on July 9-10. Over 300 teams applied to play in TBT 2016, featuring more than 400 players with professional experience and 63 with NBA experience, including veterans Mike Bibby, Mike James, Cuttino Mobley and Jason Williams.
ESPN veteran college announcer Doug Sherman will handle play by play for all of the TBT action, with Dan Dakich serving as analyst for the 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. games on July 21, and the 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. games on July 23 from Philadelphia University. Fran Fraschilla will serve as analyst for the 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. games on July 22, as well as the 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. games on July 23 from Philly, and for the semi-finals on July 30 and the final on August 2, both days from Fordham’s Rose Hill Gym in The Bronx, NY. Molly Sullivan will handle sideline reporting for all the Philadelphia games on July 21-23, while Jeff Goodman will handle reporting for the semifinals and championship.
ESPN is carrying games from The Basketball Tournament for the third year. The expanded broadcast schedule for 2016 includes 15 games across ESPN platforms- three games on ESPN, six games on ESPN2, two games on ESPNU, and four games on ESPN3. Of the 11 games on TV, seven will be in primetime on either ESPN or ESPN2, including the $2 Million Winner Take All Championship.
The schedule breakdown is as follows:
· Thursday 7/21: Round of 16 Game 1 at 1 p.m. (ESPN3), Round of 16 Game 2 at 3 p.m. (ESPN3), Round of 16 Game 3 at 7 p.m. (ESPN2), Round of 16 Game 4 at 9 p.m. (ESPN2).
· Friday 7/22: Round of 16 Game 5 at 1 p.m. (ESPN3), Round of 16 Game 6 at 3 p.m. (ESPN3), Round of 16 Game 7 at 7 p.m. (ESPN2), Round of 16 Game 8 at 9 p.m. (ESPN2).
· Saturday 7/23: Quarterfinal 1 at 12 p.m. (ESPN2), Quarterfinal 2 at 2 p.m. (ESPNU), Quarterfinal 3 at 6 p.m. (ESPNU), Quarterfinal 4 at 8 p.m. (ESPN2).
· Saturday 7/30: Semifinal 1 at 5 p.m. (ESPN), Semifinal 2 at 7 p.m. (ESPN)
· Tuesday 8/2: championship at 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Opening rounds of TBT began July 9-10 in Charlotte and Los Angeles, and continue July 16-17 in Chicago and Philadelphia. TBT returns to Philadelphia for the Super 16 from July 21 through July 23, before moving on to New York City to for the semifinals on July 30 and the $2,000,000 Championship Game on August 2.
Over 350 teams applied to make the 64-team field, with each team consisting of a General Manager (GM), at least seven players, a Booster, and 200+ fan votes. All players must be 18 or older and all games are played under college rules with two 18-minute halves. 11 teams in each region were automatically selected based on how many votes their team received on TheTournament.com. The others were selected “at-large.”
TBT’s 2015 field included hundreds of players who have competed at the highest levels all over the world. Overseas Elite, a team of veteran international professional players, won last year’s $1 million winner-take-all title at historic Rose Hill Gymnasium. Fans who voted for Overseas Elite shared in the winnings, taking home a combined $50,000 of the grand prize. The Notre Dame Fighting Alumni, a squad made up of some of the best players in University of Notre Dame history, won the inaugural title and $500,000 in 2014.
