Upcoming Pac-12 softball season to feature unprecedented television coverage of the nation’s best teams
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - The 2014 Pac-12 softball season will feature a record 69 televised games, nearly double what was broadcast last year, the Conference announced today. The record number of telecasts includes five games on ESPN channels and the remaining 64 on Pac-12 Networks.
Led by some of the winningest coaches in the NCAA, Pac-12 teams look to compound on last season’s success in 2014. Pac-12 softball will play in 27 different non-conference tournaments, traveling as far as Hawaii and Florida for some, before opening a Conference slate that features six teams ranked in the NFCA poll and eight teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year.
The 2013 season saw 39 games televised, five of which were on ESPN channels. The increased television presence will give fans and future players the ability to watch the best collegiate softball teams play week in and week out. Pac-12 softball teams competing in the Women’s College World Series will also be featured in ESPN’s coverage.
Measured by national championships, awards and Olympics success, the Pac-12 Conference has the most impressive legacy in collegiate softball. The Conference has claimed 23 of a possible 32 national titles, and all nine Conference teams have appeared in the Women’s College World Series. Pac-12 schools have produced 16 Honda Award winners and more than 200 All-Americans and over the course of the four Summer Olympics that sponsored softball, 65 Pac-12 softball players represented their countries, including 30 gold medalists and some of the most celebrated members of Team USA.
Year in and year out, Pac-12 teams consistently field the best players and are led by the best coaches in collegiate softball. League teams feature the best talent from the West Coast as well as student-athletes from across the nation drawn to the Pac-12’s success.
Off the field, the Conference produces some of the most well-rounded student-athletes, evidenced by 17 Senior CLASS Award top-10 finalists in the last seven years.
For more information on the upcoming season, including a complete television schedule, visit www.pac-12.com.