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The new, expanded event -- increasing from nine games in the six
previous years -- will include two telecasts on ESPNU, the new
24-hour college sports network. ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to
televise the other nine games, marking the fourth consecutive year
that every game will be televised nationally. This year's schedule
will be highlighted by a rematch of last year's NCAA tournament
championship, pitting Illinois at North Carolina on Nov. 29 at 9
p.m. Eastern time on ESPN.
Since 2000, the two conferences have combined to make 13 Final
Four appearances and captured four of the last six NCAA
championships. In addition, the ACC and Big Ten rank either first or
second in all-time NCAA tournament bids, victories and Final Four
appearances.
2005 Big Ten-ACC Challenge schedule
(All times Eastern)
Monday, Nov. 28
- 7:30 p.m. -- Virginia Tech at Ohio State, ESPN2
Tuesday, Nov. 29
- 7 p.m. -- Wisconsin at Wake Forest, ESPN
- 7:30 p.m. -- Purdue at Florida State, ESPN2
- 8 p.m. -- Clemson at Penn State, ESPNU
- 9 p.m. -- Illinois at North Carolina, ESPN
- 9:30 p.m. -- Miami at Michigan, ESPN2
Wednesday, Nov. 30
- 7 p.m. -- Georgia Tech at Michigan State, ESPN
- 7:30 p.m. -- Minnesota at Maryland, ESPN2
- 8 p.m. -- Northwestern at Virginia, ESPNU
- 9 p.m. -- Duke at Indiana, ESPN
- 9:30 p.m. -- N.C. State at Iowa, ESPN2
2005 Challenge highlights:
Three Final Four teams in action: North Carolina, Illinois
and Michigan State -- three of last year's Final Four teams -- will
be in action. In addition to the rematch of last year's championship
game between Illinois and North Carolina (Nov. 29 at 9 p.m. on
ESPN), Michigan State will host Georgia Tech, a 2004 championship
game participant (Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. on ESPN).
Top programs in competition: Five of the top 10 teams in last
year's final ESPN-USA Today rankings and seven of the top 25 will
compete in the Challenge: No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Illinois, No.
4 Michigan State, No. 7 Duke, No. 10 Wisconsin, No. 11 Wake Forest
and No. 22 North Carolina State.
Perennial powers meet: College basketball tradition-rich
programs Duke and Indiana will meet in Bloomington, Ind., on ESPN
Nov. 30 at 9 p.m. The Hoosiers rank third all-time with five
national titles, while the Blue Devils rank fifth with three.
New teams in the Challenge: This year's Challenge will
include two new teams, with the addition of Miami and Virginia Tech
from the ACC. Virginia Tech will tip off the 11-game event at Ohio
State on Nov. 28 at 7:30 p.m., while Miami will visit Michigan on
Nov. 29 at 9:30 p.m. Both games will appear on ESPN2.
ESPNU televises two additional games: The launch of ESPNU
will provide fans with coverage of two additional Challenge games,
both at 8 p.m.: Clemson at Penn State on Nov. 29 and Northwestern at
Virginia on Nov. 30. The ESPNU games will also be syndicated in the
local markets of the competing teams and offered on ESPN Full Court,
ESPN's college basketball pay-per-view package.
Big Ten highlights:
Returning to a court near you: Another successful year is
expected as 10 of the 15 2005 All-Big Ten selections return for the
2005-06 season. Returnees on the first and second team include 2005
Big Ten Player of the Year Dee Brown of Illinois, Iowa's Greg
Brunner, Michigan State's Maurice Ager, Minnesota's Vincent Grier,
Ohio State's Terence Dials and Purdue's Carl Landry.
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 NCAA tournament success: With Illinois and Michigan State
advancing to the 2005 Final Four, the conference has accumulated the
most Final Four appearances with 39 (ACC, 38) and boasts the
second-most national titles (10) in college basketball history. The
Pac-10 leads the nation with 15 titles. Since the inception of the
NCAA tournament in 1939, the Big Ten has recorded the most
appearances of any conference in the Big Dance with 172 (ACC, 156)
and has the second-most NCAA tournament victories with 280 (ACC,
310).
Final Four frenzy: The Big Ten has sent at least two teams to
the national semifinals on four occasions since 1992, the highest
total among all conferences. The league also sent a pair of squads
in 1992 (Indiana, Michigan) before pulling off the feat in
back-to-back years for the first time in Big Ten history in 1999
(Michigan State, Ohio State) and 2000 (MSU, Wisconsin). Since 1992,
only three conferences have sent a pair of teams to the Final Four:
the Big 12 in 2002 (Oklahoma, Kansas) and 2003 (Kansas, Texas), the
ACC in 2001 (Duke, Maryland) and 2004 (Duke, Georgia Tech), and the
SEC in 1994 (Arkansas, Florida) and 1996 (Mississippi State,
Kentucky).
Five Final Four programs: The Big Ten is the only conference
since 1990 to advance five different programs to the Final Four. The
ACC, Big 12 and SEC have each had four schools reach the national
semifinals over that time span, followed by the Pac-10 with three
and Big East with two. Michigan State leads the Big Ten with four
appearances (1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005); Indiana (1992 and 2002) has
reached the national semifinals twice; and Illinois (2005), Ohio
State (1999) and Wisconsin (2000) have each earned a Final Four spot
in that time span.
2005 postseason success: Big Ten squads racked up 12 NCAA
tournament wins in 2005, the most triumphs by the conference since
the 2000 event, when the league equaled its highest win total ever
with a mark of 15-5 (matching the 15 triumphs in 1989). The Big Ten
is the only conference to have produced double-digit wins in NCAA
championship play in four of the last seven tournaments (including
13-6 in 1999, 15-5 in 2000, 10-7 in 2001).
The nation's best fans: Big Ten men's basketball has once
again attracted more fans than any other conference, while also
leading the country in tournament attendance for the first time in
the eight-year history of the event. The league topped the nation in
total attendance for the 29th consecutive year, welcoming 2,255,332
fans through the turnstiles, while leading the way with an average
attendance of 12,530 per game or session. In addition, the league
led nationally for the first time with an average attendance per
session of 21,850 at the 2005 Big Ten Tournament at the United
Center in Chicago. The ACC, which had led the nation in average
tournament attendance the last seven seasons, ranked second with
20,301 fans per session.
* * *
The 2005 Challenge will mark the first year of a six-year
agreement (through 2010) between ESPN, the ACC and the Big Ten to
continue the annual men's college basketball interconference
Challenge.
ESPN and ESPN2's coverage of the 2004 Big Ten-ACC Challenge
experienced significant audience growth over the 2003 event. ESPN's
four telecasts in 2004 averaged a 1.6 rating and 1,423,000
households, for increases of 33 percent (vs. 1.2) and 30 percent
(vs. 1,094,000) over the four games in 2003. ESPN2's five matchups
averaged a 0.6 rating and 495,000 households, for increases of 50
percent (vs. 0.4) and 35 percent (vs. 365,000) over 2003's five
telecasts. In addition, 2004's coverage included ESPN's
highest-rated and most-viewed Challenge telecast ever: North
Carolina at Indiana, with a 2.0 average rating and 1,749,000
households.
[Robin Jentes, associate director of communications,
Big
Ten Conference] |
