GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference and ESPN will deliver nearly 37 hours of live winter Olympic sports championship action from mid-February through early March.
The record-setting package will begin Feb. 18 with the streaming of the ACC Swimming and Diving Championships from Greensboro, North Carolina, and will conclude March 6 with the ACC Wrestling Championship from Charlottesville, Virginia.
ESPN3 will stream live coverage of the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships Feb. 26 and 27 from Boston, while first-ever live coverage of the ACC Fencing Championships from the Notre Dame campus is set for Feb. 27 and 28.
“We are pleased to expand the viewing opportunities for all of our sports, particularly at the championship level,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “We look forward to featuring the outstanding student-athletes that compete in the ACC and providing fans the opportunity to watch our events live.”
With the addition of fencing to this year’s schedule, some portion of each of the ACC’s 27 championship events will be available for live viewing for the first time in the conference’s 63-year history.
Six nights of coverage are lined up for the ACC Swimming and Diving Championships, with events carried live for two hours nightly, beginning at 6 p.m. Dean Linke will handle play-by-play, and former UNC swimming standout Warren Perry will serve as analyst during the women’s week of competition (Thursday, Feb. 18 through Saturday, Feb. 20).
Rowdy Gaines will anchor coverage during the men’s week of competition (Thursday, Feb. 25 through Saturday Feb. 27). A three-time Olympic Gold medalist and a member of the both the U.S. Swimming and International Swimming Hall of Fame, Gaines will be joined by analyst Sid Cassidy, whose extensive coaching background includes stints at both Miami and Florida State.
A first for the conference is live coverage from the ACC Fencing Championships that will include four hours per day of live streaming, beginning at 12:30 p.m. both Saturday (Feb. 27) and Sunday (Feb. 28). The event will feature USA Fencing president Don Anthony Jr., a world-class fencer who represented Team USA at two Senior World Championships and is one of the sport’s most knowledgeable analysts.. He will be joined by play-by-play announcer J.B. Long, whose background includes broadcasts of both the NCAA Fencing Championships and the FIE World Championships.
The ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships at Boston’s Reggie Lewis Center will feature three hours of live action on the event’s final two days, concluding with the finals on Saturday (Feb. 27). Jerry Massey will return for his fourth year handling play-by-play. Lauryn Williams, a former Miami sprinter and a medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics, will make her debut as analyst. Coverage will begin on ESPN3 Friday from 5 until 8 p.m., followed by Saturday’s finals from 1 until 4 p.m.
The ACC Wrestling Championship on Sunday, March 6, will include nearly 10 hours of live coverage from 11 a.m. through 9 p.m. Matches will be delivered on two concurrent live streams, continuing the format that made a successful debut during last year’s Championship at Pittsburgh. Shawn Kenney and Tim Foley will handle the call on Mat 1, with Sam Gore and Rock Harrison manning Mat 2. The wealth of wrestling knowledge among the talent teams promises to offer fans great insight to the competition.
Links to ESPN3 coverage will also be available on each sport’s Championship Page about a week ahead of each event.
About the ACC
The Atlantic Coast Conference, now in its 63rd year of competition and 15 members strong, has long enjoyed the reputation as one of the strongest and most competitive intercollegiate conferences in the nation. ACC members Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest continue to build upon the cornerstones on which the league was founded in 1953 with a consistent balance of academics, athletics and integrity. For more information, visit theACC.com and follow @theACC on Twitter and on facebook.com/theACC.
About ESPN3
ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through WatchESPN. The network is currently available to more than 99 million homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. It is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.
Swimming news courtesy of ACC.