Aug. 10, 2006

PARK RIDGE, Ill. - The Big Ten Conference office announced today a 14-match television lineup for the upcoming 2006 volleyball season.  Three Big Ten contests each will be televised nationally on ESPN2 and CSTV, while the remaining eight matches have been selected for regional coverage on Comcast SportsNet Chicago (CSN Chicago).  The 2006 television schedule will feature each conference school in action at least once during the season.

ESPN2 will begin its coverage of Big Ten volleyball on Sept. 29, when Ohio State travels to Purdue for a 7 p.m. ET first serve.  The match will then air tape-delayed on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 2:30 p.m. ET.  The Boilermakers return to ESPN2 on Oct. 14 for a match at Minnesota, while Wisconsin will host three-time defending Big Ten champion and second-ranked Penn State for the final ESPN2 match on Oct. 27.

Big Ten volleyball fans will be given the opportunity to see the Nittany Lions at least five times on the small screen, which leads the conference.  PSU will open its televised slate on Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET on CSTV when it travels to Texas, and will then host conference foe Ohio State on Sept. 20, which will also air on the same network at 8 p.m. ET.  CSTV will be in Madison for the opening weekend of collegiate volleyball as Wisconsin hosts the annual AVCA College Volleyball Showcase, Aug. 25-26.  The ninth-ranked Badgers will face a prestigious field made up of No. 3 Washington, No. 8 Texas and No. 15 Ohio University at this year's event. CSTV will televise both the third-place and championship matches beginning at 6 p.m. ET on Aug. 26. 

Comcast SportsNet Chicago will continue its coverage of Big Ten volleyball with an eight-match schedule on a tape-delay basis.  The slate opens with Iowa at Northwestern on Friday, Sept. 29 (to be broadcast on Sept. 30).  CSN Chicago will then televise Big Ten champion Penn State over the next two weeks, as the Nittany Lions host Minnesota on Oct. 6 (aired Oct. 8) and then travel to Northwestern on Oct. 13 (Oct. 15).  After a week off, Big Ten volleyball on CSN Chicago returns to the airwaves Oct. 27 with Ohio State at Minnesota, followed by Wisconsin at Michigan on Nov. 3.  Michigan State will travel to Indiana for a Nov. 10 matchup on Comcast, while Illinois makes its television debut hosting Purdue on Nov. 18.  CSN Chicago's coverage of Big Ten volleyball concludes with a "Wildcard" broadcast on either Friday or Saturday, November 24-25, featuring teams to be determined.
 
For more than a decade, the Big Ten has been a leader in collegiate volleyball television exposure.  The conference enters its 12th-consecutive year of partnership with ESPN2 in which at least three matches will be broadcast. 

Contact your local cable provider to learn more about Comcast SportsNet Chicago and CSTV as both are offered on a variety of extended television packages.

The complete 2006 Big Ten volleyball television lineup follows.