By Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA
April 23, 2015
Fans of collegiate track & field have long clamored for national, primetime television exposure – particularly for the sport’s crown jewel event, the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
The wait is over: On June 10-13 from Eugene, Oregon, the Championships – featuring star-studded teams and world-class athletes – will take center stage on ESPN, the Worldwide Leader in Sports.
The Championships’ first-ever ESPN and ESPN2 primetime broadcasts on Friday and Saturday were announced as part of network’s 12-hour live television programming schedule for all four days of the meet.
Additionally, for the first time all field events and combined events (decathlon and heptathlon) throughout the four days will be covered live online via ESPN3.
View the full ESPN release here.
The men’s finals on Friday will be broadcast live on ESPN, followed the next day by the women’s finals on ESPN2. Wednesday’s and Thursday’s competition will be carried live on ESPNU.
Combining both the television and online broadcasts, more than 35 hours of live NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships coverage is scheduled to air. Past broadcasts included only 11 total hours of live coverage.
Broadcast times are listed in the graphic below, which can be enlarged by clicking it.
“There’s no better showcase for collegiate track & field than to be featured in primetime on ESPN and ESPN2,” USTFCCCA CEO Sam Seemes said. “Our many fans will have their easiest access ever to what is year-in and year-out the premier track & field meet in the United States, and year-in and year-out one of the best meets in the world.
“For the many future fans of the sport we’ll be reaching in homes, restaurants and sports bars, and elsewhere around the country, this will be their first exposure to the incredible drama of our team and individual competitions. From witnessing the ‘see-it-to-believe-it’ feats of speed, endurance, strength and flight, to cheering for the familiar colors of their schools – there will be something for everyone who tunes in.”
In years past, only running events on the final two days of competition had been televised on ESPNU, with supplementary coverage – also primarily of the running events – streamed online via ESPN3.
Opening the door for ESPN’s expanded coverage of the NCAA Outdoor Championships was the announcement in February of the new schedule format for this year’s and next year’s Championships.
Under this format, the men’s and women’s Championships will be contested on alternating days – allowing for a more streamlined showcase of both genders’ top teams and athletes as they compete for national titles.
“Coaches and administrators from schools around the country came together and made the bold decision to change how we contest our championships,” Seemes said, “And within the same year we are already reaping the benefits of that change. While our sport is rooted in its many traditions, this is just one prime example that openness to change is key to allowing our sport to truly grow and flourish.”
What They’re Saying
Track & Field coaches from around the country react to ESPN’s announcement to carry all four days of the 2015 NCAA Championships on live television, including primetime slots on ESPN and ESPN2."It’s a phenomenal impact for our sport as we continue to move forward and make our sport more fan accessible and fan-friendly. I think this is just a great step forward to produce much more attention for us and to be really fan friendly at the same time."
"Separating the national championships, yet retaining them on the same weekend, is just a brilliant idea. It certainly allows the two genders’ championships to be followed more easily. As we know, the American public loves to have a team to cheer for, and loves to follow their school, and love to follow how their school is doing – and this format allows us to do that better. With the television exposure, you really find a way that people are going to be able to see us live and see us first-hand, and it’s a great way to really bounce the exposure into many, many more people’s homes and the living rooms of young people who can see it, be inspired and someday be a part of it themselves."
Beth Alford-Sullivan, Tennessee – Director of Track & Field/Cross Country
President, U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
"I think, number one, when you really explore the NCAA Championships in various other sports, I think the success of those sports is often times directly related to the product that’s put on television. So I think television is, obviously, a very good thing for the growth of our sport, especially when you consider the large number of high school participants, and getting them exposed to the Division I level of championship track & field will not only be an inspiration to them, but also allow them to set goals in track & field to achieve big things."
"Having had the experience of having both teams at one time in the championship hunt on the final day, what I can tell you is that often times in the past that the unfolding of the team races and how things are moving forward for each gender was a difficult story to tell when you’re going from one gender to the other and back again as the meet continued on that final day. I feel that this is going to give tremendous exposure to the men’s teams and the women’s team championships because people will be trying to follow along on those particular days and watch it play out on live television. I don’t think that we’ve ever really experienced that before, so certainly I think that – along with some human interest stories that go along with that – is going to create a very good package for track & field fans who are very knowledgeable about our sport, but I think also it is going to expose a lot of people who are just the everyday fan who is not as familiar with it to better understand what a collegiate track & field championship meet is all about."
Dennis Shaver, LSU – Director of Track & Field and Cross Country
President, USTFCCCA Division I Track & Field Executive Committee
"I think, from our point of view as coaches and student-athletes, it gives us this incredible opportunity to showcase the very best of NCAA track and field. We’re showcasing our athletes on live TV, and anytime we get that opportunity, that’s fantastic. To be on ESPN and ESPN2 both final days on Friday and Saturday is fantastic. Our student-athletes are going to get excited about that – we all know that the kids get excited about being on TV – but from the fans’ perspective and the marketing perspective, it’s a great opportunity for us to showcase our athletes and showcase our university."
Mick Byrne, Wisconsin – Director of Track & Field and Cross Country
"Anytime you can be on the flagship network of ESPN is unbelievable. Just hearing that gets me very excited as a track & field coach because it’s the first time we’ve had that, that everything’s been live. It’s tremendous exposure for our student-athletes, it’s tremendous exposure for our university, and – no pun intended – it’s a big jump from what it’s been. That’s a plus all the way around. It’s a huge win for our sport."
"It makes our sport a lot more understandable and I think that’s a plus for the future. We’ve got to start thinking as a sport more forward as opposed to backward. We need to start doing things that increase exposure for our fanbase and make it so it’s more ‘normal'; track & field is very confusing. I think this will go a long way in doing that."
Bryan Fetzer, Virginia – Director of Track & Field and Cross Country
"The first word that comes out of my mouth is ‘groundbreaking’, the fact that it’s something that’s never been done for us. For our meet to be live all four days and in primetime on Friday and Saturday is just an incredible accomplishment by the work the Coaches Association has done and, obviously, the commitment ESPN has to our sport is an unbelievable thing."
"That’s been one of the challenges that people have said about following track & field is that they don’t really know what’s going on [in the team race]. I think the new format definitely allows them to follow the meet – the score will change and they’ll be able to follow it after every event. Again, it gives more of the team concept and the team flavor to track & field, and I think that’s important."
Mike Holloway, Florida – Director of Track & Field and Cross Country
"It’s huge for the sport of track & field for the simple fact that we are in a media age. If we are able to show people around the country our product, then hopefully more people will be willing to come out and watch the meets – or even from the standpoint, in the future, of being able to have more meets online or on live television so people can tune in. We do have a viable sport and we want people to be able to watch it. We’re one of the most participated-in sports in the country and in the world, for that m
atter, so we want to continue to be in the forefront. So many other sports these days are reaping the benefits of being able to be seen by so many, whereas we continue to fall behind in certain areas because we aren’t viewed the same way. And it’s one of the purest sports there is: you line up and you beat people, you throw farther, and you jump farther. People understand that, but you still have to put it in front of people, so I think this is great."
"We’re talking about being in a media age. When most people sit down and watch things on TV, it’s right there, it’s short and quick, and everything is fed right to you. If you go to a track meet and you’re there for eight hours, you lose your crowd. That’s just the reality of it. I love track & field, but the meets can be a bit long. Now we’re talking about the national championship – the absolute best people you have – being showcased, and you want to keep your attention span there."
Erik Jenkins, Western Kentucky – Director of Track & Field and Cross Country
"I’m really excited about it, and I think that it’s going to be great for the exposure we’ll get from being on live TV so much, and also having the availability to watch more events on ESPN3. I think it’s exciting for the sport, I think it’s going to be great for the student-athletes to be able to have parents and family and people who can’t be there be able to watch them and to see them, and I think it’s exciting for the general public to know that the sport is alive and doing well."
"Just like with any of the other sports, you get to watch the event from the beginning to the conclusion, and you get to see which team is winning and where people are at throughout the game or whatever it is they are watching. Having the complete story from start to finish – here’s the women’s championship and here’s how the teams are faring throughout – is going to make it more exciting to be able to watch a story from start to finish and to know what’s going on."
Connie Price-Smith, Southern Illinois – Head Coach of Track & Field
"Having wall-to-wall coverage – particularly on both Friday and Saturday – is obviously a great development, because it will be showcasing the top athletes we have in the NCAA to a much wider audience than in the past. By having the full coverage of those days allows the general public to see the meet develop – the team battle, particularly – through the day, and I think that is a great thing. The great thing about our sport is the team battle that goes on in that meet, and to be able to watch it develop in a way we haven’t been able to in previous years is very exciting."
"Those of us who are in track & field know how exciting the meets are. I think for the rest of the public, it’s gotten away from us, honestly, in some ways due to the length of some of the track, and also due to the fact that there’s been no standardization for what events were being shown by the ESPN telecast. Now, every event is going to be accessible, and being able to watch something from beginning to end and watch it develop is going to be a much more palatable product for the general public to watch."
David Shoehalter, Yale – Mark T. Young Director of Cross Country and Track & Field
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