ESPNU, FSN Finish Volleyball’s Television Slate
LAWRENCE, Kan. – As Kansas volleyball continues its upward trend on the court, in the NCAA Tournament and in the national rankings, the Jayhawks are keeping an increased pace for television time, as well. For the second-straight season, every Kansas volleyball home match will air on ESPN3 with additional national networks also jumping on board.
On Monday, the Big 12 Conference announced four ESPNU and one Fox Sports Network broadcasts for the 2014 season – and Kansas will play in two of them.
“It speaks highly of the Big 12 and the level of competition within the league that we would have that type of opportunity,” head coach Ray Bechard said. “It’s a great opportunity for us. There were years that we didn’t get this opportunity so we plan to take full advantage of that. The Big 12 is an extremely competitive league, one of the best in the country. Being on a national platform will help get the word out to those around the country that might not know that yet.”
On Oct. 5, the Jayhawks will play a rare Sunday match when they welcome the defending Big 12 Champion Texas Longhorns to the Horejsi Family Athletics Center on FSN at 1 p.m. ESPNU will broadcast the Kansas at Iowa State match on Oct. 22 in Ames, Iowa. First serve is set for 6 p.m., and will pit the Big 12’s second-place in KU and third-place team in ISU from the 2013 season, making two national television appearances for the Jayhawks in 2014. ESPNU was in Lawrence last fall for the Kansas vs. Baylor contest.
Entering year two of Kansas Athletics’ partnership with Time Warner Cable SportsChannel and ESPN3, the Jayhawk volleyball team will once again see every home match broadcasted live. TWCSC will air the last eight matches of the season, with the exception of FSN’s broadcast of Texas at Kansas. Aside from the Texas match, the other 14 home matches will be available on ESPN3.
Kansas’ matches against Utah Valley (8/29), Lipscomb (8/29), Creighton (8/30), UMKC (9/9), North Texas (9/19) and Cleveland State (9/19) will all be available to fans exclusively on ESPN3.
“We’ve got a lot of people asking about that platform again and how much they appreciated and enjoyed it,” Bechard said of ESPN3. “We had a lot of fans be able to track us that way and we’re excited about that continuing into year number two.”
The Jayhawks report to campus on Aug. 8 with preseason camp beginning Aug. 9. Kansas opens the season at home on Aug. 29 against Utah Valley.
Kansas Volleyball Home Television Schedule
Fri., Aug. 29 vs. Utah Valley – 11:30 a.m. (ESPN3)
Fri., Aug. 29 vs. Lipscomb – 7:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Sat., Aug. 30 vs. Creighton – 2 p.m. (ESPN3)
Tues., Sept. 9 vs. UMKC – 6:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Fri., Sept. 19 vs. North Texas – 11:30 a.m. (ESPN3)
Fri., Sept. 19 vs. Cleveland State – 7:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Sat., Sept. 20 vs. Arkansas – TBA (TWCSC)*
Wed., Oct. 1 vs. Kansas State – 6:30 p.m. (TWCSC)*
Sun., Oct. 5 vs. Texas – 1 p.m. (FSN)
Sat., Oct. 18 vs. TCU – 12 p.m. (TWCSC)*
Sat., Oct. 25 vs. Texas Tech – TBA (TWCSC)*
Wed., Nov. 5 vs. Baylor – 6:30 p.m. (TWCSC)*
Wed., Nov. 19 vs. Iowa State – 6:30 p.m. (TWCSC)*
Wed., Nov. 26 vs. West Virginia – 6:30 p.m. (TWCSC)*
Sat., Nov. 29 vs. Oklahoma – TBA (TWCSC)*
*Also available on ESPN3
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