FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – Pac-12 Baseball, responsible for the last two national titles and four of the last eight, will enjoy increased and unprecedented exposure in the upcoming season as a record 74 games will be televised in 2014, more than double what was broadcast a year ago. That number includes 70 games broadcast by the Pac-12 Networks and four on ESPN channels.
Year in and year out, Pac-12 baseball features the premier college baseball players in the country led by some of the most decorated coaches in NCAA history. The 11 Conference teams will look to continue the tradition of excellence in 2014 as they chase after a third-consecutive national title for Pac-12 baseball.
The non-conference slate for 2014 will showcase marquee match-ups with several teams participating in weekend tournaments, including the inaugural Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge that will feature WASHINGTON, UTAH and OREGON STATE taking on Indiana, Michigan State and Nebraska in Surprise, Ariz., from Friday, Feb. 21 to Monday, Feb. 24 Highlighting ESPN’s schedule is an early April contest pitting the 2012 and 2013 national champions in ARIZONA and UCLA against each other on Saturday the 12th at 7:30 p.m. MT. ESPN will also continue its full coverage of the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. from June 15-26.
In its first year of existence, the Pac-12 Networks produced 30 televised baseball games. Increasing exposure in the upcoming season will not only give the student-athletes the attention they deserve, but will also allow the top-notch talent of Pac-12 baseball to be showcased on a national stage at a much higher frequency and volume.
No other conference can match the storied history of baseball in the Pac-12 as the Conference owns 28 overall College World Series titles—18 more than the next closest peer conference—in addition to four of the top six winningest programs in College World Series history. The Conference has also produced some of the best players and coaches in NCAA history, as evidenced by the 350 first-team All-Americans, 15 National Players of the Year and 17 National Coaches of the Year. The current coaching crop in Pac-12 baseball is unparalleled as the 11 coaches have a combined eight national championships, 34 College World Series appearances, 86 NCAA tournament appearances and 170 years of head coaching experience.
The 2014 season kicks off on Friday, February 14 with all 11 teams in action and will feature the first Pac-12 baseball broadcast of the year as Baylor visits Arizona State at 2:30 p.m. MT.
