Sunday, November 20, 2011

TV coverage and kickoff times for 2011 Sun Devil football

Whether you live out of state or are planning road trips, it's important to keep an eye on the potential kickoff times.  Remember, the TV networks decide some gametimes during the summer, but the majority of TV selections are made 12 days prior to gameday (and, in some cases, 6 days).  For 2011, four games have been confirmed for TV prior to the start of the season (compared to eight at the same point in 2010).

I'll keep this article updated as the season progresses.

Remember, the new TV contracts recently announced by the Pac-12 come into effect in 2012, so we have one more season to go under the old, restrictive contracts.

For those games still listed as TBD, you can check the Pac-12 composite schedule and the conference website's listing of all the available 2011 Football Telecast Windows.

For a comprehensive, accurate listing of all games on TV, Matt's College Sports on TV Website is by far the best reference.

Here's how thing shape up for the 2011 season (all times local to Arizona):

9/1 UC Davis (Thursday): kickoff set for 7:00 p.m.  with coverage on Fox Sports Arizona (in AZ) and Fox College Sports (nationally).  Because this would be a Fox Sports Arizona production (not Fox Sports Net), this game will NOT be shown on other regional FSN affiliates.  This may well be FSN AZ's last production of a Sun Devil football game (all telecasts in 2012 and beyond will be national).

9/9 Missouri (Friday): kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. with coverage on ESPN.

9/17 @ Illinois: kickoff set for 4:00 p.m. with coverage on the Big Ten Network.  You need to get the BTN to see this game - no exceptions. This will be ASU's first appearance on the BTN.

9/24 USC: kickoff set for 7:15 p.m. with coverage on ESPN.

10/1 Oregon State: kickoff at 7:30 p.m. with coverage on Fox Sports Arizona (in AZ) and Fox College Sports (nationally). Because this is a Fox Sports Arizona production (not Fox Sports Net), this game will NOT be shown on other regional FSN affiliates.

10/8 @ Utah: kickoff set for 12:30 p.m. with coverage on FSN. Confirmed for Fox Sport Arizona; other regional affiliates can be found here.

10/15 @ Oregon: kickoff set for 7:15 p.m. with coverage on ESPN.

10/29 Colorado: kickoff at 3:30 p.m. with coverage on Fox Sports Arizona, Root Sports in Colorado and Fox College Sports (nationally). Because this is a Fox Sports Arizona production (not Fox Sports Net), this game will NOT be shown on other regional FSN affiliates.

11/5 @ UCLA: kickoff at 4:30 p.m. with coverage on Versus.

Clocks change on 11/6, which is significant because most kickoff times are anchored in Eastern time.

11/12 @ Washington State: kickoff at 8:30pm (7:30pm local time) with coverage on Versus.

11/19 Arizona: kickoff at 7:30 p.m. with with coverage on Fox Sports Arizona, Fox Sports Prime Ticket in Southern California and Fox College Sports (nationally, but joined in-progress). Because this is a Fox Sports Arizona production (not Fox Sports Net), this game will NOT be shown on other regional FSN affiliates.

11/25 California (Black Friday): kickoff set for 8:15 p.m. with coverage on ESPN.

12/2 (Friday) Pac-12 Championship Game: kickoff set for 6:00 p.m. with coverage on Fox (the over-the-air network, not one of their cable channels).