Program-Record 32 State Softball Games To Be Televised in 2016
January 15, 2016 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Southeastern Conference announced its 2016 television schedule for the league's 13 softball programs with help from the SEC Network and the rest of the ESPN family of networks.
Mississippi State will have a total of 32 of its 56 regular season contests air through the SEC Network, ESPNU and SEC Network+. Nine of those 32 will be nationally televised, with eight coming on the SEC Network and one coming on ESPNU.
Eight of those nine will originate from the MSU Softball Field, which is set to open Feb. 11 after a $6 million overhaul. Six of the nine games will come against teams that made the 2015 NCAA Tournament, including one road game against back-to-back national champion Florida.
“We are just so blessed to be part of a conference that puts so much into the sport of softball and that benefits our program greatly with a high level of exposure,” head coach Vann Stuedeman said. “We saw how successful the SEC Network was for the sport of softball last season so I can't wait to see where it takes us in 2016.”
The home series against in-state rival Ole Miss was moved to Saturday through Monday instead of the traditional Friday through Sunday, to allow the series finale to be the SEC Network's Game of the Week.
All of MSU's 28 regular season home games will be televised with the remaining 20 to air through SEC Network+, which is available exclusively through WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.
The final series of the regular season against Kentucky (May 6-8) can be seen on SEC Network+ and additional road contests are expected to air on SEC Network+ as well, but will be announced at a later date.
At the conclusion of the regular season, the entire SEC Softball Tournament will be televised across ESPN networks. The first round and quarterfinals will be carried on SEC Network, semifinals on ESPNU and the championship on ESPN2. This year's tournament is being hosted by MSU in its brand new facility with 1,000 maroon chairback seats, a state of the art video board and numerous other upgrades form the previous facility.
The Bulldogs open their 2016 season and new home on Thursday, Feb. 11 against Georgia Southern as part of the Bulldog Kickoff Classic. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m. CT and the game can be seen on SEC Network+.
For more information on the MSU softball program, follow “HailStateSB” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can also find all-access coverage of the Bulldogs on SnapChat by searching for “HailStateSnap.”
MSU National Television Schedule (All times Central):
Wednesday, March 23 – vs. Central Arkansas – 6 p.m. (SEC Network)
Wednesday, March 30 – vs. UAB – 6 p.m. (SEC Network)
Sunday, April 3 – vs. Ole Miss – 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
Monday, April 4 – vs. Ole Miss – 6 p.m. (SEC Network)
Saturday, April 16 – vs. LSU – 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Sunday, April 17 – vs. LSU – 3:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
Sunday, April 24 – at Florida – 4 p.m. (SEC Network)
Saturday, April 30 – vs. Missouri – 3:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
Sunday, May 1 – vs. Missouri – 3:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
