ESPN announced Wednesday that it will feature more than 330 women’s college basketball games on its networks for the 2021-22 season, and for the first time ever, a women’s college basketball game will air on ABC.
Last year’s Wooden Award winner Paige Bueckers and No. 2 UConn will take on Charisma Osborne and No. 20 UCLA in the Never Forget Tribute Classic, on Saturday, December 11 at 1p.m. EST on ABC. The matchup is the only women’s college basketball game that is scheduled to air on ABC this season.
Other highlights of the national ESPN schedule include four Thursday Night Showcase games — No. 6 Louisville at No. 5 NC State on Jan. 20, No. 2 UConn at No. 1 South Carolina on Jan. 27, and reigning national champion No. 3 Stanford at No. 20 UCLA on Feb. 10.
ESPN will also air the Jimmy V Women’s Classic on Dec. 12, featuring first-team All American Rhyne Howard and No. 13 Kentucky at No. 6 Louisville, and No. 4 Maryland at top-ranked South Carolina, led by Dawn Staley, who in the off-season became the highest paid Black coach in collegiate women’s basketball.
We Back Pat and Play4Kay will also return on ESPN this year. For the 11th annual We Back Pat week, from Jan. 16-24, SEC schools will come together to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s disease and the Pat Summitt Foundation. On Feb. 6-7, for Play4Kay, basketball programs across the nation will play a weekend of games to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research, in honor of former NC State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow.
Games not aired on television nationally or on the conference networks will be available to ESPN+ subscribers to stream. Over 2800 games will be available online, from Power 5 conference matchups to mid-major competition.