(March 10, 2004) ?C College Sports Television released its 2004 programming schedule for college softball with one of those broadcasts being the Fordham-Massachusetts doubleheader on May 1st at 12:00 PM. This will be the first televised game for the Fordham Softball team in its 20-year history. The games will also be the first non-football or basketball broadcast, since the Fordham-Clemson baseball game at the 1998 NCAA Regionals.
CSTV: College Sports Television (www.cstv.com), the fastest-growing independent cable network, will debut its CSTV Softball schedule Monday, March 29 (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT) when #21 Texas visits Hawaii. CSTV Softball??s regular season action will also include a pair of appearances by defending NCAA national champion and current #1 UCLA, and games featuring fellow Top 25 teams Arizona, Stanford, Fresno State, Nebraska and Texas.
The CSTV Softball regular season schedule includes games featuring nine teams who competed in last season??s NCAA post-season play: UCLA, Arizona, Texas, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Hawaii and Notre Dame. UCLA and Arizona have combined to win 13 of the last 16 NCAA Women??s College World Series. Veteran sportscaster Beth Mowins will handle CSTV Softball play-by-play duties, while Ann Schatz, who played softball at Creighton, will be the analyst.
??We experienced some of our most exciting moments on the air in 2003 covering softball, and CSTV Softball will bring that passion, excitement and competition to a whole new level in 2004,?? said Tim Pernetti, vice president, programming, College Sports TV. ??Our schedule delivers the top teams, the most competitive rivalries and unparalleled national exposure for the ??best of the best?? in college softball.??
"One of the biggest barriers for women's sports is lack of television coverage,?? said Donna Lopiano, CEO, Women??s Sports Foundation. ??The general public has no idea of the quality of this country's collegiate softball athletes -- they are the best in the world and their level of skill is unbelievable. CSTV should be applauded for its softball schedule. College softball is a great sport featuring great student-athletes.??
CSTV, the first 24-hour college sports network, is available to more than 15 million homes nationally on cable and satellite. The network is available on Time Warner, Adelphia and Insight cable systems, among others, and is also available on DirecTV (channel 610). For information on CSTV availability in particular markets, consumers can log on to www.cstv.com or call their cable or satellite operator.
The 2004 CSTV Softball Schedule (all times ET)
Monday, March 29 - #21 Texas at Hawaii 10 p.m.
Sunday, April 4 - #1 UCLA at #2 Arizona 4 p.m.
Monday, April 12 - Notre Dame at #19 Nebraska 7 p.m.
Sunday, April 25 - Oklahoma State at #21 Texas 2 p.m.
Saturday, May 1 - Fordham at Massachusetts 12 p.m.
Sunday, May 2 - Texas A&M at #19 Nebraska 1 p.m.
Saturday, May 8 - Tulsa at #15 Fresno State 4 p.m.
Sunday, May 9 - #1 UCLA at #11 Stanford 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 15 - Big Ten Softball Tournament TBD
Saturday, May 15 - Conference USA Tournament TBD
