ESPN Networks Offer Lineup of Women in Sports Programming on Title IX Anniversary Weekend

ESPN has increased its originally announced schedule of events and studio shows for Friday-Sunday, June 22-24 featuring women in sports across its networks – ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, ESPN Classic and Longhorn Network – highlighted by a full day of programming Saturday, June 23. The offering culminates the company’s three-month multiplatform initiative, The Power of IX, recognizing the 40th anniversary of Title IX, signed June 23, 1972.

More than 180 hours of women in sports programming will be aired, including 11 live hours on ESPN beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET with the WNBA’s Chicago Sky at defending champion Minnesota Lynx, the first of two WNBA games on ESPN that day.

Highlighting Saturday’s coverage will be the historic Battle of the Sexes: 1973 Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs Match at 9 p.m. on ESPN Classic. The event was last aired in 2003. Additional highlights include:

• Two WNBA games on ESPN – Chicago Sky at Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks at Phoenix Mercury at 9 p.m. – featuring some of the top current women basketball players in the world in Chicago’s dynamic duo of Epiphanny Prince and Sylvia Fowles, former UConn star Maya Moore of Minnesota and L.A.’s Candace Parker;
• Sporting Chance presented by Northwest Mutual is a one-hour documentary produced by the NCAA in conjunction with ESPN and Creative Street Entertainment Group. Airing at noon, it tells the story of the passage of Title IX and explores how this law has increased educational opportunities and athletic participation, specifically for women, over the past 40 years.
• USA Soccer: Leveling the Field, an original 30-minute special on ESPN2 at 5 p.m. showcasing the 1999 U.S. Women’s World Cup Gold-Medal winning team;
• Honda Sports Awards, the annual awards program that honors the accomplishments of top NCAA female athletes, live on ESPNU at 3 p.m. from ESPN’s Los Angeles Production Center.

The June 23 multi-network programming will be tied together, beginning at 12:30 p.m., through studio segments from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., headquarters. ESPN soccer analyst and espnW contributor Julie Foudy will host with former collegiate and WNBA women’s basketball star Sheryl Swoopes. The studio set will be Title IX-themed using set colors based on the animation and The Power of IX logo. ESPN anchor Sara Walsh will report from the AAU Girls’ National Volleyball Championship from the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla.

For more details, including the complete programming schedule, CLICK HERE.