Fox Sports Indiana, Pacers, and IHSAA Announce Plans For Second Annual Basketball Day Indiana

Fox Sports Indiana will televise nine games from around the state and include more than 13 hours of live programming as part of Basketball Day Indiana. The network also announced that its coverage will feature a “whip-around” style product enhancement for its multi-game college basketball lineup during Basketball Day Indiana.

“Our goal with Basketball Day Indiana is to celebrate the state’s passion for the sport. We’re proud to team up with the Pacers, Fever and IHSAA, and to join with Fox Sports’ collegiate partners from the Big Ten and Missouri Valley Conference, to produce an event that showcases basketball at all levels,” says Jack Donovan, Fox Sports Indiana General Manager and Senior Vice President.

“Basketball Day Indiana fits perfectly with our new brand of ‘We Grow Basketball Here,’” says Rick Fuson, President and COO of Pacers Sports & Entertainment. “We embrace the opportunity to begin the day with the best of high school basketball in Bankers Life Fieldhouse and conclude the festivities that evening when our Pacers host Chicago. We thank our partners at FOX Sports Indiana for their leading role in making this a must-see day of hoops, whether on FSI or in person.”

Basketball Day Indiana will start with three high school games from Bankers Life Fieldhouse, including two marquee matchups: Girls Class 4A preseason No. 2 Pike takes on No. 3 North Central; and boys preseason 4A No. 1 New Albany faces 3A No. 16 Silver Creek. Later in the day, Class 3A No. 1 Crispus Attucks faces No. 8 Broad Ripple from Grand Park Fieldhouse.

“The IHSAA is enthusiastic about the second annual Basketball Day Indiana,” says Bobby Cox, Commissioner of the Indiana High School Athletic Association. “We are proud that four high school contests will be featured in the day-long programming which will spotlight our beloved game in the Hoosier State.  Our sincerest thanks are extended to our valued partners at Fox Sports Indiana and Pacers Sports & Entertainment for their tremendous support of education-based athletics in Indiana.”

In mid-afternoon the focus shifts to the college ranks. From 2 to 4:30 p.m., Fox Sports Indiana will present three games simultaneously in a “whip-around” format. Fox Sports Indiana’s longtime Pacers broadcast team, Chris Denari and Quinn Buckner, will guide viewers through the Purdue-Indiana women’s game, Nebraska-Purdue men’s game and Seton Hall-Butler men’s game. A fourth college game, Valparaiso hosting Southern Illinois, will air at 4:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Indiana Plus as part of Fox Sports’ Missouri Valley Conference package.

Basketball Day Indiana culminates with the Pacers hosting the Chicago Bulls.
Fox Sports Indiana also plans to shine the spotlight on youth basketball, with instructional segments and features from Grand Park Fieldhouse, and on the IHSAA-Special Olympics Indiana unified sports program. Fox Sports Indiana will anchor between-game coverage from a set in the entry pavilion of Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Basketball Day Indiana is presented by St. Vincent.
For more information on Basketball Day Indiana, visit FOXSportsIndiana.com, Pacers.com and check the hashtag #BasketballDayIndiana. Coverage of Basketball Day Indiana starts this week on Fox Sports Indiana with Countdown to Basketball Day, a series of reports from significant basketball events and sites throughout the state that will air during Pacers telecasts.