ESPN, NBC, Big Ten Network, MAC announce times for over 100 games

By Kevin Kelley -
Florida State QB E.J. Manuel
Melina Vastola-US PRESSWIRE

ESPN, NBC and the Big Ten Network each announced times and coverage for over 100 college football games today. The Mid-American Conference (MAC) also released several kickoff times this afternoon.

The ESPN family of networks (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3) added 68 games to their slate, including five season-openers on Thursday, Aug. 30. That night is highlighted by South Carolina at Vanderbilt (7 p.m. ET) and Washington State at BYU (10:15 p.m. ET) on ESPN.

The Big Ten Network will air 15 games during the first three weeks of the 2012 season and more than 40 overall. Coverage begins on Saturday, Sept. 1 with Miami (OH) at Ohio State at noon eastern. All BTN games will also be available on BTN2Go.

NBC and NBC Sports Network will televise 17 FBS games and 15 FCS games this season. Their 2012 slate kicks off on Saturday, Sept. 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET with Purdue at Notre Dame on NBC and Delaware State at Delaware on NBC Sports Network.

The Mid-American Conference now has a total of 56 games slated for national or regional television networks. Three MAC games are scheduled for ESPN on opening night, Thursday, Aug. 30 – UCF at Akron (7 p.m. ET), Eastern Michigan at Ball State (7 p.m. ET) and UMass at Connecticut (7:30 p.m. ET).

More games will be selected for television coverage as the season approaches and during the season for other networks. CBS announced a partial 2012 TV schedule yesterday, but most of their games will be announced 6-12 days prior to kickoff.