ESPN Adds Chip Kelly To Its College Football Broadcast Roster

Courtesy: ESPN

ESPN has added a new big name to its college football coverage roster.

Chip Kelly was named the latest addition this week to the network’s roster of college football analysts.  Kelly, who has more than 30 years experience in college and professional football, will serve as a studio analyst for many of the network’s college football broadcasts. According to a press release from ESPN, Kelly will also appear on Friday and Sunday editions of SportsCenter to offer insight on college and NFL matchups.

Lee Fitting, ESPN Senior Coordinating Producer, called Kelly’s outside the box approach as a coach one of his major strong points while discussing his addition to the network’s on-air football roster.

“Chip is one of the most innovative football minds of our generation,” Fitting said.  “As a coach, he saw the game from a unique perspective, never afraid to take an unconventional approach.  We want him to bring that mentality to our college football coverage each week, offering fans a varying viewpoint outside of the conventional thought process.”

Kelly said in response, he intended to use that unconventional approach when he begins his time with the network, adding he is anticipating starting the next chapter of his football career with ESPN.

“Over the last 30 years, I have experienced football from one perspective – as a coach,” Kelly said.  “Working in television will allow me to see the game from a different angle; simultaneously;  I’ll provide viewers an insight to the mindset of a coach and team while offering alternative views of various situations.  Once I decided to make the move to television, my familiarity with ESPN, combined with their high-quality productions and vital role in college football, it was easily the best network suited for me.”

From 2009 – 12, Kelly served as head coach of the University of Oregon’s football team, compiling a record of 46 – 7.  That record included wins in the Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl, and a trip to the College Football National Championship.  In 2009 and ’10, he led the Ducks to the Pac-10 title.  He also led the team to the Pac-12 title.

His time at the helm in Oregon is only one part a 24-year college football career.  Before taking the helm at Oregon, he also spent two years as the team’s offensive coordinator. He spent the past four seasons in the National Football League, including a stint at the helm of the Philadelphia Eagles.

While leading the Eagles, Kelly led the team to a 10 – 6 record and led the team to the NFC East title.

Kelly’s own accolades include Pac-10 Coach of the year in 2009.  He earned four separate coach of the year awards in 2010 including the Associated Press Coach of the Year award.

Kelly will start his on-air college football career with ESPN with the start of this year’s college football season.

More information on Kelly’s addition to ESPN’s college football broadcast ranks is available online now along with all of the latest college football news at:

 

 

 

Website: http://www.espn.com/college-football

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CFBonESPN

Twitter: http://twitter.com/espncfb

 

 

 

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Hoyas, Ducks Face Off At Annual Armed Forces Classic

Courtesy: ESPN

Georgetown University and the University of Oregon will face off in this year’s annual Armed Forces Classic presented by ESPN.  The game, in its second year, will be broadcast from the United States Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.  It will air this Friday, November 8^th at 8pm ET/10am local time on ESPN.  It all kicks off with SportsCenter Special: Armed Forces Classic pregame show at 7:30pm ET.  The Hoyas and Ducks will face each other inside the base’s three-story, 110,000 square foot Humphreys Community Fitness Center.

The now annual basketball game is at the heart of ESPN’s fifth annual America’s Heroes: A Salute to Our Veterans.  The celebration is a five-day effort that honors those that serve, have served, and those preparing to serve.  The network’s special programming runs from Wednesday, November 6^th – Sunday, November 10^th.  Dan Shulman will anchor the broadcast.  He will be joined by analyst Jay Bilas and courtside reporter Andy Katz.  Kevin Connors will anchor the game’s pre-game broadcast.  He will be joined by analyst Jay Williams.  The pair will also have halftime and post-game coverage.  The pair will welcome Georgetown’s own John Thompson III as a special guest on the pre-game broadcast.

The Hoyas are currently second in the Big East pre-season.  Number 19 Oregon has been picked to finish number four in the Pac-12 preseason media poll.

More information on the annual Armed Forces Classic is available online at http://espnevents.com/armed-forces-classic.  More information on ESPN’s college basketball coverage is available online at http://www.facebook.com/ESPNCollegeBasketball and http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball.  To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Ducks, Hoyas Headed To Camp Humphreys For 2013 Armed Forces Classic

Courtesy: ESPN

College basketball fans will get a special treat this Fall when two of the best teams in NCAA Division I basketball head overseas for the 2013 Armed Forces Classic.

This year’s Armed Forces Classic—the second annual contest—will be held at Camp Humphreys, a military base in South Korea.  The game will feature a matchup of the Oregon Ducks and Georgetown Hoyas.  It will be held on Friday, November 8^th on ESPN.  The contest is part of ESPN’s Veterans Week Initiative, which honors America’s men and women in uniform both past and present, at home and abroad.  It will be held at the 1,000-square foot Humphreys Community Fitness Center on Camp Humphreys.  The fitness center houses three full-sized basketball courts, in indoor pool, a 200-meter running track, weight training and cardio equipment, an indoor rock climbing wall, racquetball courts, and other well-known fitness equipment.

The game itself is just part of what members of both teams will do while visiting Camp Humphreys.  They will also serve dinner to the troops at a base dining facility, hold youth clinics for families of those that are stationed at the base, and even hold open practice and tour the base during their stay.

Commander Colonel Darin S. Conkrigh was asked about the teams playing on base for soldiers and their families this year.  He was ecstatic in his response.  “Camp Humphreys is extremely proud to host this year’s Armed Forces Classic,” he said.  “I can’t think of a better way to provide the Soldiers and Families stationed here on Freedom’s Frontier a taste of home than through a sporting event of this magnitude.”

This year’s matchup is just the latest in a series of games played each year on U.S. military facilities around the world each year over a five-year rotation.  The series of games began in 2012 at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany.  ESPN Regional Television owns and operates the yearly matchup.

Basketball fans can get more information on this year’s Armed Forces Classic online at http://www.armedforcesclassic.com.  Basketball fans can also keep up with the latest NCAA Basketball on ESPN news at http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/.

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

ESPN Family Of Networks Add ACC Football Games To 2013 Schedule

Fans of both college football and of the ACC will get a big treat from the ESPN family of networks beginning this fall.  ESPN has officially announced that it will broadcast no fewer than twenty additional ACC college football games across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, and ESPNU during the course of the 2013 season.  The first three weeks of the upcoming college football season will see every home game from specific ACC teams, as well as a road and neutral site matchup across the ESPN family of networks.  This is in addition to five previously released ACC games.

As an added bonus for ACC football fans, the new deal between the ACC and the ESPN family of networks means that they will get to see the Dr Pepper ACC Championship from Charlotte, North Carolina and the previously announced quartet of Thursday ESPN College Football  Primetime telecasts.  Also, the deal has guaranteed at least one game on “Black Friday.”

The whole schedule kicks off with a matchup between the University of North Carolina and SEC #8 South Carolina.  The game is the first of the four scheduled Thursday ESPN College Football Primetime telecasts.  The game is currently scheduled for Thursday, August 29^th at 6pm on ESPN.  Virginia Tech and two-time defending BCS National Champion Alabama follow on August 31^st at 5:30pm on ESPN.  The game, the Chick-fil-a Kickoff Game is scheduled to be played in Atlanta.  Miami will face #11 Florida on September 7^th at noon on ESPN.  Also expected to be broadcast that day is a matchup between Virginia and 3 Oregon at 3:30pm on ABC and ESPN2.

The current schedule of games is listed below.  More games will be announced as the season moves forward.

The 2013 ACC schedule as of May 23 (additional selections to be announced):

 

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Thu, Aug 29	6 p.m.	North Carolina at No. 8 South Carolina *	ESPN
	6:30 p.m.	Presbyterian at Wake Forest	ESPN3
Fri, Aug 30	8 p.m.	Florida Atlantic at Miami (Fla.)	ESPNU
Sat, Aug 31	Noon	Villanova at Boston College	ESPN3
	Noon	Elon at Georgia Tech	ESPN3
	12:30 p.m.	Louisiana Tech at NC State	ESPN3 ^ / ACC Network
	12:30 p.m.	Florida International at Maryland	ESPN3 ^ / ACC Network
	3:30 p.m.	BYU at Virginia	ESPNU
	4 p.m.	North Carolina Central at Duke	ESPN3
	5:30 p.m.	Chick-fil-A Kickoff: Virginia Tech vs. No. 2 Alabama (from Atlanta) *	ESPN
	8 p.m.	No. 7 Georgia at No. 12 Clemson *	ABC
Mon, Sep 2	8 p.m.	No. 14 Florida State at Pittsburgh *	ESPN
Fri, Sep 6	8 p.m.	Wake Forest at Boston College *	ESPN2
Sat, Sep 7	Noon	No. 11 Florida at Miami (Fla.)	ESPN
	12:30 p.m.	Middle Tennessee at North Carolina	ESPN3 ^ / ACC Network
	12:30 p.m.	South Carolina State at No. 12 Clemson	ESPN3 ^ / ACC Network
	1:30 p.m.	Western Carolina at Virginia Tech	ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	No. 3 Oregon at Virginia	ABC & ESPN2
	4 p.m.	Old Dominion at Maryland	ESPN3
	6 p.m.	Richmond at NC State	ESPN3
Sat, Sep 14	12:30 p.m.	New Mexico at Pittsburgh	ESPN3 ^ / ACC Network
	12:30 p.m.	Louisiana-Monroe at Wake Forest	ESPN3 ^ / ACC Network
	3:30 p.m.	Nevada at No. 14 Florida State	ESPN or ESPN2
	3:30 p.m.	Georgia Tech at Duke	ESPNU
	4 p.m.	Wagner at Syracuse	ESPN3
Thu, Sep 19	7:30 p.m.	No. 12 Clemson at NC State *	ESPN
Thu, Sep 26	7:30 p.m.	Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech *	ESPN
Thu, Oct 17	TBD	Miami (Fla.) at North Carolina *	ESPN
Thu, Nov 14	7:30 p.m.	Georgia Tech at No. 12 Clemson *	ESPN
Fri, Nov 29	TBD	Miami (Fla.) at Pittsburgh *	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Sat, Dec 7	7:45 p.m. or 8 p.m.	Dr Pepper ACC Championship Game (from Charlotte)	ABC or ESPN

For all the latest ACC news, fans can follow the conference on its official Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/theACC and its official website, http://www.theACC.com.

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.