Kentucky Softball Announces 2016 National Television Schedule

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky softball team, in conjunction with its television partners at ESPN and the SEC Network announced its 2016 TV schedule on Friday which will see UK play at least nine times in front of a national audience. 

The TV slate for the Wildcats kicks off on Feb. 15 with two games televised featuring the Wildcats against the Utah Utes (2:30 p.m. ET) and the Arizona State Sun Devils (5 p.m. ET) at the 2016 Kajikawa Classic Tournament from Tempe, Ariz. Both games will be shown live on the PAC-12 Networks, and the PAC-12 Network website as well.

Two matches in Columbia, S.C., against the South Carolina Gamecocks will be UK’s first SEC Network appearance of the season, as both March 12 and March 13 games against USC will be shown live at 1 p.m. ET on the network, as well as the ESPN app and WatchESPN.

Kentucky’s road game at Arkansas on March 26 will also start at 1 p.m. ET and will be televised by the SEC Network. 

All three games in Baton Rouge, La., will be shown live over the air from April 9-11 as the Wildcats look to win back-to-back series against the LSU Tigers. Saturday night’s game will start at 6 p.m. ET and will be shown live on ESPN2, the ESPN app and WatchESPN. Sunday and Monday night’s games will both start at 7 p.m. ET and will both be shown on the SEC Network, with Monday night’s game showcased as the Game of the Week, featuring the only SEC game on that date.  

Kentucky’s final scheduled television appearance comes on April 23 at 6 p.m. ET when UK travels to Alabama to face the Crimson Tide on the SEC Network. The Wildcats will be looking for back-to-back series wins in Tuscaloosa on April 22-24. 

Southeastern Conference softball on national television tripled last year with the launch of SEC Network. The 2016, SEC softball television expansion continues with the addition of “Bases Loaded” and an all-softball SEC Network weekend added to the more than 70 games scheduled across ESPN networks. 

SEC Network swings into its 50+ game-schedule this spring exclusively airing Softball games March 12-14. The network will feature eight games from four series for the start of conference play over Saturday, Sunday and Monday. 

The network closes out the regular-season with another innovation: a softball “Bases Loaded” show on Sunday, May 8, the final day of games prior to the SEC Tournament. SEC Network’s three-hour show will mark the first time the Bases Loaded concept has been used in the softball regular-season.  It will swing through the best moments of up to 14 teams scheduled to face off that day. 

After a successful first year, SEC Network will continue to air every First Round and Second Round game in the SEC Softball Championship. The Semifinals will air on ESPNU and the Championship on ESPN. SEC Network’s on-site studio plans for the tournament will be announced closer to the event’s date. 

Of note, UK will be releasing its SEC Network+ schedule in the coming days, featuring home games that will be live streamed on the SEC Network+, ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.  

2016 Kentucky Softball National Television Schedule

Feb. 15 // vs. Utah // PAC-12 Networks // 2:30 p.m. ET

Feb. 15 // at Arizona State // PAC-12 Networks // 5 p.m. ET

March 12 // at South Carolina // SEC Network // 1 p.m. ET

March 13 // at South Carolina // SEC Network // 1 p.m. ET

March 26 // at Arkansas // SEC Network // 1 p.m. ET

April 9 // at LSU // ESPN2 // 6 p.m. ET

April 10 // at LSU // SEC Network // 7 p.m. ET

April 11 // at LSU // SEC Network // 7 p.m. ET

April 23 // at Alabama // SEC Network // 6 p.m. ET

For the latest on the Kentucky softball team, follow @UKSoftball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.