Conference USA Announces 2003 Football Television Schedule
July 18, 2003 | Football
Conference USA and ESPN Inc. begin the third season of an exclusive eight-year agreement to televise Conference USA football this fall. The contract incorporates ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN Regional, ABC Sports, ESPN.com and ESPN Classic. The contract includes exclusive national cable television coverage on ESPN and ESPN 2, including special mid-week games as well as Thursday and Saturday contests.
The schedule kicks off with four nationally-televised games during Labor Day weekend. South Florida will make its debut as a football-playing member of Conference USA when it battles Alabama on ESPN at 3:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday, August 30 in Birmingham. On Sunday, August 31, Louisville and Kentucky battle for Bluegrass State bragging rights at 6:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN 2. Labor Day (Monday, September 1) will feature a Conference USA day-night doubleheader on ESPN. At Noon EDT, East Carolina and 2002 co-champion Cincinnati kick off the conference season with a game at Nippert Stadium. At 8:00 p.m. EDT, defending AXA Liberty Bowl champion TCU faces Tulane at the Louisiana Superdome in a matchup of schools that are coming off bowl victories last season.
Conference USA continues its strong early season exposure with three nationally-televised contests during the second week of the season. On Thursday, September 4, Southern Miss and UAB open their conference seasons against each other on ESPN 2, with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT. On Saturday, September 6, two exciting non-conference matchups will air. Houston ventures to "The Big House" to battle Michigan on ESPN, while Memphis welcomes regional rival Mississippi to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on ESPN 2. Kickoff for both games is set for Noon EDT.
Three Conference USA football games will appear on a syndicated package on ESPN Plus. The first game is scheduled for Saturday, September 13 with Army hosting Rutgers. The following Saturday, September 20, Tulane visits Army in the second game of the package. The third game of the syndicated package pits regional rivals Tulane and Southern Miss against each other on Saturday, November 15 in Hattiesburg. Kickoff for all three of these games is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EDT/2:30 p.m. CDT.
In addition to the games slated for ESPN Inc., CBS will air the annual Army-Navy battle as part of its network package on Saturday, December 6 in Philadelphia, Pa.
Each Conference USA school will make at least one national television appearance this fall. Additional Conference USA football television exposures remain a possibility, and will be released as soon as they are finalized.
2003 CONFERENCE USA FOOTBALL TELEVISION SCHEDULE
ESPN SCHEDULE Saturday, August 30 South Florida at Alabama 3:00 p.m. EDT Monday, September 1 East Carolina at Cincinnati Noon EDT Monday, September 1 TCU at Tulane 8:00 p.m. EDT Saturday, September 6 Houston at Michigan Noon EDT Thursday, September 25 Nebraska at Southern Miss 7:30 p.m. EDT Friday, October 10 TCU at South Florida 8:00 p.m. EDT Friday, October 17 Tulane at Louisville 8:00 p.m. EDT Thursday, November 20 TCU at Southern Miss 7:30 p.m. EST Thursday, December 25 Hawaii Bowl 8:00 p.m. EST Wednesday, December 31 AXA Liberty Bowl 3:30 p.m. EST ESPN 2 SCHEDULE Sunday, August 31 Louisville at Kentucky 6:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, September 4 Southern Miss at UAB 7:00 p.m. EDT Saturday, September 6 Mississippi at Memphis Noon EDT Saturday, September 13 East Carolina at Miami (Fla.) 7:00 p.m. EDT Tuesday, September 30 Houston at East Carolina 7:30 p.m. EDT Friday, November 28 Louisville at Cincinnati 11:00 a.m. EST Tuesday, December 16 New Orleans Bowl 7:00 p.m. EST Thursday, December 18 GMAC Bowl 7:30 p.m. EST Tuesday, December 23 PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl 7:30 p.m. EST ESPN OR ESPN 2 Wed., Nov. 5/Thu., Nov. 6 Louisville at TCU TBA CBS SCHEDULE Saturday, December 6 Army vs. Navy (in Philadelphia, Pa.) 4:00 p.m. EST ESPN PLUS Saturday, September 13 Rutgers at Army 3:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, September 20 Tulane at Army 3:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, November 15 Tulane at Southern Miss 3:30 p.m. EST
