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2014 College Lacrosse Preview: ESPN Unveils Its College Lacrosse Schedule

29 games dot ESPN's broadcast schedule this season.

Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

ESPN released its schedule of college lacrosse broadcasts today. One thing is clear: Variety isn't necessarily what the network is looking for in 2014. Of the 29 games that ESPN will broadcast before the start of the NCAA Tournament, 25 -- over 86 percent -- of those games will feature Johns Hopkins or an ACC team. This is as singular as a broadcast schedule can be without being considered state-run television.

From the press release (all rankings are from Face-Off Yearbook):

The regular-season starts Sunday, Feb. 9, with No. 7 Ohio State playing at No. 14 Johns Hopkins at 11:30 a.m. on ESPNU. The lead announcing team of Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra will have the call of the game.

  • The men’s schedule includes 12 teams ranked in the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Top 20 and nine-of-16 teams that qualified for the 2013 NCAA Championship.
  • The schedule features four doubleheader Saturdays on ESPNU:•On March 15, No. 2 Syracuse at No. 14 Johns Hopkins at noon, followed by No. 3 North Carolina at No. 1 Duke at 2 p.m.
    • No. 4 Notre Dame at No. 2 Syracuse at noon and No. 3 North Carolina at No. 14 Johns Hopkins at 2 p.m. on March 29.
    • On April 5, No. 1 Duke at No. 4 Notre Dame at noon and No. 9 Virginia playing at No. 3 North Carolina at 3 p.m.
    • No. 6 Maryland at No. 14 Johns Hopkins at 2 p.m., followed by No. 3 North Carolina at No. 2 Syracuse on April 12.
  • A rematch of the 2013 NCAA Championship title game and the current top two teams in the nation – No. 2 Syracuse at No. 1 Duke – are set to square off on Sunday, March 23, at 12:30 p.m.
  • ESPNU will have the entire ACC Lacrosse Championship from PPL Park in Chester, Pa., airing the semifinals on Friday, April 25, at 5 & 7:30 p.m. and the title game on Sunday, April 27, at 1 p.m.
  • In addition, ESPNU is the home to the America East and Ivy League title games on Saturday, May 3, and Sunday, May 4, respectively.

Here's the full slate of games scheduled for ESPNU/3 broadcast:

2014 ESPN COLLEGE LACROSSE BROADCAST SCHEDULE
DATE TIME GAME NETWORK
February 9 11:30 A.M. Ohio State at Johns Hopkins ESPNU
February 15 4:00 P.M. Towson at Johns Hopkins ESPN3^
February 22 11:00 A.M. Hofstra at Princeton ESPNU
March 1 7:30 P.M. Syracuse at Virginia ESPN3@
March 7 5:30 P.M. North Carolina at Princeton ESPNU
March 15 12:00 P.M. Syracuse at Johns Hopkins ESPNU
March 15 2:00 P.M. North Carolina at Duke ESPNU
March 16 5:00 P.M. Virginia at Notre Dame ESPNU
March 22 2:00 P.M. Maryland at North Carolina ESPNU
March 22 4:30 P.M. Johns Hopkins at Virginia ESPNU
March 23 12:30 P.M. Syracuse at Duke ESPNU
March 29 12:00 P.M. Notre Dame at Syracuse ESPNU
March 29 2:00 P.M. North Carolina at Johns Hopkins ESPNU
March 30 12:00 P.M. Virginia at Maryland ESPNU
April 4 7:00 P.M. Albany at Johns Hopkins ESPNU
April 5 12:00 P.M. Duke at Notre Dame ESPNU
April 5 3:00 P.M. Virginia at North Carolina ESPNU
April 8 7:30 P.M. Lehigh at Princeton ESPNU
April 11 6:00 P.M. Duke at Virginia ESPNU
April 12 2:00 P.M. Maryland at Johns Hopkins ESPNU
April 12 6:00 P.M. North Carolina at Syracuse ESPNU
April 19 12:00 P.M. Maryland at Notre Dame ESPNU
April 23 7:00 P.M. Villanova at Johns Hopkins ESPNU
April 25 5:00 P.M. ACC Tournament Semifinal I ESPNU
April 25 7:30 P.M. ACC Tournament Semifinal II ESPNU
April 27 1:00 P.M. ACC Tournament Championship ESPNU
May 3 10:00 A.M. America East Tournament Championship ESPNU
May 3 12:00 P.M. Army at Notre Dame ESPNU
May 4 12:00 P.M. Ivy League Tournament Championship ESPNU

^: Tape-delayed to February 16, 2014, at 11:00 A.M. on ESPNU.
@: Tape-delayed to March 2, 2014, at 9:00 A.M. on ESPNU.

Johns Hopkins -- fresh off of a season in which the Blue Jays missed the NCAA Tournament -- will appear eight times on ESPN networks this spring, the most scheduled appearances on the sports behemoth this year. Following Hopkins -- in terms of scheduled appearances -- are Virginia and North Carolina (six), Syracuse and Notre Dame (five), Duke and Maryland (four), Princeton (three), and Ohio State, Towson, Hofstra, Albany, Lehigh, Villanova, and Army (one).

The only regular season ACC conference games that ESPN will not televise are Maryland's trip to Syracuse, Duke's trip to Maryland, and Notre Dame's trip to North Carolina. Only one school -- Virginia -- will have every single one of its league games broadcast on ESPN. Contrastingly, only one school -- Maryland -- will have fewer than four ACC league dates televised on ESPN (and you thought the ACC's disappointment with Maryland for departing the league for the Big Ten in 2014-2015 was limited to restricting the Terps' football and basketball concerns).

Then there's this:

So, anything in that schedule stick out as must-watch television? The comments are yours to discuss.