MACOMB, IL – Western Illinois University has announced that for the fourth time this season, the Leatherneck men’s basketball team will be on a nationally televised broadcast — but this time on ESPNU, marking their second broadcasted appearance on the ESPN affiliate this year.
This game, however, marks as special occasion as this will be the first in program history that the broadcast will originate from Western Hall on the campus of Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois.
The Ohio Valley Conference and ESPNU announced on Wednesday that the UT Martin at Western Illinois men’s basketball game on Saturday, February 10 will be part of the OVC-ESPN Wild Card matchup. The televised game is the fifth of a 10-game OVC basketball linear TV package to air on the ESPN Family of Networks this season. The game tips off and airs nationally on ESPNU at 11 a.m. The UT Martin-Western Illinois women’s game follows at 2 p.m., airing online on ESPN+.
“This is a great opportunity for our men’s basketball team as well as our athletic department and University to be showcased on a national broadcast,” said Paul A. Bubb, Director of Athletics. “To have this type of media coverage for our programs is another example that membership in the Ohio Valley Conference is a good place for our programs and the University.”
Western Illinois has twice appeared on the Big Ten Network this season, playing at Wisconsin and Illinois in November. The Leathernecks have previously been part of the OVC-ESPN Wild Card game, playing at Southern Indiana on Thursday, January 25.
“I am extremely excited and looking forward to a great day in Western Hall,” Bubb concluded, “as we celebrate National Women and Girls in Sport Day and also start the day with our Hotcakes for Heroes fundraiser to support the Ohio Valley Conference’s Hoops for Heroes program.”
Copy Provided By Western Athletics Communications