The 2007-'08 Badgers' basketball season may be weeks away, but the Big Ten program has already announced its first victory - all home games will be on national television.
We are thrilled,"" said Justin Doherty, assistant athletic director of communications at UW-Madison. ""It's not something we have had before.""
According to a Big Ten release, ""no fewer than 235 men's basketball games, including home, away and neutral contests, will be featured on CBS Sports, an ESPN platform or the Big Ten Network.""
This will include all 20 of the Badgers home games, which equates to all but one being televised, according to the Appleton Post-Crescent.
Doherty said this is good news for the basketball program because of the ""increased exposure for our conference and for our school and subsequently for our basketball program.""
""More people get to see what our program is about and more people get to see what the atmosphere at the Kohl Center is about.""
The bad news for Badger fans who do not get basketball season tickets and who are looking to watch the games on the Big Ten Network, may not be able to watch from home. The network, which is broadcasting at least 20 Badger basketball games this year, has not reached an agreement with Charter Communications.
According to a Big Ten Network representative, the network and Charter are still trying to reach an agreement - which is not the case with Comcast.
Even if Charter is not able to reach an agreement, students will be able to see the games in the dorms and in the Memorial Union, possibly Union South, too, as announced by University Communications Aug. 28.
According to Marc Kennedy, Wisconsin Union's university relations specialist, there will be a ""big screen in the Stiftskeller as well as a big screen and projection TV in the Rathskeller.""
Students who do not have access to the Big Ten Network this fall and do not want to head to the unions will still be able to see 17 Big Ten games on CBS along with 53 to 56 of the conference's games on the ESPN platform.
Men's basketball season ticket lottery registration begins Wednesday, Sept. 12.
As part of a new policy announced by the
UW Athletic Department in April, two separate lotteries will be run to determine which 3,000 students will receive full or half season tickets.
Chances in the lottery will be weighted on class standing and each year of basketball lottery participation starting with the 2004-'05 season.
This year's lottery will run through Friday, Sept. 21, and results will be announced Tuesday, Sept. 25.
Similar to hockey group registration, basketball lottery winners will have two weeks to register their group, with a maximum of six students.
