Six South Atlantic Conference Football Games to be Broadcast Nationally

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference will have six football contests that will be broadcast nationally on the ESPN family of networks, including two games that will be streamed live on ESPN or the NCAA social media platforms as a part of the 2018 NCAA Division II Football Showcase.

In addition to the NCAA Division II Showcase games, four SAC teams will be taking on NCAA Division I opponents from the Southern Conference on ESPN+ and Wingate will play a total of eight games on the ESPN App and ESPN3 this season. 

The first 19 games of the football showcase are predetermined games, 17 of which are conference matchups. An additional three flex games — intended to highlight crucial matchups — will be finalized later in the season and played in November.

The NCAA's new media agreement features two distribution models for football and basketball. For football, 11 games will be streamed on ESPN3, available on the ESPN app. The remaining 11 football games are part of the hybrid model, and they have the flexibility to be distributed on TV and online. The division will work with the TV partners of participating conferences and schools on the opportunity to air games on TV. These games also will be distributed online through NCAA social media accounts — specifically, Division II Facebook (facebook.com/ncaadivisionii) and Twitter (@NCAADII) — and could be distributed through conference or school digital networks.

"We are honored the NCAA chose two of our games to be a part of the 2018 NCAA Division II Football Showcase and we are thrilled to have three teams taking on SoCon teams this year as well," said South Atlantic Conference Commissioner Patrick Britz.  "We are very excited to showcase our student-athletes, coaches, fans and our entire conference to a national audience."

First up, No. 22 Carson-Newman will travel to No. 2 West Florida for an 8:05 p.m. kick-off on August 30 for an NCAA Division II Showcase game as part of their hybrid model. Following the Carson-Newman game, Newberry will travel to Western Carolina and Mars Hill will head to East Tennessee State University on September 1. The Newberry game will kick-off at 6 p.m. on ESPN+ and the Mars Hill game will begin at 7:30 p.m. also on ESPN+. Also hitting the field on September 1, will be Limestone at Gardner-Webb. The Saints will take on the Bulldogs at 6 p.m. 

In the September 15 game, two of the top teams in the SAC will take the field with the reigning SAC Champs, Wingate, traveling to Carson-Newman. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and will kick-off at 7:05 p.m. as an NCAA Division II Showcase game.

The final nationally broadcast game will take place on November 3, when Tusculum hits the road to the Virginia Military Institute for a 1:30 p.m. kick-off. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

ESPN3 is available on the ESPN app, while ESPN+ is a subscription streaming service available on any device.

Full schedule of nationally televised SAC football games:

Aug. 30 – Carson-Newman at West Florida – Hybrid (8:05 p.m.) – NCAA Showcase
Sept. 1 – Newberry at Western Carolina – ESPN+ (6 p.m.)
Sept. 1 – Limestone at Gardner-Webb – ESPN+ (6 p.m.)
Sept. 1 – Mars Hill at ETSU – ESPN+ (7:30 p.m.)
Sept. 15 – Wingate at Carson-Newman – ESPN3 (7:05 p.m.) – NCAA Showcase
Nov. 3 – Tusculum at VMI, ESPN+ (1:30 p.m.)

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