ESPN has announced that all 12 games of the inaugural ESPNU Puerto Rico Tip-Off will be televised on ESPNU or ESPN2. The Temple men’s basketball team will open the season by participating in the eight-team event to be held at Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan on Nov. 15, 16, and 18.“There are a bunch of these opportunities,” Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw said last week. “And Dan Shumaker, who is a friend of mine from ESPN, asked me at a recent football meeting if we would be interested. And I said, ‘Absolutely.’”
Bradshaw said ESPN is directly involved with the development of three new early-season tournaments this year – one in Orlando, one in Anaheim, and the Puerto Rico event. That involvement translates to full TV coverage for all three events.
ESPN2 will televise the championship game and the consolation game from Puerto Rico, while the first 10 games will be televised by ESPNU. The tournament field has not been finalized, though Bradshaw mentioned Providence and Miami as two likely participants.
Games are scheduled for Nov. 15-16, then a one-day break before the final day of competition (Nov. 18). What to do on the day off? Explore Old San Juan? Or, for the truly adventurous, the Temple football team is scheduled to host Kent State at Lincoln Financial Field on Nov. 17. Start checking for flights.