The madness of March continues with 64 of the finest high school basketball teams in Tennessee facing off in the 2011 BlueCross Basketball Championships, the TSSAA’s basketball state championship events. The TSSAA Network will televise all 54 games live for the first time in history. All 10 championship games will be broadcast on live television across the entire state on the seven Tennessee Public Television Council stations.
The additional 44 quarterfinal and semifinal games will be broadcast live on the web via www.TSSAANetwork.com.
“The LIVE broadcasts are a remarkable opportunity for the participating high schools, athletes, and the TSSAA,” said Bernard Childress, executive director for TSSAA. “This will provide unprecedented exposure for the talent and dedication of our student athletes, coaching staffs and support staff. The broadcasts will also give fans throughout the state of Tennessee and worldwide the opportunity to participate in the excitement through TSSAAnetwork.com”
The TSSAA Network is a partnership between the TSSAA and PlayON! Sports that features live and on-demand coverage of high school sports in Tennessee across television and the Internet. The TSSAAnetwork.com video portal is one component of the partnership and gives fans access, at no charge, to a wide variety of events including the recent BlueCross Bowl, the TSSAA’s football championships in Cookeville.
“We are excited to broadcast all fifty-four games live this year for the first time in history,” said David Rudolph, pPresident and CEO of PlayON! Sports. “This comprehensive coverage of the BlueCross Basketball Championships will provide fans greater access to these events and will create lasting memories for the participants and their families.”
The 10 basketball state championship games will be broadcast via live television on the seven Tennessee Public Television Council stations, including Chattanooga, Cookeville, Martin/Jackson, Tri-Cities, Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville. The stations and over-the-air broadcast channel numbers are provided below, but check local listings for the channel number on your cable or satellite provider.
WTCI–TV Chattanooga | Channel 45
WCTE–TV Cookeville | Channel 22
WLJT–TV Martin/Jackson | Channel 11
WETP–TV Tri-Cities | Channel 2
WKOP–TV Knoxville | Channel 15
WKNO–TV Memphis | Channel 10
WNPT–TV Nashville | Channel 8
The matchups and live television broadcast times for the 2011 BlueCross Basketball Championships are:
SATURDAY, MARCH 5, 2011 (Lipscomb University, Nashville, TN)
Division II, Class 1A Girls – 12:00pm ET | 11:00am CT
Division II, Class 1A Boys – 2:00pm ET | 1:00pm CT
Division II, Class 2A Girls – 4:00pm ET | 3:00pm CT
Division II, Class 2A Boys – 6:00pm ET | 5:00pm CT
SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 2011 (MTSU, Murfreesboro, TN)
Division I, Class 1A Girls – 3:00pm ET | 2:00pm CT
Division I, Class 2A Girls – 5:00pm ET | 4:00pm CT
Division I, Class 3A Girls – 7:00pm ET | 6:00pm CT
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2011 (MTSU, Murfreesboro, TN)
Division I, Class 1A Boys – 3:00pm ET | 2:00pm CT
Division I, Class 2A Boys – 5:00pm ET | 4:00pm CT
Division I, Class 3A Boys – 7:00pm ET | 6:00pm CT
All games (Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Finals) will stream LIVE on the web at TSSAANetwork.com. The broadcast times for LIVE web streaming on TSSAANetwork.com are:
2011 DIVISION II GIRLS AND BOYS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Thursday, March 3 Semifinals 12:00pm | 1:30pm | 3:15pm | 4:45pm (all times ET)
Friday, March 4 Semifinals 12:00pm | 1:30pm | 3:15pm | 4:45pm (all times ET)
Saturday, March 5 Finals 12:00pm | 2:00pm | 4:00pm | 6:00pm (all times ET)
2011 DIVISION I GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Wednesday, March 9 Quarterfinals 11:00am | 12:30pm | 2:00pm | 3:30pm | 5:00pm | 6:30pm (all times ET)
Thursday, March 10 Quarterfinals 11:00am | 12:30pm | 2:00pm | 3:30pm | 5:00pm | 6:30pm (all times ET)
Friday, March 11 Semifinals 11:00am | 12:30pm | 2:00pm | 3:30pm | 5:00pm | 6:30pm (all times ET)
Saturday, March 12 Finals 3:00pm | 5:00pm | 7:00pm (all times ET)
2011 DIVISION I BOYS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Wednesday, March 16 Quarterfinals 11:00am | 12:45pm | 2:30pm | 4:15pm | 6:00pm | 7:45pm (all times ET)
Thursday, March 17 Quarterfinals 11:00am | 12:45pm | 2:30pm | 4:15pm | 6:00pm | 7:45pm (all times ET)
Friday, March 18 Semifinals 11:00am | 12:45pm | 2:30pm | 4:15pm | 6:00pm | 7:45pm (all times ET)
Saturday, March 19 Finals 3:00pm | 5:00pm | 7:00pm (all times ET)
The 2011 BlueCross Basketball Championships are presented by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA), BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, the Tennessee Governor’s Highway Safety Office and the TSSAA Network.
About PlayON! Sports:
PlayON! Sports is an Atlanta-based digital media company and technology provider specializing in the production, distribution, and monetization of professional-quality, low-cost video content. PlayON! Sports' proprietary technology platform includes video production capabilities and a multiplatform distribution system. For more information, contact PlayON! Sports at info@playonsports.com, or visit www.playonsports.com.
About Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA):
The mission of the TSSAA is to serve its members by providing leadership and coordination for the administration of interscholastic athletics, which will enhance the educational experiences of students. The TSSAA will promote participation and sportsmanship to develop good citizens through interscholastic athletics,which provide equitable opportunities, positive recognition and learning experiences to students while maximizing the achievement of educational goals. For more information, contact the TSSAA at tssaa@tssaa.org, or visit www.tssaa.org.