March 12, 1999

DALLAS-Big 12 Conference members will have their most extensive regional baseball coverage on television since the 1996 season as FOX Sports Southwest announced a seven-game package for the conference Wednesday.

The series begins with a rematch of the 1998 Big 12 tournament title game between Texas A&M and Texas Tech at Lubbock, Texas, on Sunday, March 14, and continues through the 1999 Big 12 tourney finals on Sunday, May 23.

FOX Sports Southwest's 1999 telecast slate includes some of the most traditional college rivalries on the diamond and a total of seven baseball programs with 185 NCAA World Series or regional appearances since 1949 on the docket. Five of the squads have appeared in at least one COLLEGIATE BASEBALL, BASEBALL AMERICA or USA BASEBALL WEEKLY national poll or have received Top 25 votes in '99. Four Big 12 units currently appear among the Top 20.

Each team on the television schedule has appeared in at least one NCAA World Series, and the Big 12 features eight national champions in baseball since 1949: Texas (1949, 1950, 1975, 1983), Oklahoma (1951, 1994), Missouri (1954), and Oklahoma State (1959).

Some of the Big 12 Conference telecasts will be seen on other FOX Sports Net regional affiliates such as FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports Rocky Mountain and FOX Sports New England, among others. Please check local listings for live broadcasts and replays of each Big 12 baseball battle. Big 12 teams also appear this year on FOX Sports Net affiliates Sunshine State Network (Texas-Miami, Fla., series) and FOX Sports Arizona (Oklahoma-Arizona State).

FOX Sports Southwest also has arranged a solid array of on-air talent for the contests. Bill Land and Greg Lucas are anchors for the telecasts with expert analysis from former Major Leaguers Jim Kern and Jack Lazorko. Culminating the year is the Big 12 tournament championship game, with the winner receiving the conference's automatic bid to the expanded, 64-team NCAA Regionals. Last year the Big 12 postseason meet set a NCAA record with 113,108 ticket purchasers over 11 games, and projections are similar for '99.

1999 Big 12 FOX Sports Southwest Baseball Television Schedule
(All Times Central)
(1) Sun., Mar. 14-Texas A&M at Texas Tech, 1 p.m.
(2) Sun., Apr. 4-Oklahoma at Texas, 1 p.m.
(3) Sat., Apr. 17-Oklahoma at Missouri, 4 p.m.
(4) Sat., Apr. 24-Kansas at Texas A&M, 3 p.m.
(5) Sat., May 1-Oklahoma-Oklahoma State (Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City, Okla.), 3 p.m.
(6) Sun., May 2-Texas A&M at Texas, 1 p.m.
(7) Sun., May 23-Big 12 Tournament Championship Game, 2 p.m.