ESPN announced 13 of its BIG EAST Conference college football selections for the 2012 season, including two Thursday and four Friday night telecasts, three non-conference Saturday showdowns, two Championship Saturday matchups, and two games on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Additional games will be announced in the coming months. Highlights:
Every conference team will be featured in at least one of the 14 games, including new member Temple against conference foe Syracuse on the Friday after Thanksgiving on November 23. The schedule also includes four appearances by Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Syracuse; three by Connecticut, Louisville and South Florida; and one by Rutgers.
Two of the three non-conference Saturday telecasts will pit a BIG EAST member against a team ranked in the top eight of an ESPN.com early pre-season poll for 2012: No. 1 USC vs. Syracuse at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on September 8 and No. 8 Florida State at South Florida on September 29. The other game will pit North Carolina of the ACC against Louisville on September 15. Network assignments are to be determined between ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.
The popular Thursday night ESPN College Football Primetime series will showcase the BIG EAST in two telecasts: Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (September 6 at 8 p.m. ET) and Louisville at Rutgers (November 29 at 7:30 p.m.).
Two BIG EAST games will be featured on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 the Friday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 23: South Florida at Cincinnati and Syracuse at Temple.
ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to televise four Friday BIG EAST conference showdowns in prime time, including Cincinnati at Louisville, a showdown between two of the conference’s top three teams last year, on October 26 at 8 p.m. on ESPN or ESPN2.
The season will conclude December 1 with two telecasts as part of Championship Saturday on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2: Cincinnati at Connecticut and Pittsburgh at South Florida. The conference’s automatic bid to the Bowl Championship Series has been decided in the last week of the season the past two years.
| Date | Time (ET) | Game | Network |
| Thu, Sep 6 | 8 p.m. | Pittsburgh at Cincinnati | ESPN |
| Sat, Sep 8 | TBD | USC vs. Syracuse (from East Rutherford, NJ) | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |
| Sat, Sep 15 | TBA | North Carolina at Louisville | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |
| Sat, Sep 29 | TBA | Florida State at South Florida | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |
| Fri, Oct 5 | 7 p.m. | Pittsburgh at Syracuse | ESPN |
| Fri, Oct 19 | 8 p.m. | Connecticut at Syracuse | ESPN |
| Fri, Oct 26 | 8 p.m. | Cincinnati at Louisville | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| Fri, Nov 9 | 8 p.m. | Pittsburgh at Connecticut | ESPN2 |
| Fri, Nov 23 | TBD | South Florida at Cincinnati | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |
| TBD | Syracuse at Temple | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 | |
| Thu, Nov 29 | 7:30 p.m. | Louisville at Rutgers | ESPN |
| Sat, Dec 1 | TBD | Cincinnati at Connecticut | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |
| TBD | Pittsburgh at South Florida | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |