FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 21st, 2016

CSN TO CARRY LIVE COVERAGE OF THE 2016 IHSA FOOTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS NOV. 25 & 26

Network to televise LIVE HD coverage of this weekend’s Class 1A-8A IHSA Football State Championships from Memorial Stadium in Champaign, IL

PLUS — Live streaming coverage of EVERY IHSA Football State Championship telecast – including surrounding pre/postgame coverage – to be made available to authenticated subscribers on CSNChicago.com  and via the NBC Sports app

CSNChicago.com to air highlight packages of all games throughout the weekend;
CSNChicago.com & IHSA.tv to also live stream every post-game press conference 

Chicago, IL (November 21, 2016) For the sixth-straight year, CSN Chicago (CSN), the television home of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Championships, will be airing LIVE high-definition coverage of the 2016 IHSA Football State Championships on Friday, November 25 & Saturday, November 26 from Memorial Stadium in Champaign, IL.  Illinois preps football fans can look forward to seeing every action-packed championship battle starting with the Class 1A contest on Friday morning at 10:00 AM CT, leading up to Class 8A’s highly-anticipated match-up between defending state champion Loyola Academy (13-0) and perennial powerhouse Maine South (10-3) on Saturday night at 7:00 PM CT.  The 2016 IHSA Football Championships will be produced by the IHSA & PlayOn! Sports.

In addition — EVERY IHSA Football State Championship telecast on CSN, including surrounding pre/postgame coverage, will be streamed LIVE on CSNChicago.com and will be made available via the NBC Sports app on tablets and smart phones.  Authenticated CSN subscribers can watch live IHSA Football State Championships action from anywhere in the United States.  The live streaming service is currently available to customers of Comcast/Xfinity, DIRECTV, DISH Network, AT&T U-verse, Mediacom, RCN, WOW!, Time Warner Cable and Charter among numerous other carriers.  For a full list of carriers and more information about CSN Chicago’s live streaming service, viewers are urged to visit the following link: csnchicago.com/live-faq.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • Friday’s Class 1A championship between Forreston and St. Teresa (10:00 AM start) will air on both CSN and CSN+HD…Friday’s Class 2A championship between Deer Creek-Mackinaw and Maroa-Forsyth (1:00 PM start) will air its entirety on CSN+HD, and will also on the main CSN channel location until 2:30 PM (due to the start of “Blackhawks Pregame Live”)…Friday’s Class 3A championship between IC Catholic and Carlinville (4:00 PM start) will air its entirety on CSN+HD, and will be joined in progress on the main CSN channel location immediately following “Blackhawks Postgame Live.”
  • CSN+HD is located on Comcast/Xfinity ch. 201 in the Chicago area and in South Bend, IN…located on ch. 285 in Comcast/Xfinity’s Peoria, Springfield, Rockford and Champaign markets)…viewers are urged to visit CSNChicago.com’s special “CSN Channel Finder” section (com/channel-finder) or IHSA.org for complete channel location details for ALL games throughout the state.
  • Fans are also strongly urged to interact via Twitter throughout the entire weekend by utilizing the hashtag #IHSA to share their comments and showcase their school spirit for their favorite teams.
  • tv will also be providing fans with a live stream of every IHSA Football championship post-game press conference.

 

In addition, CSNChicago.com’s IHSA Preps section (csnchicago.com/preps) will feature highlight packages from all games throughout the weekend, along with week-long coverage & scouting reports from veteran Illinois preps sports writer “Edgy Tim” O’Halloran (@EDGYTIM) and a Twitter module aggregating all #IHSA tweets.  Plus – CSN viewers can look forward to a special “IHSA Football Championships” wrap-up edition of High School Lites on Saturday, Nov. 26 live at 10:00 PM for a complete rundown of every championship game, including expanded highlights and player/coaches interviews.  From an additional social media standpoint, fans are urged to follow @CSNPreps on Twitter throughout the weekend for up-to-the-minute 2016 IHSA Football State Championship news & game updates.

IHSA TV veterans Dave Bernhard (Class 3A, 4A, 7A & 8A) and Lee Hall (Class 1A & 2A) return in 2016 to bring viewers every thrill-packed play-by-play call, which will also include the first-year pxp call from veteran Chicago radio personality/670 “The Score’s” Laurence Holmes (Class 5A & 6A). Color analysis will be provided by veteran Chicago Bears/NFL expert Hub Arkush (Class 7A & 8A), along with former Illinois State University football standout  Chris Highland (Class 3A & 4A), Northern Illinois University football radio color analyst Mark Lindo (Class 5A & 6A) and longtime IHSA TV contributor/Illinois High School Coaches Association Hall of Famer Jack McInerney (Class 1A & 2A).

Sideline reports throughout the IHSA Football Championships weekend will be provided by CSN’s Siera Santos (Class 5A-8A on Saturday) and Comcast Network/Chicago Tribune “RedEye” contributor Annie Costabile (Class 1A-4A on Friday). “Edgy Tim” O’Halloran will also provide studio analysis throughout the weekend recapping and previewing every championship match-up.

The following schedule details CSN’s coverage of the 2016 IHSA Football Championships airing this Thanksgiving weekend (team records & play-by-play/color analyst/sideline reporting teams are in parentheses):

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25
10:00 AM – Class 1A: FORRESTON (13-0) vs. ST. TERESA (Decatur) (12-1) (Lee Hall/Jack McInerney/Annie Costabile)
(NOTE: This game will air on both the main CSN channel location & CSN+HD; please visit CSNChicago.com’s CHANNEL FINDER for the exact channel location in your area)
1:00 PM – Class 2A: DEER CREEK-MACKINAW (Mackinaw) (12-1) vs. MAROA-FORSYTH (Maroa) (12-1) (Lee Hall/Jack McInerney/Annie Costabile)
(NOTE: This game will air in its entirety on CSN+HD; this game will also the main CSN channel location up until 2:30 PM prior to start of “Blackhawks Pregame Live”; please visit CSNChicago.com’s CHANNEL FINDER for the exact channel location in your area)
4:00 PM – Class 3A: IC CATHOLIC (Elmhurst) (13-0) vs. CARLINVILLE (12-1) (Dave Bernhard/Chris Highland/Annie Costabile)
(NOTE: This game will air in its entirety on CSN+HD; this game will also be joined in progress on the main CSN channel location immediately following “Blackhawks Postgame Live”; please visit CSNChicago.com’s CHANNEL FINDER for the exact channel location in your area)
7:00 PM – Class 4A: JOHNSBURG (13-0) vs. ROCHESTER (12-1) (Dave Bernhard/Chris Highland/Annie Costabile)

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26
10:00 AM – Class 5A: VERNON HILLS (10-3) vs. PEORIA H.S. (12-1) (Laurence Holmes/Mark Lindo/Siera Santos)
1:00 PM – Class 6A: PRAIRIE RIDGE (Crystal Lake) (13-0) vs. SACRED HEART-GRIFFIN (Springfield) (13-0) (Laurence Holmes/Mark Lindo/Siera Santos)
4:00 PM – Class 7A: PLAINFIELD NORTH (11-2) vs. EAST ST. LOUIS (13-0) (Dave Bernhard/Hub Arkush/Siera Santos)
7:00 PM – Class 8A: LOYOLA ACADEMY (Wilmette) (13-0) vs. MAINE SOUTH (Park Ridge) (10-3) (Dave Bernhard/Hub Arkush/Siera Santos)

CSN Chicago, a partnership between the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL), Chicago Bulls (NBA), Chicago Cubs (MLB), Chicago White Sox (MLB) and the NBC Sports Group, features over 275 live pro games in high definition each year.  In addition, CSN delivers extensive pre/post-game coverage for its core pro team partners, as well as the Chicago Bears, along with Emmy Award-winning regional sports news and analysis via SportsNet Central and SportsTalk Live.  Through the network’s growing digital platform, CSNChicago.com, Chicago sports fans tap into the most comprehensive and dedicated 24/7 online destination for breaking news, up-to-the-minute game previews/recaps, highlights, multimedia video clips, and standout coverage from CSNChicago.com’s team of “Insiders.”  Follow the network on Twitter via @CSNChicago.

NBC Sports Regional Networks is NBC Sports Group’s portfolio of nine regional networks that delivers more than 2,200 live sporting events annually and original content to more than 43 million homes. Aligned within network groups in the East and West, the NBC Sports Regional Networks are: CSN New England, CSN Philadelphia, TCN, CSN Mid-Atlantic, SNY; and CSN Bay Area, CSN California, CSN Chicago, and CSN Northwest. For additional information, visit CSN.com. For more information on NBC Sports Group properties, including press releases, photos, talent and executive bios, headshots and logos, please visit NBCSportsGroupPressBox.com

 

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