FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 23rd, 2015

COMCAST SPORTSNET TO CARRY LIVE COVERAGE OF THE 2015 IHSA FOOTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS NOV. 27 & 28

Network to televise LIVE HD coverage of this weekend’s Class 1A-8A IHSA Football State Championships from Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, 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 Live Extra 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 23, 2015) For the fifth-straight year, Comcast SportsNet, the television home of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Championships, will be airing LIVE high-definition coverage of the 2015 IHSA Football State Championships on Friday, November 27 & Saturday, November 28 from Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, 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 Loyola Academy and Marist on Saturday night at 7:00 PM CT.  The 2015 IHSA Football Championships will be produced by the IHSA & PlayOn! Sports.

In addition — EVERY IHSA Football State Championship telecast on Comcast SportsNet, including surrounding pre/postgame coverage, will be streamed LIVE on CSNChicago.com and will be made available via the NBC Sports Live Extra app on tablets and smart phones.  Authenticated Comcast SportsNet Chicago 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/page/live-extra-faq.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • Friday’s Class 3A championship between Bishop McNamara and Unity (4:00 PM start) will air on both CSN and CSN+HD (NOTE: CSN+HD is located on Comcast ch. 201 in the Chicago area and in South Bend, IN…located on ch. 285 in Comcast’s Peoria, Springfield, Rockford and Champaign markets), while Friday’s Class 4A championship between Phillips and Althoff Catholic (7:00 PM start) will air exclusively on CSN+HD.
  • Viewers are urged to visit CSNChicago.com’s special “Comcast SportsNet Channel Finder” section (http://www.csnchicago.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.
  • IHSA.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 – Comcast SportsNet viewers can look forward to a special “IHSA Football Championships” wrap-up edition of High School Lites on Saturday, Nov. 28 live at 11:00 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 2015 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 2015 to bring viewers every thrill-packed play-by-play call, which will also include the second year pxp call from veteran Chicago-area broadcaster/WTVO-TV’s Matt Rodewald (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 5A & 6A), Northern Illinois University football radio color analyst Mark Lindo (Class 3A & 4A) 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 Comcast SportsNet’s Kelly Crull (Class 3A, 4A, 7A & 8A) and WICS-TV Springfield/Decatur/Champaign’s Donnie Tillman (Class 1A, 2A, 5A & 6A).

The following schedule details Comcast SportsNet’s coverage of the 2015 IHSA Football Championships airing this Thanksgiving weekend (play-by-play/color analyst/sideline reporting teams are in parentheses):

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27
10:00 AM –      Class 1A: STARK COUNTY (Toulon) vs. ARCOLA (Lee Hall/Jack McInerney/Donnie Tillman)
1:00 PM –        Class 2A: TRI-VALLEY (Downs) vs. AUBURN (Lee Hall/Jack McInerney/Donnie Tillman)
4:00 PM –        Class 3A: BISHOP MCNAMARA (Kankakee) vs. UNITY (Tolono) (Dave Bernhard/Mark Lindo/Kelly Crull)
(NOTE: This game will air on both the main Comcast SportsNet channel location & CSN+HD; please visit CSNChicago.com’s CHANNEL FINDER for the exact channel location in your area)
7:00 PM –        Class 4A: PHILLIPS (Chicago) vs. ALTHOFF CATHOLIC (Belleville) (Dave Bernhard/Mark Lindo/Kelly Crull)
(NOTE: This game will air on exclusively on CSN+HD; please visit CSNChicago.com’s CHANNEL FINDER for the exact channel location in your area)

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28
10:00 AM –      Class 5A: NAZARETH ACADEMY (LaGrange Park) vs. LINCOLN-WAY WEST (New Lenox) (Matt Rodewald/Chris Highland/Donnie Tillman)
1:00 PM –        Class 6A: MONTINI (Lombard) vs. CRETE-MONEE (Crete) (Matt Rodewald/Chris Highland/Donnie Tillman)
4:00 PM –        Class 7A: GLENBARD WEST (Glen Ellyn) vs. LIBERTYVILLE (Dave Bernhard/Hub Arkush/ Kelly Crull)
7:00 PM –        Class 8A: LOYOLA ACADEMY (Wilmette) vs. MARIST (Chicago) (Dave Bernhard/Hub Arkush/ Kelly Crull)

Comcast SportsNet 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, blogs and standout coverage from CSNChicago.com’s team of “Insiders.”  Follow the network on Twitter via @CSNChicago.

 NBC Sports Regional Networks, part of the NBC Sports Group, consist of 11 regional networks that deliver more than 2,400 live sporting events annually, along with award-winning breaking news, comprehensive analysis, digital content and original programming to more than 43 million homes. The NBC Sports Regional Networks are: Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, Comcast SportsNet California, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, which serves Baltimore and Washington D.C., Comcast SportsNet New England, Comcast SportsNet Northwest, The Comcast Network, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia and SportsNet New York. For more information, visit ComcastSportsNet.com. For more information about NBC Sports Group properties, including press releases, photos, talent and executive bios and headshots, please visit NBCSportsGroupPressBox.com

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