50+ Hours of Classic Sports Moments from Notre Dame Football, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, NHL Classics, French Open & PGA TOUR
Historic Games Include 1975 Rose Bowl (#3 Ohio State vs. #5 USC), 1984 Orange Bowl (#1 Nebraska vs. #5 Miami), 1987 Fiesta Bowl (#2 Penn State vs. #1 Miami), and 1974 Stanley Cup Final Game 6 (Bruins-Flyers)
Former Athletes to Provide Additional Commentary During Broadcasts
Content to Stream on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App
STAMFORD, Conn. – April 24, 2020 – Beginning Monday, April 27, on NBCSN, more than 50 hours of classic sports events from the past 45+ years will be presented throughout the week on NBC Sports From the Vault, featuring Notre Dame Football, the Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, NHL classics, French Open tennis and PGA TOUR golf. An NBC Sports From the Vault teaser can be watched here.
From Monday, April 27, through Sunday, May 3, NBCSN will present nightly primetime programming from NBC Sports’ vault of historic games, spanning four sports across nearly half a decade. Iconic athletes that will be featured over the course of the week include Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky, Serena Williams, Roger Federer, and Alex Ovechkin as well as legendary teams dating to the 1970s Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, and USC Trojans, the 1980s Miami Hurricanes, and the 1990s Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Florida State Seminoles.
Throughout the week, former athletes will provide commentary on the classic games, including Pro Football Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, former Philadelphia Flyers goalie and Hockey Hall of Famer Bernie Parent, Heisman Trophy-winning Florida State quarterback and New York Knicks guard Charlie Ward, former Notre Dame quarterback Tony Rice, and 12-time PGA TOUR winner and current NBC Sports lead golf analyst Paul Azinger.
Game presentations will include a specialized ticker featuring live tweets. Fans can tweet #NBCSNVault for the chance to see their tweets live on air.
Following is each night’s ‘From the Vault’ content:
- Monday, April 27: French Open
- Tuesday, April 28: NHL Classics
- Wednesday, April 29: Notre Dame Football
- Thursday, April 30: Orange Bowl
- Friday, May 1: Fiesta Bowl and Orange Bowl
- Saturday, May 2: Rose Bowl
- Sunday, May 3: PGA TOUR (THE PLAYERS Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational)
Programming will also stream on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
MONDAY, APRIL 27 – FRENCH OPEN
The opening night of NBC Sports From the Vault, beginning at 7 p.m. ET, features three classic French Open finals: Andre Agassi and Roger Federer completing the career Grand Slam, in 1999 and 2009, respectively, and Serena Williams defeating her sister, Venus Williams, for her first career French Open title in 2002.
NBC Sports’ French Open play-by-play commentator Dan Hicks will introduce the opening night coverage.
| EVENT | TIME (ET) | NETWORK |
| 1999 French Open Men’s Final | 7 p.m. | NBCSN |
| 2002 French Open Women’s Final | 10:30 p.m. | NBCSN |
| 2009 French Open Men’s Final | 12:30 a.m. | NBCSN |
TUESDAY, APRIL 28 – NHL CLASSICS
NBCSN will showcase iconic NHL regular season, All-Star Game and Stanley Cup clinching matchups on Tuesday. At 7 p.m. ET, the night begins with the Flyers capturing the franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup championship in 1974, followed by Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin matching up in an exciting early-season four-goal comeback win by Crosby and Penguins. The 1991 All-Star Game is featured at Midnight ET, in which hockey legend Wayne Gretzky participated alongside former Red Wings center Steve Yzerman and Vincent Damphousse of the Maple Leafs, who recorded four goals in the contest. The matchup was held two days following the beginning of Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War, and the patriotic presentation of the national anthem at Chicago Stadium is still remembered to this day. Following the 1991 All-Star Game, an encore of the first-ever joint interview featuring Gretzky and Ovechkin hosted by NBC Sports’ NHL host Kathryn Tappen will be presented.
Tappen will host Tuesday’s coverage.
| EVENT | TIME (ET) | NETWORK |
| Boston vs. Philadelphia (1974 Stanley Cup Final, Game 6) | 7 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Pittsburgh vs. Washington (2006-07 Regular Season, Dec. 11, 2006) | 9:30 p.m. | NBCSN |
| 1991 NHL All-Star Game | Midnight | NBCSN |
| #HockeyAtHome: Wayne Gretzky & Alex Ovechkin Interview (encore) | 2 a.m. | NBCSN |
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29 – NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL
Wednesday kicks off with one of the most anticipated games in college football history: No. 2 Notre Dame hosting No. 1 Florida State in a November 1993 matchup regarded as the “Game of the Century.” The game produced a 16.0 rating and averaged more than 22 million viewers, ranking as the highest-rated regular-season college football game on record. Also on Wednesday night, the Notre Dame-USC clash in 2005 that came down to the final ‘Bush Push’ play will be presented. The matchup drew a 6.8 rating and averaged more than 10 million viewers, which ranked as the highest-rated and most watched regular-season game of the 2005 college football season, and NBC’s third most watched Notre Dame game on record. The nightcap will feature the thrilling comeback by the Fighting Irish over the Oklahoma Sooners in 1999.
Notre Dame alum and NBC Sports host Jac Collinsworth anchors coverage on Wednesday night.
| EVENT | TIME (ET) | NETWORK |
| No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 2 Notre Dame (Nov. 13, 1993) | 7 p.m. | NBCSN |
| No. 1 USC vs. No. 9 Notre Dame (Oct. 15, 2005) | 10 p.m. | NBCSN |
| No. 23 Oklahoma vs. Notre Dame (Oct. 2, 1999) | 1 a.m. | NBCSN |
THURSDAY, APRIL 30 – ORANGE BOWL
Three Orange Bowls will be on display on Thursday. The 1994 Orange Bowl pitted the top two teams in the country, as Florida State and Nebraska battled until the last play of the game to determine the 1993 national champion. The following season’s Orange Bowl again featured unbeaten Nebraska, who avenged the prior season’s defeat by defeating Miami to capture the national title. The night concludes with a battle of undefeated teams with big-name coaches in the 1988 Orange Bowl: Jimmy Johnson and the Miami Hurricanes against Barry Switzer and the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners.
NBC has aired each of the five most watched Orange Bowls on record since 1988, led by 1988’s nearly 35 million viewers for No. 1 Oklahoma-No. 2 Miami. 1995’s Orange Bowl is the third-most watched edition of the annual game, while the 1994 Orange Bowl is the fifth-most watched.
NBC’s Notre Dame Football host Liam McHugh introduces the Orange Bowl presentations on Thursday.
| EVENT | TIME (ET) | NETWORK |
| No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 2 Nebraska (1994 Orange Bowl) | 7 p.m. | NBCSN |
| No. 1 Nebraska vs. No. 3 Miami (1995 Orange Bowl) | 9:30 p.m. | NBCSN |
| No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 2 Miami (1988 Orange Bowl) | Midnight | NBCSN |
FRIDAY, MAY 1 – FIESTA BOWL AND ORANGE BOWL
Three more national championships from the 1980s will be presented on Friday. The 1989 Fiesta Bowl victory marks the most recent Notre Dame national championship. The vaunted Miami Hurricanes are featured on Friday evening’s other two matchups, defeating the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers in the 1984 Orange Bowl after a failed final minute two-point conversion attempt, but losing to Joe Paterno and Penn State in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl.
NBC Sports host and lead play-by-play voice of Notre Dame Football Mike Tirico hosts coverage on Friday.
| EVENT | TIME (ET) | NETWORK |
| No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 3 West Virginia (1989 Fiesta Bowl) | 7 p.m. | NBCSN |
| No. 2 Penn State vs. No. 1 Miami (1987 Fiesta Bowl) | 9:30 p.m. | NBCSN |
| No. 1 Nebraska vs. No. 5 Miami (1984 Orange Bowl) | 12:30 a.m. | NBCSN |
SATURDAY, MAY 2 – ROSE BOWL
Saturday highlights three memorable appearances by the USC Trojans in the Rose Bowl, starting at 8 p.m. ET. The 1975 Rose Bowl marked the third consecutive year that USC and the Ohio State Buckeyes matched up in the bowl game, and featured a thrilling conclusion with a USC touchdown and successful two-point conversion with just over two minutes remaining. 1985’s edition of the bowl game saw the underdog Trojans defeat the Buckeyes, and in 1988, the Michigan State Spartans edged USC.
McHugh hosts Saturday’s Rose Bowl coverage.
| EVENT | TIME (ET) | NETWORK |
| No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 5 USC (1975 Rose Bowl) | 8 p.m. | NBCSN |
| No. 8 Michigan State vs. No. 16 USC (1988 Rose Bowl) | 10 p.m. | NBCSN |
| No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 18 USC (1985 Rose Bowl) | 1 a.m. | NBCSN |
SUNDAY, MAY 3 – PGA TOUR (THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP AND ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL)
The final night of NBC Sports From the Vault features back-to-back tournament victories by Tiger Woods in 2001. Coverage begins with a memorable final round duel between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, where Woods dramatically birdied the 72nd and final hole for his 25th career win on the PGA TOUR. The following week at THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass, Woods surged from six-strokes behind at the midway point and needed a Monday finish to ultimately defeat Vijay Singh by one stroke to capture his first PLAYERS Championship and 26th PGA TOUR win.
GOLF Channel and NBC Sports play-by-play host Dan Hicks introduces the final night of NBC Sports From the Vault coverage on Sunday.
| EVENT | TIME (ET) | NETWORK |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational (2001) | 8 p.m. | NBCSN |
| THE PLAYERS Championship (2001) | 11 p.m. | NBCSN |
--NBC SPORTS--
