ESPN Classic celebrates Women’s History Month by presenting classic sports programming all month long in March.  Classic matches, historic match-ups and wins are all on display all month long. 

March 15

2pm 2001 Women’s National Championship: Notre Dame vs Purdue – Ruth Riley helped lift Notre Dame to the National Championship with a 68-66 win over Purdue

March 16

2pm 2004 Women’s National Championship: UCONN vs Tennessee – The men won the National Championship in 2004, now the women followed suit with a 70-61 victory over rival Tennessee. 

March 17 

2pm 1996 Women’s National Championship: Tennessee vs Georgia – Tennessee won their fourth title with an 83-65 romp of Georgia.

9pm Firestone IndyCar 300 at Japan – Danica Patrick becomes the first woman to win a major open-wheel race as she passed Helio Castroneves with three laps remaining in the IndyCar 300 at Japan. 

March 18

2pm 1993 Australian Open Finals: Monica Seles vs Steffi Graf – Seles was too much for Graf to handle as she won her eighth grand slam. 

8:30pm 2009 Women’s National Championship: Louisville vs UCONN -Uconn completes another perfect season with a rout of Louisville, 76-54. 

March 19

12pm Schaap One on One: Billie Jean King

12:30pm 2001 Australian Open Finals: Jennifer Capriati vs Martina Hingis – Capriati beat Hingis 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 after saving a record four match points. 

2pm 2002 Australian Open Finals: Jennifer Capriati vs Martina Hingis –

8pm 2005 PBA Banquet Open – Liz Johnson became the first woman to reach the final of a PBA event be beating Wes Malott 235-228. 

9pm 2000 Women’s National Championship: UCONN vs Tennessee – UCONN wins the third meeting of the season against Tennessee, thus winning the National Championship in the process. 

March 22

12pm 1998 Women’s National Championship: Tennessee vs Louisiana Tech – Tennessee won their third straight NCAA championship with a 93-75 rout of La Tech.   

9pm 1988 Australian Open Semifinals: Chris Evert vs Martina Navratilova – Evert beat rival Navratilova 6-2, 7-5 to earn a trip to the Aussie Open finals. 

March 23 

12pm 2002 Women’s National Championship: Oklahoma vs UCONN – UCONN completed a perfect 39-0 season with an 82-70 win over Oklahoma.

9pm 1993 Australian Open Finals: Monica Seles vs Steffi Graf – Seles was too much for Graf to handle as she won her eighth grand slam. 

March 24

12pm 2003 Women’s National Championship: Tennessee vs UCONN – UCONN won their second straight title with a 73-68 win over rival Tennessee. 

9pm 1978 Wimbledon Ladies’ Final: Martina Navratilova vs Chris Evert – Navratilova rallied to beat Evert 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 to win Wimbledon. 

March 25

12pm 2004 UCONN vs Tennessee – UCONN rocked Tennessee with an 81-67 drubbing. 

9pm 2002 Wimbledon Ladies’ Final: Serena vs Venus Williams – Serena won her first Wimbledon title by beating her sister, Venus, 7-6(4), 6-3. 

March 26

12pm 2001 UCONN vs Tennessee – Gwen Jackson led Tennessee to a 92-88 win over the Huskies. 

9pm 2003 Australian Open Finals: Venus vs Serena Williams – Serena won her fourth straight major championship by defeating her sister, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4. 

March 27

12pm 2010 PBA Tournament of Champions – Kelly Kulick became the first woman to win a PBA event by defeating Chris Barnes 265-195.

March 28

8pm A Woman Among Boys – ESPN films chronicles Ruth Lovelace, a female basketball coach who took over a boys basketball team in Brooklyn, NY. 

 

UCONN vs Tennessee Marathon – March 13 – 12pm-12am

Part of a month long initiative for Women’s History Month, ESPN Classic honors the great rivalry in Women’s basketball.  Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma are both legendary coaches who have coached in some memorable games.  Some of those classic games are right here on ESPN Classic. 

12pm 1995 Tennessee vs UCONN – #2 UCONN knocks off #1 Tennessee to gain the number 1 ranking with a 77-66 victory.

2pm 1995 National Championship: UCONN vs Tennessee – UCONN completes their first perfect season by beating Tennessee 70-64 and finish their season 35-0.

4pm 1996 NCAA Semifinal: UCONN vs Tennessee – Tennessee wins in overtime, 88-83, ending UCONN’s hopes of repeating as National Champions.  

6pm 1997 NCAA Regional Final: UCONN vs Tennessee – Tennessee ends UCONN’s perfect season with a 91-81 win.  

8pm 2000 Tennessee vs UCONN – Sameka Randall hits a jumper with 4 seconds left as Tennessee wins 72-71. 

10pm 2002 National Semifinal: Tennessee vs UCONN – UCONN buried Tennessee 79-56 in this National Semifinal game. 

 

Women’s History Month Marathon – March 14 – 1pm-11pm

ESPN Classic continues to pay homage to Women’s History Month with this marathon of classic conversations and interviews with some of the great female sports pioneers.  This marathon is capped off with the film Heart of the Game and the recent PBA thriller where Kelly Kulick became the first woman to win a PBA tour event. 

1pm 2010 PBA Tournament of Champions – Kelly Kulick becomes the first woman to win a PBA tour event by beating Chris Barnes 265-195.

2pm SportsCentury: Peggy Fleming

2:30pm SportsCentury: Dorothy Hamil

3pm SportsCentury: Bonnie Blair

3:30pm SportsCentury: Nancy Lopez

4pm SportsCentury: Florence Griffith-Joyner

4:30pm SportsCentury: Chris Evert

5pm Schaap One on One: Jackie Joyner-Kersee

5:30pm Schaap One on One: Virginia Wade

6pm Sunday Morning Classics: Wilma Rudolph, Flo-Jo, Evelyn Ashford

6:30pm Schaap One on One: Billie Jean King

7pm Schaap One on One: Martina Navratilova-Part I

7:30pm Schaap One on One: Martina Navratilova-Part II

8pm Heart of the Game

10pm 2010 PBA Tournament of Champions – Kelly Kulick becomes the first woman to win a PBA tour event by beating Chris Barnes 265-195.

 

Women of X Marathon – March 27 – 1pm-8pm

ESPN Classic continues to support Women’s History month, this time featuring the female athletes of the X Games.  This Women of X Marathon features the greatest stunts, moves and tricks from the X Games starting in 2001. 

1pm 2001 Women of X

2pm 2002 Chix

3pm 2005 Women of X

4pm 2006 Women of X

5pm 2007 Women of X

6pm 2008 Women of X

7pm 2009 Women of X 

 

Heartbreakers: CBB Encyclopedia – March 22-24, March 29-April 2 – See schedule below

In December, ESPN Classic presented a Game For the Ages marathon based on a list published by the College Basketball Encyclopedia.  Now, in the middle of March Madness, ESPN Classic once again presents 21 games known as Heartbreakers.  These games represent the all-time heartbreaking game in the school’s history as compiled by the College Basketball Encyclopedia. 

March 22

2pm 1998 National Championship: Kentucky vs Utah – Kentucky staged a comeback to win the National Championship by a 78-69 score causing heartbreak for Utah. 

5pm 2005 NCAA Regional Final: Arizona vs Illinois – Arizona had a 15 point lead with four minutes remaining, but Illinois stormed back to force overtime and beat the Wildcats 90-89. 

March 23

2pm 2006 NCAA Regional 1st round: Northwestern State vs Iowa – Iowa was the Big Ten Champions and had a 17 point lead, but Northwestern State came all the way back to stun the Hawkeyes 64-63.   

5pm 1995 National Championship: UCLA vs Arkansas – For the first time since the John Wooden era, UCLA are National Champions.  Led by Ed O’Bannon and Tobey Bailey, UCLA defeated defending National Champs Arkansas 89-78.     

March 24

2pm 1989 NCAA National Semifinal: Michigan vs Illinois – Michigan upsets #1 seed Illinois 83-81. 

5pm 1981 NCAA Regional Semi: BYU vs Notre Dame – Danny Ainge stuck a dagger in the heart of Notre Dame as he hit a lay-up with two seconds left to give BYU a 51-50 win. 

March 29

12pm 2008 California vs UCLA – Cal had UCLA beat, but Josh Shipp his a behind the backboard jumper with 1.5 seconds left to seal an 81-80 win. 

2pm 1993 National Championship: Michigan vs North Carolina – The ultimate heartbreak for Michigan as Chris Webber called a timeout that they didn’t have which helped sealed the championship for UNC. 

5pm 1988 National Championship: Kansas vs Oklahoma – Kansas was unranked entering the NCAA tournament, yet they upset third-ranked Oklahoma 83-79 to win the National Championship.

March 30

12pm 1990 NCAA Regional Semifinal: Loyola Marymount vs Alabama – 19 days after the death of Hank Gathers, Loyola upset Alabama 62-60 while reaching the Final 8 of the NCAA tournament. 

2pm 1994 Kentucky vs LSU – Kentucky was down by 31 points with 15 minutes left.  LSU couldn’t hold on and lost 99-95.   

5pm 2002 NCAA 1st Round: Creighton vs Florida – 12 seed Creighton upset 5 seed Florida in a double-overtime thriller after Terrell Taylor drilled a 3-pointer with .02 left in the second OT. 

March 31

12pm 2007 Texas vs Oklahoma State – It took three overtime periods but Mario Boggan’s game-winning three-pointer finally sealed the win for Oklahoma State.

2pm 2004 NCAA National Semifinal: Oklahoma State vs Georgia Tech – Will Bynum put Georgia Tech into the NCAA Championship game for the first time in school history

5pm 2009 Regional Final: Villanova vs Pittsburgh – Scottie Reynolds played hero as he hit a last second bucket to lift Villanova to a 78-76 win over Pitt. 

April 1 

12pm 1985 National Championship: Villanova vs Georgetown – Villanova completed one of the greatest upsets in tournament history by beating powerhouse Georgetown 66-64.  – This is the 25th Anniversary of this game and will also air at 1am and 9pm this day.

2pm 2006 Regional Final: George Mason vs UCONN – George Mason pulled off the upset over UCONN, 86-84, in overtime. 

5pm 1995 NCAA 2nd Round: UCLA vs Missouri – Tyus Edney drove the length of the floor with 4.8 seconds left to hit a game-winning layup to win 75-74. 

April 2

12pm 1992 Regional Final: Michigan vs Ohio State – Behind Chris Webber’s 23 points, Michigan upset top-seed Ohio State 75-71 in overtime. 

2pm 1984 NCAA 1st Round: Auburn vs Richmond – The Spiders upset Charles Barkley and Auburn, 72-71. 

5pm 1997 Regional Semifinal: Arizona vs Kansas – Top-seeded Kansas couldn’t overcome Mike Bibby and the Wildcats as they lose, 85-82. 

 

Final Four Saturday

10am 1995 National Championship: UCLA vs Arkansas – For the first time since the John Wooden era, UCLA are National Champions.  Led by Ed O’Bannon and Tobey Bailey, UCLA defeated defending National Champs Arkansas 89-78.    

12pm 1996 NCAA East Regional Final: Kentucky vs Duke – Christian Laettner hit the shot of his life in one of the greatest college basketball games of all time.  Duke pulls off the win in overtime after Grant Hill heaved a long pass to Laettner who hit a fade-away jumper at the buzzer. 

 

Championship Monday

9am Race to March Madness

10am 1987 National Championship: Syracuse vs Indiana – Bob Knight wins his third championship as Keith Smart hit the game-winner, 74-73. 

12pm 1999 National Championship: UCONN vs Duke – UCONN wins their first national title upsetting Duke 77-74 while also ending their 32-game win streak.

2pm 1982 National Championship: Georgetown vs North Carolina – James Worthy scored 28 while freshman Michael Jordan hit the game winner as North Carolina beat Patrick Ewing and Georgetown, 63-62.

4pm 2008 National Championship: Kansas vs Memphis – Kansas came back to tie the game and force overtime where they prevailed 75-68.