• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, August 15, 2007

Only weeks away from its Aug. 30 launch, the Big Ten Network served notice Tuesday that come basketball season, it won't be carrying second-rate fare. The network said it will offer 64 of the 99 regular-season men's conference games--many featuring traditional powers--as well as three from the post-season tournament.

BTN said top-draw Indiana will be in at least six games it carries, with national runner-up Ohio State in a minimum of seven. The other nine schools will play at least half their games on the channel.

The network is attempting to build grassroots support among fans and enlist them to persuade their cable operators to pick up the channel. Some operators have balked at the sub fees the network is asking and refused. It is available nationally via DirecTV.

There has been some criticism that BTN will only offer less-desirable match-ups, with the most appealing games on other networks, such as ESPN.

In its scheduling, the network is taking a page from the NFL's flexible scheduling maneuvers on NBC, saying six games will be selected for broadcast as the conference race takes shape. Network head Mark Silverman said the schedule "demonstrates the value of our programming, and makes the case for it to be distributed as widely as possible. Sports fans will miss some great basketball games this winter if their cable or satellite provider does not carry the network."

The network will actually carry more than 64 games, as it plans to announce non-conference games it will offer next week.