The George Mason men's basketball program will play before a national audience on the NBC Sports Network seven times during the upcoming season, as the network announced Thursday it will broadcast a total of 18 Colonial Athletic Association games this season.

The entire 2012-13 CAA Television schedule, once again expected to feature approximately 100 telecasts, will be announced at CAA Basketball Media Day on Tuesday, October 16. In addition to 15 regular-season games, NBC Sports Network will also televise the CAA conference semifinals and the conference championship game.

Mason will be in the spotlight for the NBC Sports Network's CAA kickoff game, when the Patriots play host to Northern Iowa on Saturday, December 8 at 6:00 p.m.  In January, the Patriot Center will welcome a national television audience as Mason hosts Northeastern (Jan. 3, 7:00 p.m.) and Old Dominion (Jan. 10, 7:00 p.m.) on back-to-back Thursday nights.

In addition, Hofstra will battle the Patriots in Fairfax on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 5 p.m., as will the Drexel Dragons on Thursday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. A pair of road games will be nationally televised as the Patriots travel to long-time rival Old Dominion on Monday, February 4 for a 7 p.m. tilt. Mason's final NBC Sports Network game of the regular season comes on Saturday, March 2 as the Patriots travel to Delaware for a 7 p.m. matchup.

This year, NBC Sports Network will televise more than 50 college basketball games, the most in the network's history. Some of the conferences featured will include the Atlantic 10, Colonial Athletic Association, Ivy League and Mountain West. In addition, NBC Sports Network will also be the television home of the Carrier Classic and Navy and Marine Classic basketball tournaments.

About the NBC Sports Network:

NBC Sports Network, part of the NBC Sports Group, is dedicated to serving passionate sports fans. Now in nearly 80 million homes, the network is the cable television home of the Summer and Winter Olympics, National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Soccer (MLS), IZOD IndyCar Series, Tour de France and the 34th America's Cup.  In addition, NBC Sports Network features college football, college basketball, college hockey, horse racing surrounding the Triple Crown, Fight Night boxing, Ironman, the Dew Action Sports Tour and USA Sevens Rugby. The network is also home to original programs such as Costas Tonight, NFL Turning Point, Caught Looking, NBC Sports Talk, and Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports Network is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.

CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL ON NBC SPORTS NETWORK SCHEDULE (all times ET)

Date                                    Game                                                     Time

Sat., Dec. 8                        Northern Iowa at George Mason              6:00 p.m.

Sat., Dec. 22                       Davidson at Drexel                                     8:00 p.m.

Thurs., Jan. 3                     Northeastern at George Mason                7:00 p.m.

Thurs., Jan. 10                   Old Dominion at George Mason               7:00 p.m.

Sat., Jan. 12                        Drexel at James Madison                            4:00 p.m.

Sat. Jan. 19                        Hofstra at George Mason                          5:00 p.m.

Mon., Jan. 28                       Delaware at Drexel                                      7:00 p.m.

Thurs., Jan. 31                   Drexel at George Mason                           7:00 p.m.

Mon., Feb. 4                       George Mason at Old Dominion                7:00 p.m.

Thurs., Feb. 7                      Old Dominion at Drexel                                7:00 p.m.

Mon., Feb. 11                      Old Dominion at Delaware                             7:00 p.m.

Mon., Feb. 18                      Hofstra at Drexel                                          7:00 p.m.

Thurs., Feb. 21                    Drexel at Delaware                                       7:00 p.m.

Thurs., Feb. 28                    Drexel at Old Dominion                                 7:00 p.m.

Sat., March 2                     George Mason at Delaware                        7:00 p.m.

Sun., March 10                    CAA Tournament Semifinal #1                       2:00 p.m.

Sun., March 10                    CAA Tournament Semifinal #2                       4:30 p.m.

Mon., March 11                    CAA Championship Game                            7:00 p.m.