Niles native Allison Hayes (right) interviews Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald earlier this season. Hayes will cover the Citrus Bowl for the Big Ten Network Jan. 1. (Submitted photo)

CHICAGO — BTN will provide extensive coverage surrounding the College Football Playoff Semifinal matchup between Ohio State and Alabama in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

BTN kicks off the New Year at 11 a.m. with live segments from New Orleans featuring Dave Revsine, Gerry DiNardo, Howard Griffith and Glen Mason with the BTN Football Pregame: Bowl Edition.

The analysts will preview the Sugar Bowl matchup between Ohio State and Alabama. Anchoring BTN’s New Year’s Day bowl game coverage from its Chicago studios are Rick Pizzo, Mike Hall, Stanley Jackson, and Chuck Long.

Prior to Thursday night’s Sugar Bowl kickoff, the BTN Football Pregame: Sugar Bowl presented by Auto-Owners Insurance will begin at 7:30 p.m. Following the game, BTN presents the BTN Football State Farm Postgame: Sugar Bowl, starting at approximately midnight.

New Year’s Day bowl games featuring the Big Ten include the Cotton Bowl with Michigan State vs. Baylor, the Outback Bowl featuring Wisconsin vs. Auburn, and the Citrus Bowl featuring Minnesota vs. Missouri.

Niles native Allison Hayes will cover the Citrus Bowl for the Big Ten Network.

The Big Ten has six other teams competing in postseason play, including Iowa, Nebraska, Maryland, Penn State, Rutgers and Illinois.