Timing is everything. If the 40th anniversary of Title IX was on a Saturday in November during the height of football season, I doubt we would see the extravaganza ESPN has planned for this weekend.

But on a lazy, warm summer weekend and with Tim Tebow still a month away from putting on pads in Jets camp, ESPN can go big on women’s sports this weekend to mark Title IX’s big 4-0. More than 180 hours of programming is planned on ESPN’s various platforms. Also the No. 1 women athlete will be revealed from SportsCenter’s countdown of the top 40.

Here’s a link with complete details.

Why such a big commitment to women’s sports? To be honest, ESPN has alternatives to attract bigger ratings. Tim Tebow at the mall, coming up on SportsCenter.

This special package of programming, though, isn’t about ratings, according to Vince Doria, ESPN senior vice-president and director for news. It’s about marking an important moment in history.

Said Doria:

You could debate these kind of things all the time. Some things are easy. Slap the NFL on, and everyone’s happy. Tim Tebow. Peyton Manning. We’re all in.

You try to do some things because you feel they are the right thing to do. There’s a responsibility to do them for a historic standpoint. At that point, it’s a discussion of how much you do. Some people might think it’s this much and some people might think it’s this much.

It’s an important anniversary. This place to some degree has been a standard bearer, both promoting women’s sports and putting them on the air. The WNBA and NCAA women’s basketball tournament. We can all debate about the size of audience. Sometimes, it’s not the right measure of why you do these things. You do them because it’s the right thing to do. It’s important to do.