Hurricanes Ink Programming Deal with National College Sports Network
Oct. 23, 2002
Did you get your wide left T-shirt yet?!
Coral Gables, Fla (www.hurricanesports.com) — – The University of Miami Athletic Department and the nation’s first 24-hour all-college sports network, the National College Sports Network (NCSN), jointly announced today the signing of a multi-year agreement, making the Hurricanes the cable network’s first individual collegiate programming partner. In addition to NCSN’s previously announced agreement with the Big East Conference, which granted NCSN rights to cover a series of Big East Championships, NCSN will now have the rights to broadcast regular season games and events across a variety of men’s and women’s University of Miami sports.
“NCSN affords us an unprecedented opportunity to showcase our Olympic sports,” said University of Miami Athletic Director Paul Dee. “The exposure given to these sports will result in additional recognition for our student-athletes and coaches, as well as offer our fans another channel to view great competition.”
The University of Miami joins NCSN’s existing programming partners as the first individual college to strike a deal with the cable network. In addition to the Big East, NCSN already has multi-year agreements with 21 other conferences including the America East, Atlantic 10, Big Ten, Big 12, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial Athletic Association, Gateway Football League, Horizon League, Metro Atlantic Athletic, Mid-Continent, Mountain West, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Southern, Southland, Sun Belt, West Coast, the Western Athletic Conference and the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
NCSN’s programming will include games, events and championships from up to 25 men’s and women’s sports on a year-round basis. NCSN plans to create consistent weekly coverage in several key sports, including baseball, ice hockey, volleyball, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, wrestling, football and softball.”Since our initial announcement this past June to build the nation’s first 24-hour cable network as the home for college sports, the response by college sports fans, athletes, administrators and athletic directors has been nothing short of extraordinary,” said Chris Bevilacqua, co-founder and executive vice president of NCSN. “The addition of the Miami Hurricanes and their premiere athletics program is an important milestone in our programming plans as we continue to pursue our promise to showcase the ‘best of the best’ of college sports.”
Hurricanes coverage will include:
? Baseball
? Women’s basketball
? Men’s and women’s swimming and diving
? Men’s and women’s tennis
? Men’s and women’s track and field
? Volleyball
? Rowing
? Soccer
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About the HurricanesThe University of Miami has a long and storied tradition of excellence in athletics. The reigning National Champion in football, the Hurricanes have won a total of 21 national championships including 5 in football and women’s golf and 4 in baseball. A member of the Big East Conference, the University of Miami has won 209 individual and team titles in league play.
About NCSNNCSN, the National College Sports Network is a new cable channel that is dedicated to the “best of the best” in college sports. Expected to launch in first quarter 2003, NCSN will feature exclusive programming 24 hours a day covering every major conference from coast to coast, and the games and championships of 25 different men’s and women’s sports. NCSN was co-founded by President/CEO Brian Bedol and chairman Stephen Greenberg, and co-founder/EVP Chris Bevilacqua. Mr. Bedol and Mr. Greenberg were co-founders of Classic Sports Network, which they later sold to ESPN. Mr. Bevilacqua is a former senior executive with Nike Inc. where he headed that company’s successful foray into the college market.
