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Mountain West Conference Signs Programming Deal With All College Sports Network
Sept. 5, 2002
Complete Release in PDF Format
NEW YORK - The Mountain West Conference recently announced a multi-year programming agreement with the nation's first 24-hour all-college sports network, the National College Sports Network (NCSN). As part of the agreement, NCSN will have the rights to cover championships, tournaments, events and regular season games across a variety of men's and women's sports of The Mountain West's member schools. "The Mountain West-NCSN relationship will provide welcome television opportunities for our conference's men's and women's championships and sports that generally do not benefit from television exposure, enhancing the overall experience of all our student-athletes," said Mountain West Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson. The Mountain West is the 12th major college conference to strike an agreement with the soon-to-be-launched cable network. NCSN will cover the action of both men's and women's cross country, golf, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, swimming and diving, and tennis. Also showcased will be baseball, in addition to women's basketball, soccer, softball, and volleyball. "Since our initial announcement to build the nation's first 24-hour cable network for college sports, the response by college sports fans, athletes, administrators and athletic directors has been extraordinary," said Brian Bedol, President, CEO and co-founder of the network. "Today we are one important step closer to delivering on our promise to be the home of college sports in this country." Other conferences that have signed multi-year agreements with NCSN include the BIG EAST, Big Ten, Big 12, Atlantic 10, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Southland, Mid-Continent, Big South, and West Coast Conference. In addition, NCSN just announced a precedent-setting agreement for the exclusive programming rights to football games featuring a consortium of Division 1-AA schools. Other programming deals are in the works. "The Mountain West-NCSN agreement continues to support our vision that there is real value from gaining national exposure for athletic programs and well-deserving student athletes to both conferences and universities," said Chris Bevilacqua, executive vice president and co-founder of NCSN. "Needless to say, we are thrilled with the response to NCSN thus far and look forward to delivering on our promise to become television's first 24-hour home to the 'best of the best' of college sports." Schools of the Mountain West include:
"Brigham Young University is pleased to partner with NCSN," said Brigham Young University athletic director Val Hale. "Our student athletes and BYU's celebrated men's and women's athletic programs will no doubt benefit through the exposure on this exciting new national network."
About The Mountain West The Conference officially began operations on July 1, 1999. Prior to opening it doors an executive committee was established and named Craig Thompson commissioner. Thompson had less than one-year to name the new league, settle on a city to serve as the league's headquarters, find a television partner, arrange for bowl tie-ins, hire staff, and develop a logo. The Mountain West Conference is noted for its geographic diversity. Some of the most beautiful geography in the nation can be found within Mountain West Conference boundaries, including the unparalleled Rocky Mountain range, which borders five MWC schools (Utah, BYU, Wyoming, Air Force and Colorado State). The high plains contrast with the desert city of Las Vegas (the fastest growing metropolitan area in the West), the balmy weather and Pacific Ocean locale of San Diego State and the southwestern flavor of New Mexico
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