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NCSN Announces Unprecedented Broadcasting Commitment to Women's Collegiate Sports
Women's Collegiate Basketball and Volleyball Associations Ink Programming Deals, Bolstering NCSN's Existing Agreements to Cover 20 Women's Sports from over 200 U.S. Colleges & Universities.
Oct. 14, 2002 ST. LOUIS - The National College Sports Network (NCSN) today announced its intention to provide unprecedented television coverage of women's collegiate sports when it launches in the first quarter of 2003. The nation's first 24-hour, all-college sports network also announced multi-year programming agreements with the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) in the first of many steps to raise the visibility of basketball, volleyball and women's sports nationwide. The network already has exclusive programming deals with over two dozen top college conferences and their members to air 25 different men's and women's sports, filling a void in college sports national programming. The coverage will include soccer match-ups such as defending NCAA Champions Santa Clara vs. Portland, and women's volleyball contests featuring perennial powers Nebraska, Texas and Texas A&M battling it out for the Big 12 Conference Volleyball Championship. NCSN's commitment to broadcasting women's collegiate sports will bring the heated rivalries of the Big Ten's Michigan vs. Ohio State and the Mountain West's Air Force vs. BYU to sports fans nationwide. "With over 150,000 women competing in college athletics at more than 1,200 universities, there is a wide-open broadcasting opportunity to promote the passion, intensity and athleticism of women student-athletes on a national scale," said Kelly Dunne, who recently joined NCSN as Vice President of Creative Services after ten years at ESPN. "Furthermore, at a time when Title IX regulations are changing the landscape of intercollegiate athletics, we expect NCSN to be a valuable asset to athletics directors and administrators in their pursuit to promote and enhance women's sports," she added. Speaking at the annual conference of the National Association of College Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA), President, CEO and co-founder of NCSN Brian Bedol said, "Since our initial announcement to build the nation's first 24-hour cable network for college sports, we have been committed to presenting college sports as a 'year-round Olympics' featuring the 'best of the best' in college action. Our partnerships with the WBCA and the AVCA, in combination with all of our conference and university partnerships, allow us to celebrate women's sports and present compelling programming with the same level of importance that women's sports has during the Olympics." As part of NCSN's visible commitment to women's sports, the network plans to devote at least 500 hours per year towards women's sports, much of which will air during primetime. Programming highlights will include coverage of championships and other major events, a weekly one-hour roundup of game highlights and important events in women's collegiate sports, and a featured "Game of the Week," or other consistent presence for key sports such as volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball, gymnastics and ice hockey. Also included in NCSN's programming plans are coach's shows featuring top collegiate coaches and key alumni-athletes, profiles of athletes and coaches, news and highlights programs and classics as well as deep coverage of sports such as swimming and diving, track & field, tennis, rowing, equestrian and cross country. The AVCA sees the partnership as a major coup in college volleyball. "On behalf of the AVCA, I want to say how delighted we are to announce this broadcasting partnership with the NCSN," AVCA President Stephanie Schleuder said. "This will be a huge step forward for the promotion of our sport and the fulfillment of a long-standing goal for the AVCA." "Our agreement with NCSN to showcase our premiere events such as the College All-Star Challenge and the High School All-America Game at our annual national convention held in conjunction with NCAA Women's Final Four is a tremendously exciting opportunity for the sport of women's basketball," said Beth Bass, Chief Executive Officer of the WBCA. "The national television exposure women's basketball will receive through NCSN furthers the WBCA's mission to promote the development of the game on a larger scale," she said.
About the AVCA The AVCA services its members through many varied functions and only involves itself with activities that best exemplify the image of amateur athletics. Its ultimate mission is to enhance the image and increase the awareness for the sport of volleyball, while at the same time providing educational opportunities for member coaches. The board of directors is instrumental in maintaining the AVCA's sense of mission.
About the WBCA
About NCSN
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