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SportsWest To Televise Mountain West Conference Volleyball Championship
Event to take place Nov. 16-18 in Ft. Collins, Colorado.
Sept. 26, 2000
Complete Release in PDF Format
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Commissioner Craig Thompson announced a television agreement between the Mountain West Conference and SportsWest for the 2000 MWC Volleyball Championship Nov. 16-18.
SportsWest will telecast every match of the 2000 MWC Championship, beginning with first round matches Thursday, Nov. 16 and concluding with the championship Saturday, Nov. 18. Through its existing affiliate relationships, SportsWest will clear each match to stations throughout the region, including all MWC markets. Specific affiliates and telecast times will be announced at a later date.
The Mountain West has emerged as a premier volleyball conference, finishing last year with the nation¹s third-highest ranking according to the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index. This season, Colorado State is ranked No. 3 nationally, while BYU and Utah appear in the polls at No. 14 and No. 16, respectively.
Colorado State appeared nationally on ESPN2 in matches vs. then-No. 9 Florida and then-No. 1 UCLA at the NACWAA Volleyball Classic earlier this season. Last year, KBYU-TV televised the title match of the MWC volleyball tournament to a local audience. The new agreement with SportsWest represents enhanced exposure and an opportunity to showcase several of the country¹s premier volleyball programs.
"The Mountain West Conference has taken a significant step forward this season in volleyball," said Thompson. "The television coverage by SportsWest is another milestone. We are thrilled that our fans will have the opportunity to see every match of the championship tournament."
Randy Rosenbloom will call the play-by-play and Amy Steele-Gant will provide color commentary for the SportsWest production. Rosenbloom brings 25 years of experience to the MWC Volleyball Championships, including stints with Prime Sports, Sports Channel, ESPN and NBC. In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Rosenbloom was assigned play-by-play for volleyball and cycling, and in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, he handled play-by-play for beach volleyball. Steele-Gant, a 1998 graduate of BYU, brings an extensive volleyball background to television. She was a three-time All-American for the Cougars and played for the U.S. National Team from January 1998 to September 1999. A NCAA Woman of the Year top 10 finalist in 1998, Steele-Gant earned a bachelor¹s degree in athletic training from BYU.
The 2000 Mountain West Conference volleyball championship will take place Nov. 16-18 at Moby Arena (8,745) in Fort Collins, Colo., with Colorado State University serving as host. Listed below is a complete schedule (all times MST and subject to change):
Thursday, Nov. 16
Friday, Nov. 17
Saturday, Nov. 18
Entering its second year in existence, the Mountain West Conference was granted automatic qualification by the NCAA, meaning the champion of the postseason tournament will receive an automatic bid to the 2000 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. Last year without the automatic bid, BYU, Utah and Colorado State received at-large bids to the 64-team tournament.
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