University of Tennessee Athletics
UT and College Sports Television (CSTV) Reach Programming and Marketing Agreement
Feb. 27, 2003
NEW YORK (Feb. 27, 2003) -- College Sports Television the nation's first 24-hour all-college sports network, and the University of Tennessee and its marketing agent Host Communications have signed a multi-year, multi-sport agreement by which College Sports Television will have the rights to telecast live up to 15 Tennessee men's and women's sports. The agreement encompasses pre-season, regular season and any applicable post-season home events.
"Tennessee teams and athletes have produced many golden moments in college sports and are perennially among the most competitive in the country," said Chris Bevilacqua, co-founder and executive vice president, College Sports Television. "Volunteer fans nationwide, and college fans in general, will have front row seats for this compelling programming, a mix of live events and intriguing features focusing on some of the finest student-athletes in college sports."
"College Sports Television gives the fans of the University of Tennessee an opportunity to follow our winter and spring sports teams on a national basis," said Doug Dickey, athletic director, University of Tennessee. "We think this national exposure will generate interest in our Olympic sports and will be a positive addition for the athletic department and our student athletes."
"As Tennessee's broadcast rights holder, we are pleased to introduce College Sports Television to the UT fan base," says Edwin Huster, general manager of Host Communications, the company which owns the broadcast rights for the Vols and Lady Vols. "We see College Sports Television's entry into the market as a new exposure vehicle in which to showcase many of Tennessee's exciting Olympic sports teams which currently are not receiving live or national coverage."
"Women's sports are booming all over the country, and this new agreement between the University of Tennessee and College Sports Television will help the Lady Vols reach fans all over the nation," said Joan Cronan, Lady Vol athletic director, University of Tennessee. "It will also allow our Olympic sports to grow with the added publicity and attention. This is an exciting announcement for our student-athletes and Lady Vol fans from coast to coast."
| College Sports Television's University of Tennessee telecast rights include: | |
| Men's Sports | Women's Sports |
| Baseball | Softball |
| Swimming & Diving | Swimming & Diving |
| Cross Country | Cross Country |
| Golf | Golf |
| Tennis | Tennis |
| Track & Field | Track & Field |
| ? | Rowing |
| ? | Soccer |
| ? | Volleyball |
College Sports Television is currently televising a series of special presentations leading to its official launch Monday, April 7, immediately following the final whistle of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball championship game. The network's first special presentation was the live telecast of the February 23 Notre Dame-Connecticut Big East women's basketball game, and its next such presentation is the live telecast of the Friday, March 7, Michigan-Ohio State CCHA men's ice hockey game. The network is unscrambling its signal for these telecasts, enabling cable and satellite operators to carry the telecast at no charge. For information on where to view the games in specific markets, log on to cstv.com.
College Sports Television will telecast live regular season and championship games in more than 25 men's and women's intercollegiate sports via agreements with 27 major college athletic conferences representing more than 250 universities. In addition, College Sports Television will air news and other studio shows, coaches' shows, documentaries, profiles and classic event programming.
College Sports Television was co-founded by President/CEO Brian Bedol, Chairman Stephen Greenberg and Executive Vice President Chris Bevilacqua. Bedol and Greenberg co-founded Classic Sports Network, which they sold to ESPN and which is now ESPN Classic. Bevilacqua is a former senior executive with Nike Inc., where he headed that company's successful foray into the college market. For more information on College Sports Television, log on to www.cstv.com.
