FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 14, 2005
ESPNU REACHES EXTENSIVE AGREEMENT WITH
MEAC AND SWAC THROUGH 2011-12
Pact Includes Football, Men's and Women's Basketball, Baseball, Softball
and More on ESPNU Launching "03-04-05"; Live Football and Men's
Basketball on ESPN Classic
ESPNU, a multimedia college sports initiative including a
24-hour television network launching "03-04-05", has reached a
seven-year agreement (through 2011-12) with the Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference (MEAC) and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), two
prominent HBCU (Historically Black College/University) leagues, for
coverage of multiple sports, including cable exclusives for football and
men's basketball. As part of the agreement, ESPN Classic will provide a
live telecast of at least one football and one men's basketball game a
year from each conference. It was announced by Burke Magnus, vice
president and general manager, ESPNU, Dennis Thomas, MEAC commissioner,
and Robert Vowels, SWAC commissioner.
As part of the agreement:
. Regular-season: ESPNU will acquire exclusive cable rights for
MEAC and SWAC football and men's basketball. ESPNU will televise a
minimum of seven football contests, primarily on Thursday nights, and
eight men's basketball games a year from each conference.
. Multiple sports: ESPNU will provide extensive action from
numerous MEAC and SWAC sports including women's basketball, baseball,
softball, volleyball, track & field and more.
. Conference Championships: ESPNU or ESPN Classic will offer
coverage of the SWAC football conference championship. Also, ESPNU will
televise matchups from each conference's men's and women's basketball
tournaments. ESPN2 will continue to cover the MEAC and SWAC men's
basketball conference championships, while ESPNU will televise the
women's.
. ESPN Classic: ESPN Classic will offer live telecasts of at
least
one MEAC and SWAC football and men's basketball contest a year.
"These agreements illustrate the wide-ranging collection of quality
ESPNU offerings that will serve college sports fans everywhere," Magnus
said. "We look forward to providing tremendous national exposure of
these two historic conferences and their member institutions. Sports
fans across the country can tune to ESPNU, ESPN Classic and ESPN2 to
learn more about the fascinating stories about the great rivalries,
athletes and traditions of these teams."
Thomas said, "This is truly a groundbreaking moment for the MEAC. To
have a partnership with a world-known brand like ESPN is significant. I
must commend ESPN's leadership for not only seeing a value in our
product but having the financial courage to make a commitment to our
conference. There are some encouraging benefits outside of the obvious
television exposure which will give our universities and athletic
programs world-wide exposure. This deal will provide our coaches and
student-athletes an opportunity to be seen by the world. I would not be
surprised if some of our coaches would move on to other opportunities
collegiate
and professionally by virtue of people seeing their product. We look
forward to the MEAC growing with the ESPNU brand."
Vowels added, "We are excited about the opportunity to partner with
ESPN, the world leader in multimedia sports entertainment. ESPN has
made a tremendous commitment to diversity and inclusion and that fits
within our scope. The partnership will enable millions of viewers to
learn about the history of the 10 historically black institutions that
are members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. More importantly,
the partnership provides a national and international platform to build
the SWAC brand, heighten the awareness, showcase each campus and provide
pertinent information about the academic and athletic programs at each
institution."
The new pact also includes distribution rights for MEAC and SWAC
programming across numerous ESPN platforms, including ESPN Mobile
(wireless), ESPN Interactive, ESPN 360 (formerly ESPN Broadband),
ESPN.com, ESPN Pay-Per-View, ESPN Video-on-Demand, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD,
ESPN Deportes and more.
ESPNU
In addition to the TV network, ESPNU content and components will be
featured across ESPN's family of services, such as ESPN.com, ESPN The
Magazine, ESPN Mobile (wireless), ESPN Radio, ESPN Interactive, ESPN
Broadband, merchandising and more.
On the 24-hour ESPNU TV network, event programming will be the
cornerstone, highlighted by approximately 300 live events (regular
season and NCAA Championships) in the network's first year. Action will
include a variety of top Division I football and men's and women's
basketball mixed with baseball, softball, volleyball, lacrosse, hockey,
wrestling and more. ESPNU will also offer comprehensive studio
programming, replays of ABC Sports, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Regional
Television games, plus specials and more.
Cross-promotion for ESPNU, supporting television and other media, will
extend across all entities.
ESPN REGIONAL TELEVISION
ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, Inc.,
will
handle the primary production responsibilities for the ESPNU television
network out of its Charlotte, N.C. headquarters. ERT is the nation's
largest syndicator of college sports programming with more than 740
events produced each year, accounting for more than 2,000 live and/or
original hours.
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Contacts: Josh Krulewitz at 860-766-2319; josh.krulewitz@espn.com or
Michael Humes at 860-766-2233; michael.c.humes@espn.com
Michelle Jinks
Director of Media Relations
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
102 N. Elm Street, Suite 401
Greensboro, NC 27401
336-275-9961 office
