Post by Bornthrilla on Oct 1, 2004 19:03:27 GMT -5
www.swac.org/04-05/news/espn0930.htm
ESPN Regional Television to create MEAC/SWAC Challenge Football Game
Annual Nationally Televised Matchup To Begin With South Carolina St. vs. Alabama St. Sept. 3, 2005 in Birmingham; Event Week To Include Diversity Job Fair
September 30, 2004
ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, Inc., and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), two prominent HBCU (Historically Black College/University) leagues, have reached a multi-year agreement to create the MEAC/SWAC Challenge. The ERT owned-and-operated annual college football game will be played the Saturday of Labor Day weekend beginning in 2005, it was announced by Chuck Gerber, executive vice president, ESPN Regional Television, Dennis Thomas, MEAC commissioner and Robert Vowels, SWAC commissioner. The week of the game will also include ancillary events, highlighted by an annual diversity job fair.
SWAC Commissioner Robert Vowels (L) and MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas at the press conference announcing MEAC/SWAC Challenge on ESPN.
Each year, the game will pit a MEAC team against a SWAC member at a neutral site located within the footprint of one of the conferences. The inaugural matchup, featuring South Carolina State vs. Alabama State, will be played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. Saturday, Sept. 3, 2005 and will be televised by either ESPN or ESPN2. Teams and sites for future games will be determined on an annual basis.
In addition to the game, the week of the MEAC/SWAC Challenge will feature a series of related events, beginning on the Thursday before the game. Planned activities for this year’s event from September 1 to September 3 include (details and additional activities are currently being finalized):
A two-day, ESPN-led job fair (Friday and Saturday) targeting recent graduates and alumni of MEAC and SWAC institutions as well as other diverse candidates.
A welcome reception for VIPs at the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham on Thursday
A kickoff luncheon (public tickets will be available) on Friday at the Sheraton Birmingham, the official host hotel of the 2005 MEAC/SWAC Challenge
A pep rally for fans and a showcase of school bands
ESPN Regional Television will be responsible for the MEAC/SWAC Challenge organization, operation, sponsorship, marketing efforts and more. Additional details, including sponsorship and ticket sales are still being finalized.
“This event will bring national attention to tradition-rich football programs as well as support the important objective of fostering diversity,” said Gerber. “We continuously search for ways to expand our event models to further involve communities and fans and the MEAC/SWAC Challenge will provide a great foundation to build upon for future events.”<br>
Thomas added, "I am very pleased with our association with ESPN and their involvement in promoting this event. I say event to emphasize that this is more than a football game. ESPN has committed to promote other worthwhile ancillary events to be associated with the actual game. This will be a unique opportunity for the MEAC and the SWAC to market and gain additional visibility for each conference and our member institutions."
Vowels said, “We are extremely pleased that ESPN has agreed to support and televise this MEAC/SWAC Football Challenge. This is not only great for our schools and conferences, but also for the nation’s football fans. We know that the television audience will not only enjoy the excitement of the action, but the pageantry of our schools’ games.”
ESPN REGIONAL TELEVISION
ESPN Regional Television (ERT) is the nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming and produces more than 740 sporting events annually, accounting for more than 2,000 live and/or original hours of programming. In addition to event ownership, ERT produces events for national, regional and local networks, serves as the syndication rightsholder for college conferences (e.g. – Big Ten, BIG EAST, Big 12, Conference USA, Mid-American, WAC and Mountain West) and marketing rightsholder for select schools (TCU, Kansas, Oregon, UNLV, Iowa State, UAB and South Florida).
ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events. Examples include the Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl, Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl, PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl, The Home Depot College Football Awards, ACC-Big Ten Challenge, the Spartan Clash, the Touchtone Energy All-College Classic, the Las Vegas Showdown and more.
ESPN, INC. AND COLLEGE SPORTS
ESPN and ESPN2 are the year-round leaders in college sports coverage with more than 350 basketball games and 140 football games annually (including 20 bowl games). In addition, ESPN is in the midst of an 11-year agreement (through 2012-13) to televise numerous NCAA Championships, including marquee events in each of the three collegiate seasons. Examples include Men’s and Women’s College Cup (soccer) and Division I-AA Football in the fall; the entire Women’s Basketball Championship and the Men’s Frozen Four (Hockey) in the winter; and the Men’s and Women’s College World Series in the spring.
In addition to ESPN Regional Television’s extensive coverage of college sports, ESPN GamePlan, ESPN FULL COURT and ESPN College Grand Slam provide hundreds of additional games as a pay-per-view option for college football, basketball and baseball fans, respectively. Also, college athletics are featured prominently on ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Classic, ESPN Radio, ESPN HD, ESPN Deportes, ESPNEWS and ESPN SportsTicker.
ESPNU
ESPNU, a multi-media college sports initiative across ESPN’s family of services, will include a new 24-hour television network, content and components for ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Mobile (wireless), ESPN Radio, ESPN Interactive, ESPN Broadband, merchandising and more. ESPNU will debut in March 2005.
MEAC
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), an NCAA Division I conference, is in its 35th year of operation, dating back to 1970. Located in North Carolina in the heart of downtown Greensboro, the MEAC is made up of 11 outstanding, historically black institutions across the Atlantic Coastline: Bethune-Cookman College (Daytona Beach, Fla.); Coppin State University (Baltimore, Md.); Delaware State University (Dover, Del.); Florida A&M University (Tallahassee, Fla.); Hampton University (Hampton,Va.); Howard University (Washington, D.C.); University of Maryland-Eastern Shore (Princess Anne, Md.); Morgan State University (Baltimore, Md.); Norfolk State University (Norfolk, Va.); North Carolina A&T State University (Greensboro, N.C.); and South Carolina State University (Orangeburg, S.C.).
SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), founded in 1920, consists of 10 historically black collegiate institutions spanning the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Present member institutions are: Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Alcorn State (Miss.), Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Grambling State (La.), Jackson State (Miss.), Mississippi Valley State, Prairie View A&M (Texas), Southern University and A&M College (La.) and Texas Southern. Competing on the NCAA Division I level (I-AA in football), Southwestern Athletic Conference football has been the biggest draw on the Division I-AA level, leading the nation in average home attendance for 17 of the 19 years that the I-AA division has been in existence.
ESPN Regional Television to create MEAC/SWAC Challenge Football Game
Annual Nationally Televised Matchup To Begin With South Carolina St. vs. Alabama St. Sept. 3, 2005 in Birmingham; Event Week To Include Diversity Job Fair
September 30, 2004
ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, Inc., and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), two prominent HBCU (Historically Black College/University) leagues, have reached a multi-year agreement to create the MEAC/SWAC Challenge. The ERT owned-and-operated annual college football game will be played the Saturday of Labor Day weekend beginning in 2005, it was announced by Chuck Gerber, executive vice president, ESPN Regional Television, Dennis Thomas, MEAC commissioner and Robert Vowels, SWAC commissioner. The week of the game will also include ancillary events, highlighted by an annual diversity job fair.
SWAC Commissioner Robert Vowels (L) and MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas at the press conference announcing MEAC/SWAC Challenge on ESPN.
Each year, the game will pit a MEAC team against a SWAC member at a neutral site located within the footprint of one of the conferences. The inaugural matchup, featuring South Carolina State vs. Alabama State, will be played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. Saturday, Sept. 3, 2005 and will be televised by either ESPN or ESPN2. Teams and sites for future games will be determined on an annual basis.
In addition to the game, the week of the MEAC/SWAC Challenge will feature a series of related events, beginning on the Thursday before the game. Planned activities for this year’s event from September 1 to September 3 include (details and additional activities are currently being finalized):
A two-day, ESPN-led job fair (Friday and Saturday) targeting recent graduates and alumni of MEAC and SWAC institutions as well as other diverse candidates.
A welcome reception for VIPs at the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham on Thursday
A kickoff luncheon (public tickets will be available) on Friday at the Sheraton Birmingham, the official host hotel of the 2005 MEAC/SWAC Challenge
A pep rally for fans and a showcase of school bands
ESPN Regional Television will be responsible for the MEAC/SWAC Challenge organization, operation, sponsorship, marketing efforts and more. Additional details, including sponsorship and ticket sales are still being finalized.
“This event will bring national attention to tradition-rich football programs as well as support the important objective of fostering diversity,” said Gerber. “We continuously search for ways to expand our event models to further involve communities and fans and the MEAC/SWAC Challenge will provide a great foundation to build upon for future events.”<br>
Thomas added, "I am very pleased with our association with ESPN and their involvement in promoting this event. I say event to emphasize that this is more than a football game. ESPN has committed to promote other worthwhile ancillary events to be associated with the actual game. This will be a unique opportunity for the MEAC and the SWAC to market and gain additional visibility for each conference and our member institutions."
Vowels said, “We are extremely pleased that ESPN has agreed to support and televise this MEAC/SWAC Football Challenge. This is not only great for our schools and conferences, but also for the nation’s football fans. We know that the television audience will not only enjoy the excitement of the action, but the pageantry of our schools’ games.”
ESPN REGIONAL TELEVISION
ESPN Regional Television (ERT) is the nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming and produces more than 740 sporting events annually, accounting for more than 2,000 live and/or original hours of programming. In addition to event ownership, ERT produces events for national, regional and local networks, serves as the syndication rightsholder for college conferences (e.g. – Big Ten, BIG EAST, Big 12, Conference USA, Mid-American, WAC and Mountain West) and marketing rightsholder for select schools (TCU, Kansas, Oregon, UNLV, Iowa State, UAB and South Florida).
ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events. Examples include the Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl, Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl, PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl, The Home Depot College Football Awards, ACC-Big Ten Challenge, the Spartan Clash, the Touchtone Energy All-College Classic, the Las Vegas Showdown and more.
ESPN, INC. AND COLLEGE SPORTS
ESPN and ESPN2 are the year-round leaders in college sports coverage with more than 350 basketball games and 140 football games annually (including 20 bowl games). In addition, ESPN is in the midst of an 11-year agreement (through 2012-13) to televise numerous NCAA Championships, including marquee events in each of the three collegiate seasons. Examples include Men’s and Women’s College Cup (soccer) and Division I-AA Football in the fall; the entire Women’s Basketball Championship and the Men’s Frozen Four (Hockey) in the winter; and the Men’s and Women’s College World Series in the spring.
In addition to ESPN Regional Television’s extensive coverage of college sports, ESPN GamePlan, ESPN FULL COURT and ESPN College Grand Slam provide hundreds of additional games as a pay-per-view option for college football, basketball and baseball fans, respectively. Also, college athletics are featured prominently on ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Classic, ESPN Radio, ESPN HD, ESPN Deportes, ESPNEWS and ESPN SportsTicker.
ESPNU
ESPNU, a multi-media college sports initiative across ESPN’s family of services, will include a new 24-hour television network, content and components for ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Mobile (wireless), ESPN Radio, ESPN Interactive, ESPN Broadband, merchandising and more. ESPNU will debut in March 2005.
MEAC
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), an NCAA Division I conference, is in its 35th year of operation, dating back to 1970. Located in North Carolina in the heart of downtown Greensboro, the MEAC is made up of 11 outstanding, historically black institutions across the Atlantic Coastline: Bethune-Cookman College (Daytona Beach, Fla.); Coppin State University (Baltimore, Md.); Delaware State University (Dover, Del.); Florida A&M University (Tallahassee, Fla.); Hampton University (Hampton,Va.); Howard University (Washington, D.C.); University of Maryland-Eastern Shore (Princess Anne, Md.); Morgan State University (Baltimore, Md.); Norfolk State University (Norfolk, Va.); North Carolina A&T State University (Greensboro, N.C.); and South Carolina State University (Orangeburg, S.C.).
SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), founded in 1920, consists of 10 historically black collegiate institutions spanning the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Present member institutions are: Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Alcorn State (Miss.), Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Grambling State (La.), Jackson State (Miss.), Mississippi Valley State, Prairie View A&M (Texas), Southern University and A&M College (La.) and Texas Southern. Competing on the NCAA Division I level (I-AA in football), Southwestern Athletic Conference football has been the biggest draw on the Division I-AA level, leading the nation in average home attendance for 17 of the 19 years that the I-AA division has been in existence.
