MAAC, ESPN Announce Extension for Record National Coverage
MAAC Sports
Edison, NJ - The Metro Atlantic
Athletic Conference (MAAC) and ESPN announced today a six-year rights agreement
extension for enhanced coverage of MAAC men's and women's basketball across
multiple national platforms.
In
total, the deal features a record 80 national appearances over 40 scheduled
contests, an increase of 25% from last year's schedule and the most ever for
the MAAC. All 10 member institutions will receive a minimum of three men's
basketball and one women's basketball appearances this year.
"I
personally believe in the ESPN brand and its ability to place the MAAC above many
of its mid-major competitors," said MAAC Commissioner Richard J. Ensor, Esq. "The
ability to have extensive nationally televised opportunities across ESPN platforms
is important to the growth and recognition of the MAAC with college basketball
fans in a time when schools are looking to their respective conferences to
provide such exposure."
The
agreement continues to include the men's championship game on ESPN or ESPN2 and
the women's championship game on ESPNU, two men's basketball appearances on
ESPN or ESPN2, and continuation of a weekly game on ESPNU. The agreement
features a new National MAAC Game of the Week on ESPN3, ESPN's multi-screen
network available through an affiliated Internet or video provider online via
WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and on ESPN on
Xbox LIVE.
This
season, ESPNU will air eight league games on seven dates starting on Jan. 6 with
the Iona men hosting Niagara. A 2011 women's championship game rematch between
Loyola and Marist at the newly renovated McCann Arena will tipoff a MAAC
doubleheader at 6 p.m. ET on Jan. 20 with a Rider at Iona men's contest scheduled
to follow at 10 p.m. on the network.
ESPN3
will be the home of the conference's new National MAAC Game of the Week, beginning
with defending champion Saint Peter's hosting Canisius at the Yanitelli Center
in Jersey City on Jan. 5. ESPN3 will carry at least 10 MAAC Game of the Week games
over seven days. A total of 21 regular season games will be carried exclusively
on ESPN3 - 14 men's and 7 women's games.
The
agreement also features extensive coverage of the MAAC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships with 10 games set for air
on one of the ESPN platforms during the annual joint championships to be hosted
for the first time at the neutral site MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.
from March 1-5, 2012.
"The
MAAC's new six-year agreement with ESPN further cements the relationship
between the conference and the network that extends the MAAC's package on
ESPNU, the league's hosting of the Old Spice Classic at ESPN Wide World of
Sports, full-in status for the ESPN BracketBusters
weekend and now an exciting tourney package on ESPN3," notes Ensor. "The
branding of ESPN has proven very beneficial to the league and the addition of a
National MAAC Game of the Week format on ESPN3 similar to what the league
currently has on ESPNU on Friday will enhance the MAAC's branding and
visibility on a national level."
Burke
Magnus, ESPN senior vice president, college sports programming, said, "The
cornerstone of our college sports programming is competitive matchups and
quality content across a multitude of platforms for sports fans. This agreement
with the MAAC adds to our college sports offerings in a meaningful way."
Games
on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU are also accessible through WatchESPN, ESPN's
authenticated networks service. The networks are currently available to Time
Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV and Bright House Networks video customers online
at WatchESPN.com and on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app. Once users visit
WatchESPN, they will receive instructions to enter the appropriate
cable subscriber credentials to begin accessing ESPN content from their PC,
laptop, smartphone or tablet device.
"We
believe in serving fans whenever and wherever they are consuming sports, whether
it's a television, game platform like the Xbox 360, smartphone, PC, or tablet,"
said Magnus. "This agreement puts the MAAC in the position to take advantage of
that best available screen philosophy with a valued company like ESPN."
"This
contract extension with ESPN is a great step forward for the Metro Atlantic
Athletic Conference and its member institutions," John J. Hurley,
President of Canisius College and Chair of the MAAC's TV/Broadcast Marketing
Committee said. "The ESPN platform of networks is one of the premier
brands throughout athletics at all levels, and the MAAC's ability to work in
conjunction with them will provide unprecedented coverage to the league and to
its 10 member schools."
"This
is not the MAAC's first collaboration with ESPN3 as it began distributing the
league's 2010 championships hosted at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando on
ESPN3 including the 2010 MAAC Volleyball semifinals and final," stated Ensor. "That
experience was very valuable in the decision making process leading to today's
announcement as it showed us the versatility on the non-linear ESPN3 platform
and the reach it provided the championship to a national audience."
The
complete MAAC basketball
broadcast schedule
with dates, times, match-ups, and network information is now available.
About the Metro
Atlantic Athletic Conference
The MAAC, headquartered in Edison, N.J., consists of 10 member institutions:
Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Loyola University
Maryland, Manhattan College, Marist College, Niagara University, Rider
University, Saint Peter's College and Siena College. Pattison Sports Group is
the league's marketing consultant and has the exclusive sales rights to the
MAAC. For more on the conference, please visit www.maacsports.com.
About ESPN3
ESPN3
is ESPN's live multi-screen sports network, a 24/7 destination that delivers
thousands of global sports events annually and accessible online via
WatchESPN.com. It is currently available to approximately 70 million homes at
no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or
video subscription from an affiliated service provider. The network is also
available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and
U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational
networks and on-base military networks.
It is also accessible through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold level members
and on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app through an affiliated
provider.
About ESPNU
ESPNU
launched March 4, 2005. The 24-hour college sports television network televises
more than 650 live events annually. Action includes a variety of top football
and men's and women's basketball games, as well as Olympic sports from 26
Division I conferences. ESPNU is the destination for premier high school
programming, including elite football and basketball events. The network also
has a wide-ranging agreement with the NCAA for extensive coverage of NCAA
Championships.
ESPNU
offers over 600 original studio shows, including SportsCenterU, ESPNU
Recruiting Insider, The Experts, The WhipAround, College Basketball Live and
BCS Countdown. The brand is also available in high definition on ESPNU HD, now
in over 20 million homes. In addition, ESPNU Campus Connection is a
multiplatform, student-generated content initiative to enhance the network's
link to college campuses nationwide.
ESPNU
has seen a steady increase since its inception and is now in approximately 73
million households across the country. The network has long-term carriage
agreements with all 10 of the top multichannel TV providers - Cablevision,
Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV (Channel 208), DISH Network (Channel 141),
Mediacom, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV and AT&T U-verse