Collegiate Soccer Coming to Fox; SMU on Schedule
Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 4:06 pmLOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 7, 2005--The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), Fox Soccer Channel and 12 Division I men's soccer programs have reached an agreement to broadcast a "College Soccer Game of the Week" on Friday nights this fall.
"Fox Soccer Channel is pleased to partner with the NSCAA to showcase the nation's top college soccer teams for these exclusive telecasts," said David Sternberg, general manager of Fox Soccer Channel. "Collegiate soccer is a natural complement to our network's lineup of top international and domestic soccer events, and will help us attract new viewers from across the country."
The slate of eight live Friday night matches will feature some of the top teams in NCAA Division I soccer, with telecasts scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. The first telecast is scheduled for September 16 and will feature NSCAA-ranked members UCLA (ranked #9) and Penn State University (ranked #23).
Sean Wheelock, a veteran of Major League Soccer broadcasts and other MLS programming, including the MLS SuperDraft, will serve as the primary announcer for each game. "I'm thrilled to be involved with this partnership between the NSCAA and Fox Soccer Channel, which allows top level college soccer to be broadcast nationally every week throughout the upcoming season," said Wheelock. "These telecasts will truly showcase a number of the best teams and players in the nation."
"This is an exciting step forward for intercollegiate soccer," said NSCAA President Schellas Hyndman, the men's soccer coach at Southern Methodist University. "This package is a direct result of a tremendous amount of work in a short period of time, and it stems from the vision of my colleague at the University of Maryland, Sasho Cirovski. We are so appreciative of his efforts on the project."
"This is the start of something very, very big," said Cirovski, the NSCAA Men's Division I Subcommittee Chair. "Having a consistent weekly time slot will increase the visibility and significance of college soccer nation-wide. We look forward toward the future expansion of this package with the goal of highlighting even more programs and players."
The NSCAA and Fox Soccer Channel have hired Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Cultural Videos Communications to handle the live production of all eight games. Cultural Videos' executive producer David Bolton will serve as producer/director for all of the college soccer on Fox Soccer Channel broadcasts.
The schedule, including each team's position in the NSCAA/adidas preseason rankings:
Sept. 16 No. 9 UCLA at No. 23 Penn State State College, Pa.
Sept. 23 No. 5 St. John's at No. 19 Storrs, Conn.
Connecticut
Sept. 30 No. 23 Penn State at No. 1 Bloomington, Ind.
Indiana
Oct. 7 No. 2 Maryland at No. 3 Duke Durham, N.C.
Oct. 14 No. 17 North Carolina at No. 2 College Park, Md.
Maryland
Oct. 21 No. 7 Southern Methodist at No. Tulsa, Okla.
14 Tulsa
Oct. 28 No. 3 Duke at No. 17 North Chapel Hill, N.C.
Carolina
Nov. 4 No. 6 Virginia at No. 10 Wake Winston-Salem, N.C.
Forest
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"Fox Soccer Channel is pleased to partner with the NSCAA to showcase the nation's top college soccer teams for these exclusive telecasts," said David Sternberg, general manager of Fox Soccer Channel. "Collegiate soccer is a natural complement to our network's lineup of top international and domestic soccer events, and will help us attract new viewers from across the country."
The slate of eight live Friday night matches will feature some of the top teams in NCAA Division I soccer, with telecasts scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. The first telecast is scheduled for September 16 and will feature NSCAA-ranked members UCLA (ranked #9) and Penn State University (ranked #23).
Sean Wheelock, a veteran of Major League Soccer broadcasts and other MLS programming, including the MLS SuperDraft, will serve as the primary announcer for each game. "I'm thrilled to be involved with this partnership between the NSCAA and Fox Soccer Channel, which allows top level college soccer to be broadcast nationally every week throughout the upcoming season," said Wheelock. "These telecasts will truly showcase a number of the best teams and players in the nation."
"This is an exciting step forward for intercollegiate soccer," said NSCAA President Schellas Hyndman, the men's soccer coach at Southern Methodist University. "This package is a direct result of a tremendous amount of work in a short period of time, and it stems from the vision of my colleague at the University of Maryland, Sasho Cirovski. We are so appreciative of his efforts on the project."
"This is the start of something very, very big," said Cirovski, the NSCAA Men's Division I Subcommittee Chair. "Having a consistent weekly time slot will increase the visibility and significance of college soccer nation-wide. We look forward toward the future expansion of this package with the goal of highlighting even more programs and players."
The NSCAA and Fox Soccer Channel have hired Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Cultural Videos Communications to handle the live production of all eight games. Cultural Videos' executive producer David Bolton will serve as producer/director for all of the college soccer on Fox Soccer Channel broadcasts.
The schedule, including each team's position in the NSCAA/adidas preseason rankings:
Sept. 16 No. 9 UCLA at No. 23 Penn State State College, Pa.
Sept. 23 No. 5 St. John's at No. 19 Storrs, Conn.
Connecticut
Sept. 30 No. 23 Penn State at No. 1 Bloomington, Ind.
Indiana
Oct. 7 No. 2 Maryland at No. 3 Duke Durham, N.C.
Oct. 14 No. 17 North Carolina at No. 2 College Park, Md.
Maryland
Oct. 21 No. 7 Southern Methodist at No. Tulsa, Okla.
14 Tulsa
Oct. 28 No. 3 Duke at No. 17 North Chapel Hill, N.C.
Carolina
Nov. 4 No. 6 Virginia at No. 10 Wake Winston-Salem, N.C.
Forest
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