College Sports Television, the first 24-hour college sports network, has committed to a Friday night national game of the week, a first for college hockey. According to CSTV, 20-25 games will be aired this coming season, plus more on tape delay throughout the course of the week.
The announcement came as part of CSTV’s sweeping new fall programming package, a diverse assortment of live events and studio shows devoted exclusively to college sports.
“Our ambitious, groundbreaking original programming slate will give college alumni and fans nationwide an intimate view of the entire college sports experience,” said Brian Bedol, president and CEO, CSTV. “These original shows, along with our games-of-the-week, other event programming and studio shows, will cover college athletics from every possible angle in a way that will redefine the way college sports is covered.”
According to CSTV, the game of the week package will include coverage of “the ‘best of the best’ of college hockey, including the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and the Hockey East Association, and featuring powerhouse men’s and women’s teams such as two-time men’s defending national champion Minnesota, Cornell, Boston College, New Hampshire, Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State and Boston University.”
College Sports Television has long-term programming and marketing agreements with 27 Division I athletic conferences, including the Atlantic 10, Big East, Big Sky, Big Ten, Big 12, Big West, Conference USA, Ivy League, Mountain West, Sun Belt, WAC and West Coast.
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 the company’s successful foray into the college market.
