SWAC, MEAC ink 7-year ESPNU deal

The agreement, which runs through the 2011-12 season, was spelled out in a MEAC press release and a teleconference Monday with MEAC Commissioner Dr. Dennis Thomas. The deal includes coverage of multiple sports including cable television exclusive rights 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. ESPNU Vice President and General Manager Burke Magnus, Thomas and SWAC Commissioner Robert Vowels are quoted in the press release.

"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 in the release, "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. We look forward to the MEAC growing with the ESPNU brand."

On the teleconference, Thomas said ESPN would be handling all production costs and was paying substantial rights fees for MEAC games, rights fees that he said were "no comparison" to past television deals. He did not disclose the actual fees

Thomas also said the deal allows for other games to be televised elsewhere on a regional or local basis.

In the release Vowels said, "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."

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 overage 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.

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.

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