Aug. 3, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- From the moment the Big Ten Network launches, Northwestern athletics teams -- and the University as whole -- will enjoy unprecedented national exposure, beginning with the Wildcats' 2007 football home opener against Northeastern on Sept. 1.
The first football game of the season will be broadcast on the network as part of the first live events brought to Big Ten fans across the country, bringing to a nationwide audience games that in previous years might not have been televised at all.
"We are thrilled to air a total of 17 football games during the first three weeks of the season," said Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman. "We're also excited to offer more in-depth analysis and complementary programming which fans of these and every other Big Ten university will want to watch. We'll be getting off to a great start with these games, and we know that fans will want to see them."
In fact, all three of Northwestern's nonconference home games will be televised on the Big Ten Network. NU's showdown with Nevada at 11 a.m. on September 8 and a primetime matchup against Duke at 7 p.m. September 15 are part of the 35 games -- most broadcast in stunning high definition -- that the network will bring to Wildcats' fans no matter where they live in the U.S.
"We are excited for the opportunity to host an evening game with the Big Ten Network," said Northwestern head football coach Pat Fitzgerald. "Ryan Field is a special place, and having our first three home games showcased on national television will be a great platform for our University and our football program."
The Big Ten Network also has made a ground-breaking promise to achieve "event equality" by its third year, intending to produce and distribute an equal number of men's and women's events to provide the largest concentration of women's athletics on any national network. This year, the network will show more than 55 women's basketball games and 170 Olympic sport events, a large chunk of which will be women's contests.
Northwestern, which long has been a leader among its Big Ten peers in gender equity, features some of the best women's programs in the nation. Women's lacrosse has won three-consecutive national titles, softball has reached back-to-back Women's College World Series semifinals and women's tennis has won a record nine-straight Big Ten titles.
Women's sports telecasts on the Big Ten Network will begin immediately in the fall with live volleyball, field hockey and women's soccer matches, among other sports. The complete schedule of broadcasts will be released closer to the network's launch date.
"Having the national exposure that television brings is going to build up the sport of volleyball as a whole," said Northwestern head coach Keylor Chan. "The Big Ten is one of the premier volleyball conferences in the nation, and its increased visibility in the public eye will have an astronomical effect on our sport and our program."
Northwestern's Olympic sports, which typically received live television coverage during conference tournament championship games and in the NCAA postseason, now will have regular season contests broadcast on a regular basis as part of the 170 Olympic sporting events planned on the Network during an academic year.
In the fall, the Wildcats' men's soccer program will be televised several times, showcasing to the nation a team which made a phenomenal run to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in 2006. Specific game dates and times for televised contests will be announced as the season approaches.
"The Big Ten Network will be great for men's soccer in the Big Ten," said men's soccer head coach Tim Lenahan. "We have been one of the top two conferences in the country for men's soccer over the past few years, and our TV exposure will show the rest of the country to high level of quality soccer played in the Big Ten.
"From a recruiting standpoint, this will be a huge advantage in potential student-athletes knowing that a large number of their Big Ten games will be on TV. This will hopefully have a similar impact as TV did in the 1980's in revolutionizing college basketball."
Speaking of basketball, that is one sport that could reap some huge benefits from the creation of the Big Ten Network. When men's and women's schedules are released in coming weeks and television plans announced, it is expected that NU will have a much-improved and larger television package then ever before.
"The Big Ten Network will help remedy some of the issues we've faced with our mid-week conference games as well as getting more nonconference games on TV," said Bill Carmody, men's basketball coach. "The Big Ten Network is a big positive for Northwestern basketball."
About the Big Ten Network: Launching this August, the Big Ten Network is dedicated to covering the Big Ten Conference and its 11 member institutions. The Big Ten Network will provide unprecedented access to an extensive schedule of conference sports events and shows; original programs in academics, the arts and sciences; campus activities; and associated personalities. Sports programming will include live coverage of more major men's and women's events than ever before, along with news, highlights and analysis, all complemented by hours of university-produced campus programming. The network is available to all cable and satellite carriers and television distributors nationwide, with most programs offered in stunning high-definition television (HDTV). The Big Ten Network is a joint venture between subsidiaries of the Big Ten Conference and Fox Cable Networks. For more information visit BigTenNetwork.com.