by Carol Braff, Sports Video Group Managing EditorThis fall, College Fanz Sports Network is expanding its three-year-old online college-sports community with special NAIA school video offerings, starting with one live NAIA football broadcast each week. The games will all be available free of charge at
www.CollegeFanz.com.
The inaugural NAIA Football Game of the Week kicks off Saturday Aug. 29 with the first-ever meeting between Avila University, Kansas City, MO, and Doane College, Crete, NE, at 2 p.m. ET.
Read Braff's entire story online here.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Excerpts from the Sports Video Group story appear below.Nearly 300 colleges and universities nationwide take part in intercollegiate athletics outside of the jurisdiction of the NCAA. Until this season, student-athletes competing under the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) have, for the most part, been off the national broadcast radar.
Thanks to College Fanz Sports Network, however, a different pair of schools will enjoy some national coverage every week throughout the 2009 football season, during the inaugural season of the NAIA Football Game of the Week.
The brainchild of ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen, College Fanz Sports Network is expanding its three-year-old online college-sports community with video offerings, starting with one live NAIA football broadcast each week. The games will all be available free of charge at
www.CollegeFanz.com.
“The NAIA just doesn’t get very much exposure -you might even say none - from a TV point of view,” Rasmussen says. “We’ll go to each campus, and it will be an event when we come in. Our van is all wrapped with College Fanz branding, and sponsors and the students otherwise don’t get to experience this.”
The member institutions of the NAIA, which puts a premium on displaying character and respect in athletics alongside academics, tend to be smaller than NCAA schools, but the competition among them is just as fierce.
“When you get two NAIA teams playing for a conference title, it’s going to be an entertaining afternoon, and we’re giving them a visibility that they’ve never had before,” Rasmussen explains. “I know CBS does one game a year, but nobody’s ever paid attention to the NAIA on this level. It’s not broadcast television yet, but it’s a step in the right direction. Coming to campus with all the colorful vans and cameras and all of the hoopla that goes with putting on the telecast becomes a big event at a small school.”
The inaugural NAIA Football Game of the Week kicks off Saturday Aug. 29 with the first-ever meeting between Avila University, Kansas City, MO, and Doane College, Crete, NE, at 2 p.m. ET.
“Everything today is miniaturized, so we’ve outfitted a van with a production trailer,” Rasmussen explains. “Our van carries nine cameras, and we’ll do pre-game, halftime, and post-game shows. We’re going to do real, live television on all of these campuses.”
Rasmussen will serve as executive producer for the NAIA Football Game of the Week. Jason Dannelly, a veteran NAIA sports commentator and director of college relations for College Fanz, will produce and provide color commentary, while John Thayer will do play-by-play. Brandi Benson and Adam Maser will host the pre- and post-game shows, and director Wade Tracy and associate director Bret Beachner round out the production team.
“Our production group is centered and based in Grand Island, NE, which is not quite the center of the country, but it’s pretty close,” Rasmussen says, adding, “We can go in any direction from there.”
The 2009 football schedule is set, with 21 games slated to be played at campuses from California to Georgia. For basketball season, the schedule is a bit more flexible. “Who knows who’s going to get on a winning streak,” Rasmussen says. “We’ll be able to go and do their games.”