CSTV announces its 2004-05 NCAA Wrestling schedule with 13 events televised nationally

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Eric Handler (CSTV)
11/17/2004


CSTV'S NCAA WRESTLING SCHEDULE FEATURES DEFENDING NCAA CHAMPION OKLAHOMA STATE, RUNNER-UP IOWA AND PERENNIAL POWERS OHIO STATE, LEHIGH, NEBRASKA, PENN STATE, ILLINOIS AND MINNESOTA    * The Only Nationally Televised College Wrestling Series Includes Marines All-Star Classic, NWCA National Duals, And Big Ten and EWL Championships    NEW YORK, November 17, 2004 - Defending NCAA wrestling champion Oklahoma State, runner-up Iowa and perennial NCAA wrestling powerhouses Ohio State, Lehigh, Nebraska, Penn State, Illinois and Minnesota grace the CSTV 2004-05 NCAA Wrestling schedule, the only nationally televised college wrestling package.  College Sports TV's wrestling menu includes teams that have won all but one NCAA national team title since 1969, and 13 of the top 14 finishers at last year's NCAA Championship.    College Sports TV's coverage includes a potent mix of dual meet and tournament action, ensuring that collegiate wrestling fans nationwide will see the top teams and top student-athletes competing in the most intense environments. Electrifying dual meet action includes Lehigh-Penn State, Pennsylvania-Cornell, Oklahoma State-Nebraska, Ohio State-Michigan and Illinois-Minnesota.  College Sports TV's coverage also includes the Marines All-Star Classic and National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duals, in addition to the Big Ten and Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) Championships. Jason Knapp and Quint Kessenich will call the action for College Sports TV.    "CSTV's event and studio coverage of college wrestling is unparalleled," said Chris Bevilacqua, co-founder and executive vice president, CSTV.  "College wrestling's growing fan base, which is also among the most passionate of all of sports, has traditionally been underserved. Our broad and deep on-air and online coverage will satisfy even the most die-hard wrestling fan."    "For the second straight year, CSTV is providing college wrestling with unprecedented national television coverage," said Dan Gable, former head wrestling coach at Iowa who led the Hawkeyes to 15 NCAA championships.  "Through its event telecasts and additional coverage on-air and on CollegeSports.com, CSTV is promoting the sport, its top teams and its star student-athletes to a significantly greater audience than ever before."     CSTV's 2004-05 NCAA Wrestling Schedule (all times ET)    Tues., Nov. 23 - Marines All-Star Classic presented by Real Pro Wrestling, 10:00 p.m. (at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville)    Sat., Jan. 8 - Lehigh at Penn State, 5:30 p.m.     Sun., Jan. 9 Pittsburgh at Penn State, 3:00 p.m.    Tues., Jan. 11 Missouri vs. Lehigh, 7:00 p.m. (at New York Athletic Club)    Tues., Jan. 25 NWCA National Duals, 9:00 p.m. (at Cleveland, Ohio)    Sun., Jan. 30 Pennsylvania at Cornell, 6:00 p.m.   and Purdue at Penn State, 9:00 p.m.     Sat., Feb. 5 Iowa at Penn State, 1:30 p.m.    Thur., Feb. 10 Oklahoma State at Nebraska, 7:00 p.m.    Sat., Feb. 12 Ohio State at Michigan, 5:00 p.m.     Sun. Feb. 20 Illinois at Minnesota, 8:00 p.m.     Mon., Mar. 7 Big Ten Championship, 9:00 p.m.  (at University of Iowa )    Mon., Mar. 14 EWL Championship, 9:00 p.m. (at Clarion, Pa. )    College Sports TV's college wrestling coverage will extend to The 1 College Sports Show, the network's groundbreaking studio show covering all aspects of college athletics, and CollegeSports.com and its network of more than 170 official athletic sites and also includes wrestling coverage in College Sports Pass, the leading online audio and video broadband subscription service.  The CollegeSports.com network includes official athletic sites for schools fielding some of the most successful wrestling programs, including Iowa, Illinois, Iowa State, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio State, Penn State and Central Michigan.     CSTV College Wrestling Highlights    Numerous NCAA champions are expected to be showcased on College Sports TV telecasts, including Troy Letters (Lehigh), Chris Pendleton and Steve Mocco (Oklahoma State), Greg Jones (West Virginia), Travis Lee (Cornell), Teyon Ware (Oklahoma) and Ryan Bertin (Michigan)             Seven NCAA champions and four runners-up will headline the 34th Marines All-Star Classic, which pits the nation's top collegiate wrestlers against each other in challenge matches that are often seen as a preview of the NCAA championships.              College Sports TV will televise the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals for the second consecutive year; the Duals feature the top teams in the country competing for the national championship in dual meet competition             The Big Ten Championship will feature Iowa, Ohio State, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan and Penn State, all of whom finished in the Top 12 at last year's NCAAs    CSTV is a multi-media company that consists of the first-ever 24-hour college sports television network, College Sports TV; the leading college sports online network, CollegeSports.com; and the first ever 24-hour college sports radio network, SIRIUS College Sports Radio.  Through its numerous platforms, CSTV provides more live college sports games, events, news, information, analysis and broadband content, and reaches more college sports fans, than any other company.    College Sports TV, voted the #1 emerging cable network in the 2003 Beta research study, televises regular season and championship event coverage from over 35 men's and women's sports across every major collegiate athletic conference as well as many NCAA Championships. College Sports TV currently has agreements with the top three national distributors - Comcast, DirecTV and Time Warner Cable, among others.    CollegeSports.com, the most-trafficked college sports Web site, and its network of nearly 160 official athletic sites are the number one online source for college sports broadband content, news, information, scores and analysis.  SIRIUS College Sports Radio will broadcast a comprehensive package of college football and basketball games from teams in the Big 10, Big 12, Big East, Pac 10, and SEC conferences, as well as from Notre Dame.      CSTV was co-founded by President and CEO Brian Bedol, Chairman Steve Greenberg and Executive Vice President Chris Bevilacqua. Bedol and Greenberg co-founded Classic Sports Network, which they sold to ESPN.  It 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.