2005 CSTV Lacrosse Telecast Schedule

[Sonny]

NEW YORK — College Sports Television (CSTV), the first and only college sports network (www.cstv.com), will once again showcase live the best men’s and women’s college lacrosse programs from throughout the country with its 2005 NCAA Lacrosse on CSTV package, which returns for a third season on Saturday, March 5, with the first-ever nationally televised Johns Hopkins-Princeton men’s and women’s doubleheader. As part of its efforts to help grow the sport, CSTV is also televising the first-ever Division I lacrosse games in California, the March 12 First 4 men’s doubleheader from Carson, Calif. featuring the 2004 NCAA champs Syracuse vs. Georgetown and North Carolina vs. Notre Dame.

"It's great that CSTV has made such a strong commitment to air college lacrosse," said John Desko, head coach of defending NCAA men’s champion Syracuse, which will appear twice on CSTV this spring. "I see it as a valuable way to bring the lacrosse world to different parts of the country. In turn, CSTV is really helping the growth of the game. Personally, I find it enjoyable to watch college lacrosse games on CSTV and be able to see games that I normally wouldn't have the chance to see during our season."

Joe Beninati will handle play-by-play for all NCAA Lacrosse on CSTV telecasts. Quint Kessenich, a former four-time All-America goalie at Johns Hopkins, will handle analysis for the men’s telecasts, while Sheehan Stanwick, a four-time All-America herself while starring at Georgetown, will provide commentary for women’s telecasts.

NCAA Lacrosse on CSTV Highlights:
• The inaugural First 4 historic men’s doubleheader from The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., the first two Division I college lacrosse games in the state of California: defending national champ Syracuse vs. Georgetown and North Carolina vs. Notre Dame
• Two appearances by defending NCAA Men’s Champion Syracuse, vs. Top 10 Princeton and Georgetown
• Two appearances each by defending NCAA Men’s runner-up Navy and perennial power North Carolina
• An appearance by defending NCAA Men’s Division II champion Le Moyne
• Games featuring seven of the eight 2004 NCAA Men’s Championship Quarterfinalists
• Games featuring five 2004 NCAA Women’s Tournament teams: Princeton, Dartmouth, Northwestern, Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins
• Five live NCAA Championships: Women’s Division I, II, III, and Men’s Division II and III

NCAA Lacrosse on CSTV coverage extends to the network’s weekly college lacrosse news and information show, CSTV Lacrosse Weekly, and regular coverage within The One College Sports Show, the network’s innovative studio show providing fans with the latest college sports news and highlights, interviews, and features. CSTV.com and its network of more than 170 official athletic sites will deliver unparalleled live online coverage of college lacrosse. CSTV.com’s exclusive new GameTracker Live feature which will provide live statistics and scores for approximately 200 men’s and women’s college lacrosse games, and its College Sports Pass subscription service will provide live video and audio of numerous games.

Among the more than 170 official athletic sites produced by CSTV’s CSTV Online business unit are the sites for prominent lacrosse programs such as Johns Hopkins, Princeton, Georgetown, Virginia, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Maryland, Dartmouth, Army, North Carolina, Adelphi and Ohio State.

In addition to its NCAA schedule this spring, College Sports TV will televise the Women’s World Lacrosse Championships this summer, as well as the US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates National Championships for the third consecutive year.

Complete schedule available on the USL site here:
http://www.lacrosse.org/news/cstv05.phtml

Lacrosse, the "King of Spring," is back, and the broad selection of teams represented within the 2005 NCAA Lacrosse on CSTV schedule is indicative of the sport’s phenomenal growth throughout the United States," said Tim Pernetti, senior vice president, programming, CSTV. "Lacrosse is no longer the domain of just the Eastern Seaboard, and our telecasts from California and the Midwest, as well as the East Coast, are reflective of the sport’s skyrocketing popularity. Our live event coverage, studio shows and original programming, and our live coverage on CSTV.com, will cater to the ever-growing audience of lacrosse at the Division I, II and III, the USILA and the national team levels."

"CSTV’s commitment to national lacrosse programming has been phenomenal," said US Lacrosse Executive Director Steve Stenersen. "US Lacrosse was proud to provide leadership support for CSTV’s inaugural broadcast season in 2004, and we continue to be committed to supporting the expansion of CSTV’s national lacrosse programming."

Lacrosse’s Phenomenal Growth
The number of NCAA varsity women's lacrosse programs (267) has increased by 18% since 2000, including recent announcements to establish programs by the University of Miami and the University of Oregon. The number of NCAA men's varsity lacrosse programs (216) has increased by 6% during the same period, and the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship is now second only to men's basketball in annual attendance.

The National Federation of State High School Association’s 2003-04 participation data indicates that lacrosse was the fastest growing true high school team sport in the country, and state high school associations in Florida Georgia, Minnesota, Michigan and California have recently sanctioned the sport.

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 No. 1 emerging cable network in a recent 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 and NAIA Championships.

CSTV.com, the most-trafficked college sports Web site, and its network of more than 170 official athletic sites are the No. 1 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 16 conferences, including the Big Ten, Big 12, BIG EAST, Pac-10 and SEC, 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.