Johns Hopkins-ESPNU Announce Broadcast Agreement

[Sonny]

BRISTOL, CT -- ESPNU and Johns Hopkins University have reached a multi-year agreement (through 2009), which calls for national exclusive, multi-media coverage of all Blue Jay regular-season men's lacrosse home games and select women's home games on the 24-hour college sports network. The deal also contains distribution rights for other Johns Hopkins athletic events, as well as original programming across numerous ESPN platforms.

In addition to its season-long home game coverage, ESPNU will also televise two Johns Hopkins away games in 2006, including a re-match of the 2005 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship when Johns Hopkins goes head-to-head with Duke on April 8. Johns Hopkins won its eighth national title in 2005, beating Duke, 9-8, to complete an undefeated season. The other road contest will feature the Blue Jays at Charles Street rival Loyola on May 6. At this point a minimum of nine Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse games during the 2006 regular season will air nationally.

Of the Johns Hopkins lacrosse men's and women's home games scheduled this season, several games will be ESPNU original telecasts, while the other games will co-exist with local ABC affiliate, WMAR-TV (Baltimore, MD).

"We are thrilled to enter in to this new arrangement with Johns Hopkins," said Burke Magnus, vice president and general manager, ESPNU. "After only nine months since our launch and as we prepare for our second spring season, ESPNU is already the unrivaled leader in lacrosse coverage. Having the top college program in Johns Hopkins under the ESPNU banner takes our commitment of the sport to a whole new level. Viewers are in for a real treat when they witness the dynamic play and atmosphere of this fast-growing sport, which fits the mission of the network to serve college sports fans of all kinds with the highest quality programming."

Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse coach Dave Pietramala agreed, "Our staff and players are thrilled to enter into a relationship with ESPNU. Not only is this a great opportunity for Johns Hopkins University, but it also demonstrates the tremendous growth in the sport of lacrosse. To have every one of our home games telecast nationally is very exciting and we look forward to the positive impact this relationship will have on our program."

2006 Johns Hopkins Lacrosse Schedule on ESPNU

February 25 - Albany at Johns Hopkins

March 4 - Princeton at Johns Hopkins *
March 4 - Princeton at Johns Hopkins (women) *
March 7 - UMBC at Johns Hopkins
March 18 - Syracuse at Johns Hopkins *

April 1 - North Carolina at Johns Hopkins *
April 8 - Johns Hopkins at Duke
April 9 - Maryland at Johns Hopkins (women)
April 15 - Maryland at Johns Hopkins *
April 29 - Towson at Johns Hopkins *

May 6 - Johns Hopkins at Loyola *

*Co-exist with WMAR-TV

[JW]

That is pretty incredible, go lacrosse. t

[Brent Burns]

Just wanted to make sure that I am not comparing this ESPNU-JHU TV coverage agreement with NBC and Notre Dame. It just sounds, ahem, I mean, appear similar.