Oct. 12, 1999
CARLSBAD, Calif. and LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky Wildcats and the FANSonly Network – home of the official athletic sites for the nation’s top NCAA athletic programs and part of the Student Advantage Network (NASDAQ: STAD) – will bring the local broadcast of the Wildcats’ Midnight Madness basketball practice, dubbed “America’s Team of the Century,” to the world live via the Internet on
Fri., Oct. 15 at 11:30 p.m. EDT.
The FANSonly Network will digitize the local television broadcast from WKYT, Lexington’s CBS affiliate, and broadcast in real-time over the Internet in streaming video format via Window’s Media Technology browser plug-in. FANSonly will work with Webcasts.com, one of the nation’s leading interactive development companies, to enhance the video with bookmarks for easier viewing and hyperlinks to other resources on UK’s official athletic site, located at www.ukathletics.com.
This is the second consecutive year that Kentucky, FANSonly and WKYT have teamed up to provide fans with a live webcast of the first Kentucky basketball practice. Last year’s webcast of the “The Main Event,” FANSonly’s first-ever live broadcast, was viewed by more than 2,100 Big Blue fans, who were able watch the event live or view the archived version after the event.
The FANSonly Network, located at www.fansonly.com, manages the online presence, brands, affinity audiences and revenue streams for more than 60 major collegiate athletic departments around the country, including Kentucky, UCLA, Ole Miss, Virginia, Florida State, Ohio State, Notre Dame and many others.
According to C.M. Newton, athletics director for the University of Kentucky, “Through UK’s participation in the FANSonly Network, we have a partner who has the Internet experience and resources to turn our vision for a new, interactive relationship with Wildcat fans into reality. Kentucky’s official athletic site is the only medium through which we can enhance WKYT’s local broadcast of the America’s Team of the Century and make it available instantly to Wildcat fans across the nation and around the world.”
Jeff Cravens, the FANSonly Network’s vice president of product development, said, “”We continue to work with the UK Athletics Department to bring the best internet content possible to its extremely loyal fan base. There is no place in the country where Midnight Madness is as exciting as in Lexington and we expect this year’s show to be just as exciting. We are happy to be able to bring Midnight Madness to Kentucky fans throughout the world.”
The UK Midnight Madness page is located at
http://www.ukathletics.com/madness
. Fans can go to this page immediately for a Midnight Madness preview and to download the Window’s Media Technology plug-in. The preview page includes set-up instructions and a test video so fans can make sure their browser is configured correctly to receive the Midnight Madness video. The enhanced game video will also be archived on this site for later viewing. Visitors to the page will be able to take advantage of an exclusive one-day merchandising promotion in which fans who click to the Kentucky Wildcat Locker Room, the official online store, from the webcast page will receive a 10 percent discount on purchases in the online store on Oct. 15.
“America’s Team of the Century” will tip off the 1999-2000 season with a roster full of young, but talented, Wildcats. Kentucky, which finished the ’99 season seven points shy of its fourth straight Final Four, will build its latest edition around senior Jamaal Magloire, who turned down the NBA for another NCAA Championship run, and Saul Smith, who hasn’t missed a game in two seasons. Add to the roster seven freshmen and sophomores and the Cats should be an exciting, explosive squad as the new century begins.
About Student Advantage, Inc. and the FANSonly Network
Student Advantage, Inc. (NASDAQ: STAD) is the nation’s leading membership and media company, focusing exclusively on the college market. The company is dedicated to serving the needs of college students through its leading Membership Program, which boasts more than 1.3 million members, and its online properties at studentadvantage.com.
The company’s FANSonly Network is the largest and fastest-growing college sports site on the Web. FANSonly.com serves as the network hub, providing comprehensive information on collegiate sports, including in-depth statistical analysis, information on collegiate recruiting, and team pages on every NCAA Division I university, which complements and accentuates the individual Official Athletic Sites. For more than 60 university and conference athletic departments and associations, FANSonly is an Internet business solution partner, providing online brand management, content delivery and e-commerce solutions.
