Aug. 31, 2006
Los Angeles, CA - August 31, 2006 - Soccer fans will soon have plenty of top-notch Division I intercollegiate action to watch on Fox Soccer Channel. As a result of an agreement with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) finalized this summer, Fox Soccer Channel's live and exclusive NSCAA College Match of the Week coverage will include six Wednesday women's matches and two on Thursday, and 12 men's matches on Thursdays and Fridays. This will include the Oct. 26 ODU-William and Mary men's match at theODU Soccer Stadium which will kickoff at 8 p.m.
The 20-game telecast schedule, announced today, features 10 women's and 16 men's teams ranked in the NSCAA/adidas® pre-season Top 25. Women's action kicks off on America's soccer network on Wednesday, September 6 with a match between Saint Louis and Marquette at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT. Men's action gets underway Thursday, September 14, with St. John's vs. Connecticut at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.
"We're delighted to be the exclusive carrier of the best in men and women's college soccer," said David Sternberg, executive vice president and general manager of Fox Soccer Channel. "Our NSCAA College Match of the Week showcases a wide selection of the top-ranked collegiate teams and is the perfect complement to Fox Soccer Channel's year-round coverage of top international and domestic soccer competitions."
Ridge Mahoney will provide the play-by-play commentary on the women's match-ups, while Sean Wheelock will be the announcer for the men's games.
"The NSCAA is excited about the matches it will bring to soccer fans across the United States," said NSCAA President Louise Waxler. "The teams involved are among the elite in intercollegiate men's and women's soccer, and are sure to provide thrilling contests for Fox Soccer Channel's viewers."
Santa Barbara, California-based Cultural Videos Communications is returning for a second season to coordinate the production of all the men's and women's NSCAA matches on Fox Soccer Channel. Cultural Videos Founder David Bolton, who also produces USL and MLS coverage on Fox Soccer Channel, will again serve as director/producer of the FSC college package.
Following are the telecast schedules for Fox Soccer Channel's 2006 Men's College Match of the Week:
Schedule of NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Coverage on FSC*DateTeamsTimeThursday, September 14St. John's (17) vs. Connecticut (2)8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PTFriday, September 15Clemson (T5) vs. North Carolina (T5)8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PTFriday, September 22UNC-Greensboro (21) vs. Coastal Carolina8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PTFriday, September 29Maryland (1) vs. Duke (14)8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PTThursday, October 5UCSB (22) vs. UCLA (10)11:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. PTFriday, October 6North Carolina (5) vs. Maryland (1)8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PTThursday, October 12Stetson vs. South Florida (18)8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PTFriday, October 13Stanford vs. Washington (25)8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PTFriday, October 20Penn State (13) vs. Indiana (12)8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PTThursday, October 26Old Dominion (23) vs. William & Mary8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PTFriday, October 27Virginia (4) vs. Wake Forest (16)8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PTFriday, November 3Brown vs. Yale8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT*Schedule subject to change; home teams are listed first; numbers in parentheses denote NSCAA/adidas® pre-season Division I top 25 ranking.
About Fox Soccer ChannelFox Soccer Channel offers the most comprehensive coverage of world-class soccer available in the United States, including Major League Soccer, the Barclays English Premier League, Argentine First Division and Italian Serie A; as well as global tournaments such as the UEFA Cup, UEFA Women's Championship, English FA Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, and FA Community Shield. The Official Broadcast Partner of the United States Youth Soccer Association, Fox Soccer Channel also televises United Soccer Leagues and NCAA Division I college soccer matches. The channel reaches more than 25 million cable and satellite households in the U.S. and Caribbean.
Fox Soccer Channel is one of 28 national and regional programming networks within Fox Networks Group, an operating unit of the News Corporation (NYSE:NWS). These broadcast, cable, satellite and telephony delivered networks reach more than half a billion U.S. television homes, and represent one of the media industry's most diverse collections of programming operations. Fox Networks Group consists of FOX Sports, Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Cable Networks and Fox Networks Engineering & Operations. For more information, visit America's most visited online soccer destination at foxsoccer.com.
About NSCAABased in Mission, Kansas, the NSCAA is the largest coaches' organization in the United States. Since its founding in 1941, it has grown to include more than 20,000 members who coach both genders at all levels of the sport. In addition to a national rankings program for colleges and high schools, NSCAA offers an extensive recognition program that presents nearly 10,000 individual awards every year. It fulfills its mission of coaching education through a nationwide program of clinics and week-long courses, teaching more than 3,000 soccer coaches each year.