ELMHURST, Ill. - The Summit League and Midco Sports Net, based in Sioux Falls, S.D., have reached an agreement that will give the network exclusive rights to produce, broadcast and distribute all men’s and women’s quarterfinal and semifinal games at the 2011 Summit League Basketball Championships.
Midco Sports Net will show live coverage of 12 of the 14 tournament games prior to the women’s championship on ESPNU and men’s championship on ESPN2. In addition, Midco Sports Net will extend access to the tournament by providing rebroadcasts during the week and archived games on-demand via its cable systems.
Last season, Midcontinent Communications, the parent company of Midco Sports Net, and The Summit League began its relationship with an agreement to air the first 10 games of the basketball championships. The 2010 Summit League Basketball Championships were the first to have live television for all 14 games and had six men’s games available nationally via ESPN Full Court, ESPN360 (now ESPN3) and ESPN2.
"We are pleased to renew our partnership with Midcontinent Communications through an exclusive agreement for Midco Sports Net to televise all of our men’s and women’s quarterfinal and semifinal games," said Commissioner Tom Douple. "Our experience with Midcontinent’s coverage last season was tremendous and we look forward to further growth and distribution of our marquee event. We are very proud of the fact that we will again have our entire tournament televised, both men’s and women’s. There are very few leagues across the country at any level which can make that claim.”
Games televised by Midco Sports Net will be available live and on replay throughout North Dakota, South Dakota and parts of Minnesota. Live coverage in the South Dakota markets of Sioux Falls, Yankton, Vermillion and their surrounding areas will be subject to blackout. Midco Sports Net will distribute game feeds to additional Summit League markets and to ESPN Full Court and ESPN3.
The Summit League Championships return to Sioux Falls, March 5-8, the event’s third year at the location.
About The Summit League
Now in its 29th year, The Summit League offers 19 championship sports and has a combined enrollment of over 125,000 at 10 member institutions: Centenary College of Louisiana, IPFW (Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne), IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis), UMKC (University of Missouri-Kansas City), North Dakota State University, Oakland University, Oral Roberts University, South Dakota State University, Southern Utah University and Western Illinois University. The Summit League has two associate members in the University of South Dakota, who will begin full membership in 2011-12 and currently competes in swimming and diving, and Eastern Illinois University, which currently competes in swimming and diving and will join in men’s soccer in 2011. To learn more visit
www.thesummitleague.org.
About Midco Sports Net
Midco Sports Net™ (MidcoSN™) brings live sports coverage from area high schools, colleges and universities to North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. Launched in 2010 by Midcontinent Communications, Midco Sports Net is the only dedicated sports network in the Upper Midwest, broadcasting exclusively to nearly 225,000 cable subscribers. Coverage includes teams from NCAA Division I and II, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and the Summit League. To learn more visit
www.midcosportsnet.com.
Midcontinent Communications is the Upper Midwest’s leading provider of cable television, telephone, broadband Internet and cable advertising services for residential and business customers throughout the Dakotas and Minnesota. Midcontinent is a subsidiary of Midcontinent Media, Inc. To learn more visit
www.midcocomm.com.
