DAHLONEGA — ESPN will broadcast three sporting events from the University of North Georgia campus in Dahlonega on March 29 centering around UNG's third annual Make-A-Wish Day. The three broadcasts will be produced live on-campus by the World Wide Leader on the ESPN3 platform and will feature a softball doubleheader against rival-Georgia College at 1:00 p.m., followed by a baseball non-conference contest versus Anderson at 7:00 p.m.
The broadcasts will make several firsts for UNG and the NCAA, as it will mark the first time any on-campus baseball or softball games will air on ESPN3 as part of Division II's new media agreement with ESPN.
Additionally, North Georgia will become the first NCAA DII institution to have an on-campus national broadcast of two separate sports on the same day.
"This exponential increase in exposure with ESPN will showcase both our student-athletes and the UNG Nighthawks brand on the national level," UNG athletic director Lindsay Reeves said. "ESPN and the NCAA's joint decision to broadcast from Dahlonega is a testament to the product that not only our baseball and softball teams put on the field but to our first-class facilities and our excellent Nighthawk game day experience as well."
The record-setting day will cross two major NCAA Division II initiatives with the strong presence of Make-A-Wish and the new DII broadcast agreement. One child's special day will be featured nationally for the first time, while this will be UNG's third consecutive year hosting a Make-A-Wish Day. More information regarding the Make-A-Wish festivities will be released in the future.
ESPN3 is ESPN's live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
The network is currently available to more than 99 million homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. The network is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.
Division II programs also are seeing an exposure explosion, with the NCAA's latest national broadcasting contract more than tripling network video broadcasts this year, from 25 contests last season to 77 expected in 2015-16.
North Georgia's three contests are part of the agreement with ESPN3 in which the streaming network will broadcast 11 football games in its DII Game of the Week package, plus the national semifinals, 18 basketball games of the week and 10 additional events in other sports.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/1/362621/espn-to-broadcast-three-ung-events-in-dahlonega-on-march-29