Wednesday, November 11, 2009

MACON, Ga. – The Atlantic Sun Conference and Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) announced the addition of three games to increase the total number of men’s basketball regular-reason games carried by network to 12.

The first of the added games takes place on Monday, Jan. 11 with one of the hottest rivalries in the Southeast when Belmont travels the three miles down Belmont Boulevard to take on Lipscomb. Since the Bisons joined the Bruins in the Atlantic Sun in 2003, five “Battle of the Boulevard” games have ended up needing overtime to decide the matter. No other series in the country has witnessed so many overtime games in that time span. Last season, as part of a nine-game win streak, Lipscomb defeated Belmont on its home floor to break a three-game losing streak against their rivals.

One week later, on Jan. 18th, the A-Sun’s other intra-city rivalry hits the airwaves when Jacksonville hosts UNF in the first of two regular-season contests. This contest, as well as any athletic competition between the Dolphins and Ospreys, makes up part of the SunTrust River City Rumble during which the two compete for the "SunTrust Old Wooden Barrel" – trophy awarded to the program that wins the season-long contest. Last season, the Dolphins won back the trophy for the first time since the first year of the program, the 2005-06 year. The Dolphins open the season as one of the co-favorites, as they tied Lipscomb in the preseason poll.

“A-Sun games this season will again anchor CSS’ unprecedented line-up of men’s college basketball action, with our weekly Friday night A-Sun game of the week” CSS General Manager Mark Fuhrman said. “CSS has featured A-Sun games for the last several years to fans around the south and A-Sun coverage will be highlighted by the A-Sun Men’s Semifinals.”

Two weeks after the UNF-Jacksonville contest, the supplementary slate of A-Sun men’s basketball television games wraps up with FGCU heading to Macon, Ga., to battle the Bears of Mercer. This game allows fans to view the host venue for the following month’s General Shale Atlantic Sun Basketball Championships. Mercer hosts the event for the first time in program history. The Bears have won all three meetings with the Eagles since the Eagles joined the league in 2007.

“We are delighted to be able to offer three more men’s basketball games to our passionate fan base,” Atlantic Sun Commissioner Ted Gumbart said. “We are thrilled to add television coverage to our two intra-city rivalries and to spotlight Mercer and the University Center one month before the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Championships.”

The CSS television package makes up just a portion of the Atlantic Sun’s entire television coverage and other games will be added throughout the year. The most current television schedule is always available at AtlanticSun.org.

Fans can follow the Atlantic Sun on Twitter and on Facebook. Visit twitter.com/AtlanticSun to begin receiving updates on conference news, weekly awards, and from A-Sun championships. Atlantic Sun followers with a Facebook account can become a "fan" of the conference by searching for the Atlantic Sun Conference.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts five of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most dynamic and prestigious private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

CSS is a 24-hour sports channel carrying a full slate of college sports programming lineup. With over 40 live football games, the channel offers a comprehensive sports lineup throughout the year. The channel also offers more than 200 men's and women's live college basketball games and over 50 live baseball games, as well as a comprehensive mix of sports news and in-depth sports analysis geared toward fans in the south.

Rights Marketing Group LLC (RMG) is based in Atlanta, GA and is the exclusive marketing and media partner of the Atlantic Sun Conference. RMG works with Division I college athletic conferences and universities.