Thursday, September 15, 2011

MACON, Ga. – The Atlantic Sun Conference and Comcast Sports Southeast will continue their partnership during the 2011-12 basketball season, highlighted by the return of the A-Sun/CSS Friday Night Game of the Week.

The partnership enters its 10th season and will feature some of the best rivalry games in the conference while continuing its superb tournament coverage. Last year, all of the A-Sun’s Friday Night Game of the Week’s also aired on ESPN Full Court and ESPN3.com.

“We are pleased to extend our partnership with the Atlantic Sun for a tenth year during the 2011-2012 basketball season”, says CSS Vice President and General Manager Mark Fuhrman. “We take pride in offering our viewers exceptional coverage of sports in the southeast and the Atlantic Sun lineup is a key component to our basketball schedule.”

“The Friday Night Game of the Week provides tremendous coverage of A-Sun teams for our fans and continues to be one of our top initiatives,” stated A-Sun Commissioner Ted Gumbart. “The prime time slot is an excellent showcase for our student-athletes and our outstanding institutions. We value our strong partnership with CSS and are proud to continue the relationship.”

The package will tip-off with the first edition of the River City Rumble as Jacksonville faces North Florida at UNF Arena on Saturday, December 3. The re-match will be aired on February 24 as the finale to the Friday night slate of games.

The rivalry between Peach State foes Kennesaw State and Mercer continues to grow and provides some of the best crowds of the season. The pair play on January 13 at the University Center before the return game on February 10.

FGCU and Stetson both welcome first-year coaches that hope to put their own mark on this game. The Eagles travel to DeLand on January 20 with the Hatters returning the favor in Fort Myers on February 17.

The other two games featured on Friday’s will be ETSU at USC Upstate on January 27 and the Battle of the Boulevard on February 3 as Lipscomb hosts Belmont.

Postseason coverage will continue its wall-to-wall broadcasting of the General Shale Brick A-Sun Basketball Championship Semifinals on Friday, March 2. CSS will also carry the women’s basketball title game at Noon on March 3.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an NCAA Division I league with 10 member institutions committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun meets the challenge of maintaining the highest standards in academic and athletic achievement with a true balance between student and athlete. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont 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.