ST. LOUIS - The Missouri Valley Football Conference has reached an agreement to air as many as five telecasts on ESPN3.com during the 2011 college football season, as announced by the league office Tuesday.
As part of the agreement, ESPN3.com will carry at least three exclusive college football games from the Missouri Valley Football Conference beginning this season, including Illinois State's Oct. 22 matchup against Indiana State at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Ill. The Redbirds' season finale Nov. 19 against MVFC preseason favorite and defending champion Northern Iowa has also been selected as one of two additional "wild-card" games, which will be announced by Oct. 10.
"The availability of these games on ESPN3.com allows fans to watch live events across multiple screens, whether that's through Xbox LIVE on your TV screen, or while on the go on your smartphone, tablet or laptop," Missouri Valley Football Commissioner Patty Viverito said. "ESPN3.com is cur¬rently available in approximately 70 million homes and has established itself as a standalone net-work with mainstream appeal in a fast-paced digital media world."
The ESPN selections include one appearance from each of the top six teams in the pre-season poll and will feature four of the league's five student-athletes targeted on the pre-season watch lists for the Walter Payton and Buck Buchanan awards.
"ESPN3.com continues to grow as a leading destination and a key distribution outlet for reaching the college sports fan," Damon Phillips, Vice President at ESPN3.com said. "We are looking forward to working with the Missouri Valley Football Conference to produce and distribute these exclusive games."
ESPN3.com is ESPN's live broadband sports network, a 24/7 destination that delivers thousands of global sports events annually. It is currently available in approximately 70 million homes at no ad¬ditional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or cable TV video subscription from an affiliated service provider. The network is also available at no cost to approximately 21 mil¬lion U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks. It is also accessible to Xbox LIVE Gold mem¬bers and via ESPNnetworks.com and the WatchESPN app through an affiliated provider.
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