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UK Sports Network
The UK Sports Network, historically known as the Big Blue Sports Network (BBSN) and also formerly known as the UK IMG Sports Network, is the radio and television network of the University of Kentucky Wildcats men's and women's sports teams. It consists of five over-the-air television affiliates and 44 radio stations in Kentucky and neighboring states. History The radio network was established in September 1968 for the purpose of broadcasting football and basketball games to select radio stations across the state of Kentucky. Prior to this, individual stations in central Kentucky each held their own coverage of the games. The original group rightsholder was Host Communications. Later on, the broadcast syndicator of the UK Sports Network was Sports Productions, a joint venture of Host Communications, CBS television affiliate WKYT-TV of Lexington, and radio stations WVLK of Lexington and WHAS of Louisville. Cawood Ledford and Ralph Hacker were the first play-by-play commen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kentucky Wildcats Logo
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the northeast, Virginia to the east, Tennessee to the south, and Missouri to the west. Its northern border is defined by the Ohio River. Its capital is Frankfort and its most populous city is Louisville. As of 2024, the state's population was approximately 4.6 million. Previously part of colonial Virginia, Kentucky was admitted into the Union as the fifteenth state on June 1, 1792. It is known as the "Bluegrass State" in reference to Kentucky bluegrass, a species of grass introduced by European settlers which has long supported the state's thoroughbred horse industry. The fertile soil in the central and western parts of the state led to the development of large tobacco plantations similar to those in Virginia and North Carolina, which utilized enslaved labor prior to the passag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cawood Ledford
Cawood Ledford (April 24, 1926 – September 5, 2001) was a radio play-by-play announcer for the University of Kentucky basketball and American football, football teams. Ledford's style and professionalism endeared himself to many sports fans in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and, more than two decades after his death, he remains among the most popular sports figures in the state. Ledford is widely regarded as one the top broadcasters in the history of American sport. A native of Harlan, Kentucky, Ledford was educated at Hall High School and Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. He began broadcasting high school basketball and football games for WHLN radio in Harlan in 1951 and began broadcasting Kentucky Wildcats games in 1953 after moving to Lexington, Kentucky, Lexington. He remained in his position of play-by-play announcer for University of Kentucky basketball for 39 years. His last game as an announcer for a Kentucky basketball game was in 1992, when 1991–92 Kentucky Wildcats ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeff Piecoro
Jeff Piecoro is an American sportscaster. He formerly worked for 24 years with the Cincinnati Reds baseball team as a co-host on ''Reds Live'' pregame and post game shows. He and former Big Red Machine member Doug Flynn co-hosted ''Reds Weekly'' on Fox Sports Ohio. He also does work as the color commentator on the Big Blue Network during radio broadcasts of University of Kentucky Wildcats football on the UK Sports Network. Since 2015 Piecoro has worked for the SEC Network as play by play announcer for men’s baseball and women’s basketball. In June of 2021 Piecoro became a Realtor at The Brokerage Real Estate Advisors in Lexington. He is a member of LBAR and NKAR, and works the Central Kentucky and Northern Kentucky real estate markets. August of 2022 Piecoro was named Sports Director at WTVQ-TV, the ABC affiliate in Lexington Kentucky. He anchors the 5:00,6:00 and 11:00 p.m. sports, Monday through Friday. Career Piecoro attended and played football at Tates Creek High Sch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Givens
Jack "Goose" Givens (born September 21, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball, Kentucky Wildcats, earning consensus second-team NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, All-American honors. He led the team to the 1978 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship and was named that year's Final Four NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player, Most Outstanding Player due in most part to his 41-point performance in Kentucky's 94–88 victory over Duke Blue Devils men's basketball, Duke in the championship game. He was a , forward (basketball), forward. Givens played professionally for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also played overseas in Japan. Biography Collegiate career Givens earned Kentucky Mr. Basketball and Parade All-America Boys Basketball Team, ''Parade'' All-American honors after his senior year at Lexington's Bryan Station High School ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naming Rights
Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typically for an agreed time. The term typically ranges from three to 20 years for properties such as multi-purpose arenas, performing arts venues, or sports fields. Longer terms are more common for higher profile venues such as professional sports facilities. This arrangement gives buyers a marketing property to promote products and services, enhance customer retention, or increase market share. There are several forms of corporate sponsored names. For example, a ''presenting sponsor'' attaches the name of the corporation or brand into a traditional name (e.g. Mall of America Field at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and Smart Araneta Coliseum); a ''title sponsor'' replaces the property's original name with a corporate-sponsored name (as with most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Bank Center
The Central Bank Center (formerly known as Lexington Center) is an entertainment, convention and sports complex located on an site in downtown Lexington, Kentucky. It features a convention center, the Hyatt Regency Hotel, and Rupp Arena. It opened in 1976. On January 27, 2020, it was announced that Lexington Center's overall naming rights were sold to Central Bank, a local community bank, by the Lexington Center Corporation and JMI Sports, which handles the multimedia rights for both the LCC and the University of Kentucky. The Rupp name will continue to receive primacy in the fourteen-year agreement for the arena portion of the complex, and be known as "Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center". Components * Rupp Arena Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Central Bank Center (formerly Lexington Center), a convention and shopping facility ..., which at its op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SEC Network
SEC Network (SECN) is an American multinational sports network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications (which holds the remaining 20% interest). The channel is dedicated to coverage of collegiate sports sanctioned by the Southeastern Conference (SEC) including live and recorded event telecasts, news, analysis programs and other content focusing on the conference's member schools. As of August 2016, the network was estimated to be available in 70 million television households in the United States, more than any other conference-dedicated sports network and more than several professional league networks such as NBA TV, MLB Network, and NHL Network. The network's coverage serves as the successor to an eponymous syndication package (later renamed SEC TV), which was produced by its syndication arm ESPN Regional Television. SEC Network is operated out ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members include the Flagship university, flagship public universities of 12 states, 3 additional public Land-grant university, land-grant universities, and 1 private research university. The conference is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The SEC participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I in sports competitions. In College football, football, it is part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A. The SEC was established in 1932 by 13 members of the Southern Conference. Three charter members left by the late 1960s, but additions in 1990 and 2012 grew the conference to 14 member institutions. The conference expanded to 16 mem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IMG College
Learfield (often stylized as LEARFIELD) is a collegiate sports marketing company, representing more than 200 of the nation's top collegiate properties including the NCAA and its 89 championships, NCAA Football, leading conferences, and many of the most prestigious colleges and universities in the country. The company was previously known as Learfield IMG College before rebranding in 2021 to Learfield. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, Learfield employs more than 2,200 people in nearly 100 offices throughout the United States. The company was created in 2018 through the combination of Endeavor's IMG College division and Learfield Communications of Missouri, managed by the Atairos Group. IMG College was formed from the acquisition of Host Communications and The Collegiate Licensing Company in 2007. Additionally ISP Sports was acquired in 2010. In 2012, a joint venture with Learfield created IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions, now representing 30 universities in outsourced ticketing. Add ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Moores (baseball)
John Jay Moores (born July 9, 1944, in San Antonio, Texas, as John Jay Broderick) is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, and the former owner of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Early life Moores was born in San Antonio, Texas—the eldest son of Jack and Katherine Broderick. Jack Broderick abandoned his wife, son John, and two younger sons in 1948. In 1950, Katherine wed again, to Cyrus "Red" Moores, a photographer with the ''Corpus Christi Caller'' newspaper, and her sons were given their stepfather's name. Red Moores, by then in insurance, moved the family to Houston, Texas, in 1960, and John spent his high school years there. He left Texas A&M University before graduating and became a programmer for IBM. He later studied at the University of Houston where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in economics and a Juris Doctor from the University of Houston Law Center. Career Business He founded BMC Software in Texas in 1980, and was the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. The team plays its home games at Petco Park in downtown San Diego. Founded in 1969 as 1969 Major League Baseball expansion, an expansion franchise, the Padres adopted their name from the Pacific Coast League (PCL) team that arrived in San Diego in 1936. The team's name, Spanish for "fathers", refers to the Spanish Franciscan friars who founded Mission San Diego de Alcalá in 1769. In 1976, Randy Jones (baseball), Randy Jones achieved the first Cy Young Award for the Padres. In the 1980s, Tony Gwynn became a major star, winning eight National League List of Major League Baseball batting champions, batting titles. Under manager Dick Williams, the Padres clinched their first NL pennant, losing to the Detroit Tigers in the 1984 World Series. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitch Barnhart
Mitch Barnhart (born August 27, 1959) is an American college athletics administrator. He is the athletic director for the Kentucky Wildcats athletics program at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. Barnhart was hired by the university in 2002 succeeding Larry Ivy. Barnhart served in the same capacity at Oregon State University from 1998 to 2002. He is the university's tenth athletics director. In August 2023 Barnhart signed an extension on his contract which will keep him at Kentucky until 2028. Education Barnhart received his Bachelor of Arts from Ottawa University and a Master of Science in sports administration from Ohio University. Tenure at Kentucky Barnhart is currently the longest serving AD in the Southeastern Conference, SEC. For the 2016–17 school year, Kentucky athletics finished 10th nationally in the NACDA Directors' Cup, more than 100 student-athletes graduating, and finishing five straight years with an average GPA of over 3.0. As of 2017, several ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
