The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- October 25, 1999

Channel running

ESPN series helps cross country championships get a leg up on television exposure

BY SCOTT DEITCH
STAFF WRITER

With the dawning of a new millennium comes an exciting development in the exposure of the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships.

The men's and women's races, which will be held November 22 at Indiana University, Bloomington, will be featured for the first time as part of the long-running "Race of the Month" series that airs on ESPN. Scheduled to be the focus of the January show, the championships join a lineup of prestigious events, such as the Peachtree Road Race and Carlsbad 5000, that have been aired on the series.

"This is truly a win-win situation for both the series and the NCAA," said "Race of the Month" host Toni Reavis. "The show is gaining one of the premier running events held each year and the championships will be viewed by our very loyal audience."

"Race of the Month," now in its ninth season, airs twice monthly on ESPN. The series attempts to tell "the stories of elite and everyday runners around the world," according to promotional materials from Elite Racing Television Inc., the show's producer.

Covering the terrain

The opportunity to have the championships shown on a network that includes 175 million households internationally is an important step in the drive to have more collegiate cross country events broadcast.

"Our goal is to see a season-long series of races on television," said Beth Alford-Sullivan, women's cross country and track and field coach at Pennsylvania State University and president of the Women's Intercollegiate Cross Country Coaches Association.

"We have been working in conjunction with the U.S. Cross Country Coaches Association on this project," Alford-Sullivan said. "Both groups are excited about being on the 'Race of the Month' series."

The NCAA is grateful for the organizations' effort. "The coaches are committed to this endeavor and we congratulate them on this accomplishment," said Carl E. Daniels, NCAA assistant director of championships. "Having our championships associated with this series and on ESPN is a real plus for the sport."

One of the potential drawbacks to having events televised is having to make concessions that affect the actual competition. Alford-Sullivan is pleased, however, that such drawbacks should be averted in this situation.

"The course at Indiana has some rolling hills and some sharp uphill and downhill grades, but no areas in which a cameraman on a golf cart cannot track the leaders," she said. "Meet management will not have to make concessions, and we expect the taping to go smoothly."

Reavis echoed Alford-Sullivan's thoughts. "We have covered half-marathons in Guatemala and followed Ethiopian runners training in their home country, so we are used to taping runners on the move in all kinds of terrain."

Calling the strides

The half-hour show is broken into five segments, each of which will include action from the races. Other possible additions to the broadcast are interviews and profiles of some of the championships' top student-athletes and coaches.

Elite Racing Television also features an announcing team that should provide viewers with an in-depth and accurate view of cross country. Reavis is nearing the silver anniversary of his broadcasting career and has been the host of "Race of the Month" for its entire run. In addition, he has written for print outlets such as Runner's World magazine and was named Journalist of the Year in 1993 by the Road Runners Club of America.

Joining Reavis as an analyst is someone with first-hand knowledge of what it takes to be successful in the Division I championships.

As a student-athlete at Brigham Young University, Ed Eyestone won the 1984 men's individual title following an eighth-place finish in 1982 and a ninth-place effort the following year. Eyestone also is a two-time Olympian, competing in the marathon in both the 1988 and 1992 Games.

"Ed could be considered one of the family," Reavis said. "The perspective he can offer from having competed and won on this level certainly will enhance the broadcast."

So the pieces are in place for this year's television coverage -- a connection to a well-established series and a production company dedicated to running -- and air time on what is arguably the most widely recognized sports network in the world. The outlook for more broadcasts in future years appears to be brighter.

"We will do everything we can to put on a good show," Alford-Sullivan said. "Hopefully, it may lead to something bigger."

Editor's Note: The exact dates and times of the January "Race of the Month" telecasts on ESPN will be posted on the NCAA championships Web site (www.ncaachampionships.com) when they become available.