The NCAA, CBS Sports and SportsLine.com, Inc., have announced that SportsLine.com has entered into an agreement to sublicense rights from CBS Sports to produce, host and manage the official NCAA championship Web site (http://ncaasports.com) through 2006.

CBS Sports received the NCAA's Internet rights as part of its long-term bundled-rights arrangement with the NCAA that includes coverage of the Division I Men's Basketball Championship and 65 other championships, as well as radio, corporate marketing, licensing, publishing and special-events rights. The rights sublicensed to SportsLine.com also include the exclusive right to provide Internet broadcasts of championships.

Separately, SportsLine.com announced it will dispose of its gaming information operations, consisting of VegasInsider.com and Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

"We are pleased that SportsLine.com will be working with us and the NCAA on this key Internet effort," said Sean McManus, president of CBS Sports. "CBS wanted the very best in Internet development for this project, and having produced CBS SportsLine.com since 1997, SportsLine.com clearly has demonstrated to us first-hand that it brings that level of experience to the effort."

CBS, and its parent company Viacom, also have committed creative resources to support the Association's anti-sports-wagering interests, including television-exposure opportunities provided on an annual basis.

"This partnership reflects the strength of SportsLine.com as the premiere provider of turnkey Internet sports solutions," said Michael Levy, founder and CEO of SportsLine.com. "The disposal of VegasInsider.com and Las Vegas Sports Consultants will allow us to achieve our primary long-term financial objectives by focusing on our core business including proprietary-branded properties."

"CBS has been responsive to the NCAA's needs specific to year-round Internet coverage of all NCAA national championships," said Myles Brand, president of the NCAA. "The CBS-SportsLine.com sublicense agreement clearly meets those needs.

"Just as important to the NCAA is the disposal of VegasInsider.com and Las Vegas Sports Consultants by SportsLine.com, as well as the other steps SportsLine.com and CBS Sports have taken to support the NCAA's position regarding sports wagering."

The new site will replace all NCAA championship sports sites, including finalfour.net, with one new branded property, ncaasports.com. Programming on the new site will feature in-depth coverage of all championship events administered by the NCAA, as well as a vast array of year-round content including student-athlete features, standings, stats, brackets, event results and on-site championship information, including tickets, local events and activities.

Exclusive championship coverage of marquee events telecast by CBS Sports, such as the Division I Men's Basketball Championship, will be enhanced with live stats and play-by-play, featuring SportsLine.com's best-of-breed live GameCenter product, as well as live audio, video and other real-time features. Other features include the official NCAA sports online shop, with officially licensed merchandise bearing the logos of the NCAA, its championships and many of its individual member institutions. The site, which will launch this month, will receive on-air promotion on CBS telecasts of NCAA championship events.