The NCAA's bundled-rights agreement with CBS is largely known for giving the network exclusive television rights to the Division I Men's Basketball Championship, other championship events and marketing opportunities related to all NCAA championships.

But also within that contract is an agreement to "produce and broadcast on live national over-the-air network television...a monthly television program of at least 30 minutes in length each contract year on all the championships, NCAA member institutions and NCAA student-athletes."

That one small paragraph within the vast bundled-rights agreement has become what is now known as "NCAA On Campus."

The television show, potentially seen by more than 150 million people each month, is at the core of what the Association is all about. It promotes the educational values of the NCAA, and gives the public a more well-rounded view of student-athletes and intercollegiate athletics.

"People had their own perceptions of what the NCAA was and what the Association was about, and we looked at this as a tool that we could use to tell people what we really were and what we really are all about," said Frank Rhodes, manager of broadcasting for the NCAA.

The NCAA requested that NCAA On Campus be part of the bundled-rights agreement for several reasons:

To highlight the positive accomplishments of NCAA student-athletes and member institutions.

To showcase the Association's commitment to the education and well-being of the NCAA student-athlete.

To entertain the viewer by showing the student-athletes' abilities both on and off the field of competition.

To promote the NCAA brand and image, as well as provide additional exposure for member colleges and universities and their positive effect on their respective communities.

"We wanted the opportunity to have a show on a national network that showed the student-athlete beyond the championships," said Greg Weitekamp, NCAA associate director of broadcasting. The show also provides an opportunity for exposure to sports and athletes that normally would not get publicity.

Mike Aresco, senior vice-president of programming for CBS Sports, said when discussing how to best produce and distribute a monthly show about the NCAA, it was decided that the product would be better served by airing on a cable channel rather than a network channel.

"We didn't feel that it would make economic or programming sense to put it on CBS," Aresco said. "It just wasn't going to work."

Aresco said after looking at various options, CBS decided to contract with Fox Sports Net to produce and distribute the show. NCAA On Campus premiered on Thanksgiving Day of 2002.

Finding the best stories

It takes about 15 people and 12 days to put together a single episode of NCAA On Campus, said John Grogan, who serves as the show's producer and has been involved with it since the beginning.

It all starts with story ideas, and each show includes four distinct stories in addition to regular features, such as "Ask Myles" or "30 Seconds With." Story ideas can come from anywhere -- NCAA staff members, member institutions or conferences, current news events of interest, other sports-related periodicals or student-athletes themselves.

"Believe it or not, it's pretty hard, because we tend to get a lot of the same type of themes from people," said Grogan. "One that comes to mind is someone who has overcome an illness -- that's one thing that keeps coming up. We've done a lot of those and they're great stories, but we can't do them all."

Grogan said some of his favorite features have been about Loyola College (Maryland) women's lacrosse coach Diane Geppi-Aikens, who coached from a wheelchair while battling brain cancer, to which she eventually succumbed; and Mike Higgins, a deaf soccer student-athlete who transferred from George Washington University to Gallaudet University, a school known for its programs for hearing-impaired students.

Those inspirational stories are frequent subjects, and Grogan knows their importance, but he said, "We'd also like to get more off-beat stories, quirky stories."

Rhodes also said he likes to see the show tackle "issue" stories, such as sports wagering on campus or steroid use among student-athletes, in addition to student-athlete profiles and those types of stories. Segments also may feature NCAA programs, such as the Title IX Seminar, the internship program or the Walter Byers postgraduate scholarship winners.

"The mission that I think the NCAA has is to help the student-athletes, number one, but in doing that it's not necessarily everything is good in la-la land," he said. "Most of the stories are positive stories, but we also look at sensitive issues that we're aware of and we attempt to show how (the Association) is addressing those issues."

Rhodes said all efforts are made to ensure that all divisions are represented, along with all NCAA-sponsored sports, and that student-athletes of both genders and all ethnicities are represented.

Once the stories are chosen, the production cycle begins. Shoots are set up with the student-athletes being featured or those who are knowledgeable about the issues being discussed, and local crews are hired for filming.

For example, Grogan said, if a shoot is taking place at the University of Iowa, he will contact a local Fox affiliate for a crew, which consists of a cameraperson and a field producer. The crew will typically spend eight hours on location for one shoot.

Grogan, and those he works with, will send a list of questions to the field producer. A camera crew will get shots of the student-athlete in class, at practice or at a game, and usually interviews will be conducted with the student-athlete's friends, teammates or coaches to enhance the story.

Tapes are then sent to Grogan in Los Angeles, and he and an associate director edit the feature into a three-minute segment.

The hosts

Once all the features for a specific show are compiled, the entire show has to be edited together, along with segments featuring the show's two hosts -- Patrick O'Neal on the West Coast and Sage Steele on the East Coast -- and all of this, along with commercials, is packed together into a show that runs for 29 minutes and 45 seconds.

When NCAA On Campus first began, O'Neal was its only host, but last September, Steele was added as an additional host for the show. They do their hosting responsibilities from a college campus, and it's their job to introduce the show and each segment.

O'Neal, who also hosts several other sports programs for Fox Sports Net, said he was approached by a producer he'd previously worked with about the show and thought he would enjoy working on such a program.

When he first started, he traveled around the country to campuses in Austin, Orlando, Boston, Chicago and other places, but now he does his stand-ups primarily from colleges in Southern California.

O'Neal, who played Division III junior varsity basketball at the University of La Verne, said he enjoys working with intercollegiate athletics, in addition to his other duties involving professional athletics.

"I just like the stories we're telling," said O'Neal, who counts Division II features about a student-athlete in Florida who escaped a war in Africa to come here, and another about a married basketball player with children who balances college and athletics, as being among his favorite stories. "That's what I like about college -- the amateur athletes seem more passionate, because of lot of them aren't going to go pro," he said. "They perform because they love what they're doing."

Steele, who also is a host of a half-hour sports show with Comcast Sports Net and serves as a beat reporter for the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, said she, too, enjoys working with intercollegiate sports.

"I really love the little-guy stories. You just don't hear enough about them," she said. "All these kids are working hard. I just wish there were more hours in the day that we could do more stories and then more hours of the show.

"There is an abundance of stories and you just can't fit them all in. That's one thing I'd like to do more, pat more kids on the back."

O'Neal said one nice change from working with college student-athletes, as opposed to pros, is that they are generally excited to be part of the program and easy to work with because they don't get the exposure that professional athletes generally receive.

Also, Steele said, it's nice to feature student-athletes and sports that normally would not receive much recognition, especially on a national platform.

"I think people wouldn't have the opportunity to see what these college kids were doing if it wasn't for a show like this," she said. "There are so many good kids out there...and we're trying to focus on some of those kids who don't get as much credit as the star quarterback of a Division I school."

Distribution

NCAA On Campus is potentially seen by more than 150 million people each month, as the show is broadcast on Fox Sports Net affiliates around the country. However, Rhodes said, because the show is regionalized -- meaning different affiliates show it at different times -- it's difficult to promote and hard to judge how many people actually see any given episode.

"That's the big challenge I have with the show," he said. "The potential is that the show is seen by more than 150 million individuals every month. The reality is that it's not that heavily viewed, I don't think, given the Neilson ratings that I've received.

"Because it's regionalized, there's no viable promotional vehicle for it. It's on every month and it's on everywhere, but there's no consistency as to when it is on nationally."

In May, for example, the show premiered on May 14 at 3 p.m. in various markets. It also was shown at 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. that day in other markets. It was then shown at various times by various affiliates throughout the country, throughout the month.

While some showed it during prime viewing hours, others aired it when few people who would be likely to watch it were available, such as Sunday, May 16, at 5:30 a.m. by Fox Sports Southwest, or Monday, May 24, at 2:30 p.m. by Fox Sports New England.

Mike Feller, vice-president of programming for Fox Sports Net, said he has little control over when and where the show airs.

"It's a choice that's up to the individual regional program," he said. "We distribute it on a certain date, on a monthly basis...and we ask them to air it at least once, maybe twice...but we don't really have any mandates on when they should air it. We kind of leave it up to them."

The show should appear in every market that has a Fox Sports Net affiliate, he said. However, the two Comcast regions have a right to not air it.

Sue Willey, director of athletics at the University of Indianapolis, agrees that the distribution is the major drawback of the show. Willey was featured on the program last fall, but was unable to see it until she caught it at the NCAA Convention in January when the show was aired on the hotel's television system.

"That's a huge problem. It's just too bad we're not getting the viewership that would be beneficial," said Willey, who chairs the Division II Management Council. "It's a great program; it allows institutions and personnel to showcase their departments. I think it's a fantastic thing. For us, in Division II, as much viewership as we can get, that's going to help our cause, because most people don't think of anything other than Division I. The more we can get our story out there, the better.

"But unfortunately with NCAA On Campus, unless you have the various package or satellite or whatever that carries it, it's limited."

Looking ahead

Rhodes said his main goal for the future of NCAA On Campus is to eventually have a national-distribution platform so the show can be promoted and seen by more people.

Recently, Rhodes had an opportunity to nationally promote the show because Fox Sports Net South aired the Division III Women's Basketball Championship, and he was able to work with Grogan to produce and air promos during the game. Rhodes said he'd like to have similar opportunities in the future.

Grogan said his goal is to continue to find compelling stories to interest viewers and bring them into the lives of NCAA student-athletes.

"I enjoy finding the best stories we possibly can," he said. "I'll look forward to finding better and better stories, digging a little deeper."