Business Unit News
'Big Ten Icons' to Count Down Conference's All-Time Top 50 Student-Athletes
Iconic broadcaster Keith Jackson to host the series launching this fall
Chicago (March 4, 2010) – Throughout the Big Ten Conference’s
illustrious history, many student-athletes have defined excellence: National
Champions, All-Americans, Olympians. Their jerseys hang from the rafters. They
are the standard against which all others are measured, the players who made the
conference big.
Beginning this fall, the Big Ten Network will celebrate these individuals with
its most ambitious project in its three-year history: a multi-platform event
whose centerpiece is a new 20-episode series, Big Ten Icons, hosted by legendary
college sports broadcaster Keith Jackson. The show debuts Sept. 18 following a
Big Ten Network football telecast in which Icon No. 20 will be revealed. The
countdown continues every Tuesday night through the end of football season and
into the spring. The No. 1 Big Ten Icon will be revealed around the 2011 Big Ten
Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Prior to the show’s on-air launch, Icons 50 through 21 will be revealed online
daily beginning in early September at
www.BigTenIcons.com and
www.facebook.com/BigTenIcons. The website will include a text and video
feature on each Icon.
The event also includes video on demand, mobile applications and myriad
marketing and social networking activities that kick off March 11 at the Big Ten
Men’s Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis and extend until the top Icon is
unveiled.
Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman said the network is creating a series
that will engage and spark conversation among sports fans everywhere. “What will
make Big Ten Icons stand out is the depth of the storytelling,” he said,
“focusing on collegiate rather than pro careers and highlighting previously
unknown stories behind the success of these student-athletes. The rankings
themselves are sure to generate quite a bit of discussion.”
The top-50 list and the order are being determined by a panel of on-air talent,
network executives, conference officials and long-time Big Ten observers.
Silverman said Jackson was the clear choice to host the show. “As the voice for
so many of college sports’ unforgettable games and moments, particularly
involving the Big Ten, he is a perfect match for this series,” he said.
Jackson said he’s excited about hosting the show. “The Big Ten Conference is
unsurpassed in the tradition of producing tremendous student-athletes and I have
been honored to cover so many of the great ones through the years,” Jackson
said. “It will be a great thrill to look back at the very best on Big Ten
Icons.”
Jackson’s long association with the Big Ten and college sports includes
play-by-play duties for ABC on Big Ten basketball games, football games and bowl
games during his 50-plus year Hall of Fame broadcasting career. Jackson was the
play-by-play announcer for 15 Rose Bowl games and is credited with coining the
nicknames, “the Grandaddy of them All,” for the Rose Bowl and the “Big House”
for Michigan Stadium.
Marketing efforts will engage fans Big Ten Icons will be supported with
extensive on-air and online marketing activities to engage fans, beginning this
month at the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis. Eight-foot
tall bobbleheads representing each school will be stationed around Conseco
Fieldhouse during the event. The bobbleheads will include Red Grange (Illinois),
Steve Alford (Indiana), Chuck Long (Iowa), Charles Woodson (Michigan), Mateen
Cleaves (Michigan State), Dave Winfield (Minnesota), Pat Fitzgerald
(Northwestern), Jesse Owens (Ohio State), John Cappelletti (Penn State), Drew
Brees (Purdue) and Ron Dayne (Wisconsin). Additionally, roaming Big Ten Icons
mascots will appear during the tournament and all around Indianapolis during
event week.
Fans will also have the opportunity to test their free-throw shooting and
football passing ability against the statistics of Big Ten greats like Brees and
Alford in “head-to-head” football and basketball tosses, while a halftime
three-point and free-throw competition will give a lucky fan the chance to win
10 “big ones.” ($10,000)
In addition, an online contest – the “Bobblethon” – will run from the tournament
through the end of July. Beginning March 11 on
www.BigTenIcons.com, Big Ten fans will
be encouraged to go online and click on their favorite bobblehead. The
university that receives the most clicks during the Bobblethon will win $10,000
for its alumni association’s scholarship fund. Fans also will get a chance to
win a trip for two to a Big Ten football game of their choice and other great
prizes.
*Editor’s note: A JPEG of Keith Jackson and Bob Griese calling the 1988 Sugar
Bowl for ABC Sports is available upon request.
About the Big Ten Network: The Big Ten Network is the first internationally
distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate
conferences in the country. With approximately 350 live events, and nearly all
of them in HD, the network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and
alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless
of where they live. The network operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,
showcasing a wide array of classic-to-current sports and televising more Olympic
sporting events and women’s sports than has ever been aired on any other
network. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some
of the nation’s finest universities. Each year, the network offers between 35
and 40 football games, 105 regular season men’s basketball games; 55 women’s
basketball games; dozens of Big Ten Championship events; studio shows; coaches’
shows; and classic games. Available to all cable and satellite providers
nationwide and in Canada, the network currently has agreements with more than
300 affiliates, including AT&T U-Verse, Atlantic Broadband, Cablevision,
Charter, Comcast, Cox (Cleveland, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Omaha), DirecTV,
DISH Network, Insight, Mediacom, Rogers Cable (Canada), Shaw Cable and Shaw
Direct (Canada), Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS. For updated information on
the Big Ten Network, go to
www.BigTenNetwork.com.
Contact:
Elizabeth Conlisk
(312) 665-0726