In case you missed it, the Mountain West Conference announced a national television deal with ESPN earlier this week. The new deal, which is in addition to the agreement the conference already has with CBS Sports Network, will mean that up to 44 football and 56 men's basketball games will be televised annually on their various platforms.

Here is the official release from the Mountain West:

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Mountain West Conference announced it has reached agreement with ESPN to be a national television rights holder for Conference-controlled football and men's basketball games. The agreement, which begins with the 2013-14 season, was announced by Burke Magnus, ESPN senior vice president, college sports and Craig Thompson, MW Commissioner.  Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

CBS Sports Network remains the primary rights holder for the Mountain West. As part of this new agreement, CBS Sports Network and ESPN will alternate game selections (after initial picks by CBSSN) in football and men's basketball with ESPN controlling the rights to Boise State home football games. CBS Sports Network retains the rights to Bronco road football contests.

"The Mountain West looks forward to rejoining the ESPN networks beginning with our 15th season this fall," said MW Commissioner Craig Thompson. "Coupled with CBS Sports Network, we anticipate tremendous national exposure over several outlets as the league continues its growth and development."

"The Mountain West Conference and its member schools are committed to competitive excellence in intercollegiate athletics, and we think the strength of our programs on the courts and fields reflect this commitment," said Dr. Anthony A. Frank, Chair of the MW Board of Directors and President, Colorado State University. "We're also committed to providing our student-athletes, alumni and fans national access to our competitions, and we believe this agreement with ESPN is a further step in ensuring this availability and increasing our visibility to fans of college athletics nation-wide."

Between the two networks, up to 44 football and 56 men's basketball games will be televised annually on their various platforms. The CBS Sports Network and ESPN agreements are scheduled to run concurrently through 2019-20.

The Mountain West is in the process of negotiating an agreement for the inaugural MW Football Championship Game with CBS Sports Network, and has retained rights to sell additional packages on the MW Digital Network and to regional/local carriers.

Here are the links to the releases from the Mountain West and ESPN.

All 16 games of the 2013 Reese's Mountain West Championships will be broadcast live from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev., March 12-16.  A live webstream of the men's and women's first round games on Tuesday, March 12, will begin at 5 p.m. PT and will be available on the Mountain West Network through TheMWC.com.

The Nevada men play Wyoming on Tuesday at 5 p.m. and the Wolf Pack women take on Air Force at 7:30 p.m.

The men's quarterfinals and semifinals will be shown on CBS Sports Network and the March 16 championship game will be on CBS.

The women's quarterfinals and semifinals will be streamed on the Mountain West Network with the title game airing on the CBS Sports Network.

Link to the Mountain West Network

Full Broadcast Schedule (all times are PT)

Tuesday, March 12

5 p.m.         Men's Game 1: No. 8 Wyoming vs. No. 9 Nevada                      
Mountain West Network

7:30 p.m.    Women's Game 1: No. 8 Air Force vs. No. 9 Nevada                  
Mountain West Network

 

Wednesday, March 13 (Men's Quarterfinals)

Noon          Men's Game 2: No. 3 UNLV vs. No. 6 Air Force                         
CBS Sports Network

2:30 p.m.    Men's Game 3: No. 2 Colorado State vs. No. 7 Fresno State      
CBS Sports Network

6:30 p.m.    Men's Game 4: No. 1 New Mexico vs. Winner of 8 vs. 9             
CBS Sports Network

9 p.m.         Men's Game 5: No. 4 San Diego State vs. No. 5 Boise State      
CBS Sports Network

 

Thursday, March 14 (Women's Quarterfinals)

Noon          Women's Game 2: No. 1 San Diego State vs. Winner of 8 vs. 9  
Mountain West Network

2:30 p.m.    Women's Game 3: No. 4 UNLV vs. No. 5 New Mexico                
Mountain West Network

6 p.m.         Women's Game 4: No. 2 Fresno State vs. No. 7 Boise State      
Mountain West Network

8:30 p.m.    Women's Game 5: No. 3 Wyoming vs. No. 6 Colorado State      
Mountain West Network

 

Friday, March 15 (Semifinals)

Noon          Women's Game 6: Winners of Women's Game 2 & Game 3        
Mountain West Network

2:30 p.m.    Women's Game 7: Winners of Women's Game 4 & Game 5        
Mountain West Network

6 p.m.         Men's Game 6: Winners of Men's Game 4 & Game 5                  
CBS Sports Network

8:30 p.m.    Men's Game 7: Winners of Men's Game 2 & Game 3                  
CBS Sports Network

 

Saturday, March 16 (Championships)

3 p.m.         Men's Championship: Winners of Men's Game 6 & 7                  
CBS

7 p.m.         Women's Championship: Winners of Women's Game 6 & 7        
CBS Sports Network

 

University of Nevada recruit D.J. Fenner has been named the Seattle Times Washington Player of the Year.  Fenner signed a National Letter of Intent with the Wolf Pack in November and will join the team next season.

The 6-6 guard from Seattle Prep averaged 27.3 points per game and helped the Panthers to a 21-9 record and third consecutive berth in the state tournament.

Fenner was named to the all-tournament squad for the second year in a row after averaging 19.7 points per game.  The second leading scorer in Seattle Prep history he was also a first-team all-state selection by the Seattle Times.

Link to Seattle Times article

The University of Nevada football program has produced a number of professional players over the years, especially recently with the likes of Colin Kaepernick and Virgil Green (among a number of others) finding success in the NFL.
One of the pioneers of the game of the game is also one of our university's notable products in Hall of Famer Marion Motley. A punishing running back, Motley helped break the color barrier in professional football and has been called one of the best all-around players the game has ever known.
This week, Motley was recognized by Sports Illustrated as one of the top five running backs of all time.

Fresh off his appearance in the Super Bowl as the San Francisco 49ers' starter, former Wolf Pack quarterback Colin Kaepernick joined First Lady Michelle Obama, a host of other prominent athletes and thousands of school children and teachers in Chicago on Thursday, Feb. 28 to launch the Let's Move! Active Schools program, an initiative to bring physical activity back into schools.

(the above picture was tweeted by the First Lady)

Kaepernick is the second Wolf Pack student-athlete to join the First Lady's initiatives to fight childhood obesity and improve the health of children in the nation. He is sponsored by Nike and the company donated $50 million to the initiative. Former Wolf Pack basketball star Tahnee Robinson is involved in the Let's Move! In Indian Country initative, joining Michelle Obama for a clinic at the White House and filming a public service announcement. Click here to watch her PSA.

Kaepernick did a great interview with the NFL Network this week, talking about his experience with the First Lady (he taught her to "Kaepernick" with her) as well as his thoughts on the Alex Smith trade.

More information about Let's Move! Active Schools is available at LetsMoveSchools.org.

New Wolf Pack football season ticketholder D'Arcy Ellisen of Escalon, Calif., will get a chance to see former Wolf Pack quarterback Colin Kaepernick in person next year.

Ellisen is the winner of Nevada's Colin Kaepernick season ticket contest and will receive four tickets and pregame field passes to the San Francisco 49ers' home opener this fall. She was randomly selected in a drawing from all Wolf Pack fans who renewed or purchased new season tickets prior to February 1.

Ellisen said that she and her family first came to Wolf Pack games when her daughter, now a sophomore, decided to attend the University of Nevada. Her family came to check out the university and became fans of the Silver and Blue. The 2013 season will be her first year as a season ticketholder, and Ellisen and her family will make the three-hour drive from Escalon for Nevada home games.

"We really enjoy the games. Nevada is a great place to watch football," she said. "We're looking forward to next season."

Season tickets for the 2013 season are currently on sale, starting at $90 per seat.  Fans can buy season tickets online at NevadaWolfPack.com or by calling (775) 348-PACK.

The 4^th Annual Blue Tie Ball is on Saturday, March 30^th at the Peppermill Resort Casino.  Wolf Pack Athletics has partnered with the Whispering Vine to create the ultimate Auction item for this year's Blue Tie Ball.

 

From now until Friday, March 1st, you can go to either Whispering Vine Wine location (Mayberry or Foothill) and purchase a bottle of wine to be donated to the Wolf Pack wine barrel silent auction item and you will receive 2 FREE tickets to the UNLV vs. Nevada Wolf Pack Men's Basketball game on Saturday, March 2nd, the state rivalry game! 50 pairs of tickets will be given away at each location.

 

Go to Whispering Vine today to get your tickets and donate your bottle of wine!  For tickets and more information on the Blue Tie Ball, go to nevadawolfpack.com/bluetieball or "Like" us at Facebook.com/bluetieball.

Air Force Captain Katie Jannazo guided the Nevada women's basketball team on a tour of the academy Thursday before an afternoon practice. The team got a chance to walk inside the Air Force chapel and also got an inside look of the dorms that the cadets live in.Jannazo filled the team in on some of the daily routines the cadets go through and provided a lot of history of the academy. Nevada will face Air Force Saturday afternoon at Clune Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.

The team visited the U.S.A Olympic training center in Colorado Springs after practice on Friday. The squad ate lunch on site and toured the facilities used by our U.S Olympic athletes.

Today is National Signing Day for football, soccer and track and field, which means that over 25 new student-athletes are joining the Wolf Pack family (click here and here for some great coverage of our new football and soccer student-athletes). But it is also National Girls and Women in Sports Day, which celebrates the participation and excellence of girls and women in athletics.

We couldn't help think that Signing Day is a perfect day to take a minute to reflect on the thousands of Wolf Pack men and women who have had the opportunity to continue playing the sports they love at the collegiate level and earn their degrees as we welcome this new crop of Wolf Pack student-athletes.

In celebration of Girls and Women in Sports Day, Nevada Athletics will holding an All-Sports Clinic with the Pack on Saturday, Feb. 23 at Lawlor Events Center prior to the women's basketball game vs. San Diego State.

Student-athletes from all of Nevada's sports will be staffing sports stations and women's basketball will be holding a pregame clinic for boys and girls - all for free. Check-in is from 2-2:30 p.m. at Section 22 on the upper concourse at Lawlor Events Center and the pregame clinic runs from 2:30-3 p.m. The sports stations will be running from 3-3:45 p.m. and participants are welcome to stay for the women's basketball game, which tips off at 4 p.m.

It's a great day for children to learn about all of our Wolf Pack sports, and we hope that all of our young fans will be able to join us on Feb. 23.

Here's a photo from one of our great clinics in the past: