SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Notre Dame College and ESPN Cleveland have partnered to broadcast NDC Football games and other Falcon Athletic programming, beginning this fall.
The multi-level agreement includes the broadcast of all 11 games of NDC Football's upcoming inaugural season. The Falcons' Aug. 28 opener against Mercyhurst (Pa.) will be broadcast live on ESPN 850 AM WKNR, and ensuing games will be aired on ESPN 1540 KNR2. All 11 games will also be streamed live on espncleveland.com.
The partnership also includes the streaming of 10 basketball games on espncleveland.com, a weekly show with Notre Dame head football coach
Adam Howard on KNR2 and 10 live remote broadcasts from the NDC campus on winter-sport game days from November through March.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to work with a well-respected broadcast partner and tell the stories of our student-athletes,” said NDC director of athletics Sue Hlavacek. “This partnership will give us a strong presence in the Cleveland area and beyond due to the great array of programming that ESPN Cleveland provides.”
Howard will headline the weekly KNR2 show in the fall. The show will provide an insider view of Falcon Football, complete with game highlights, a preview of the next game and an “Academic Extra Point” segment. In addition to its weekly slot on 1540 KNR2, the show will be podcast and available online at espncleveland.com. The ESPN Cleveland website will also feature a Falcon Athletics page, which will offer the latest news and information on NDC's 23 athletic programs.
“Having our games broadcast on ESPN Cleveland will be a fantastic way to continue to build the excitement for NDC Football,” said Howard, who took the helm of Falcon Football in January 2009.
Notre Dame will look to capitalize on that excitement in November, when basketball and the defending NAIA-champion Wrestling Falcons take center stage. Prior to 10 of their home events, the NDC campus will play host to live remote broadcasts on WKNR. ESPN Cleveland on-air personalities will be joined by the ESPN Cleveland Street Team, which will conduct giveaways and on-site games.
With their broadcasts of football and other programming, Notre Dame becomes the first local college or university to have games on ESPN Cleveland properties and the only other football program besides Ohio State to broadcast on WKNR or KNR2.
“As a local sports marketing company, ESPN Cleveland always strives to provide local content,” said ESPN Cleveland general manager Keith Williams. “We are proud to be a part of the growing Notre Dame College sports family. We look forward to broadcasting the Falcons inaugural football season on ESPN 850 WKNR and ESPN 1540 KNR2."
Notre Dame College is a co-educational liberal arts institution in South Euclid, Ohio. The Notre Dame Department of Athletics sponsors the Falcons' participation in 23 men's and women's intercollegiate sports. The College is affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the American Mideast Conference (AMC). In July 2009, the NCAA announced that Notre Dame had a membership application approved. In 2009-10, the Falcons competed as a Candidacy Year-One institution in the NCAA Division-II membership process. NDC Football is the only scholarship football program in metropolitan Cleveland.
ESPN 850 WKNR and 1540 KNR2, Cleveland's only two all sports stations, are owned by Good Karma Broadcasting, LLC. Good Karma Broadcasting owns and operates eleven radio stations in Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Florida.
