More than 20 Hours of Live News and Tournament Coverage from Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan.
Golf Central to Provide Wraparound News Programming Produced on Location From Prairie Dunes
Notah Begay Returns to Golf Channel’s Broadcast Team Following One-Month Absence While Recovering From Heart Attack
NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships Live Streamed on Golf Live Extra
HUTCHINSON, Kan., May 23, 2014 – The NCAA and Golf Channel are preparing for unprecedented coverage of the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships when 30 teams and six student athletes tee-it-up at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan., for both team and individual championship honors. Golf Channel will air live, exclusive tournament coverage Monday, May 26 – Wednesday, May 28 from 5-8 p.m. ET, providing fans a closer look at team and individual accomplishments and open the competition to a national viewership. In addition, Golf Channel will live stream tournament coverage online viaGolf Live Extra.
Golf Channel will dedicate its full suite of production resources to the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships, featuring nine hours of live tournament coverage from Prairie Dunes Country Club. In addition, Golf Central will originate on-location with 11 hours of pre-and post-event news coverage, as well as daily news updates on Morning Drive and online at GolfChannel.com.
The 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships will feature the top collegiate golfers in America and the game’s future stars. Featuring a new tournament format, 30 teams and six student-athletes – who advanced from NCAA Regional Qualifying – will compete in an individual stroke-play format over 54 holes (Friday-Sunday, May 23-25). Golf Channel’s live coverage will begin on Monday, May 26, when the low 40 individuals and ties will compete in the fourth and final round to determine the individual national champion. On Tuesday, May 27 (quarterfinals and semifinals) and Wednesday, May 28 (finals), the low eight teams from the 54-hole qualifying will compete in match play competition to determine the team national champion, with live coverage each day from 5-8 p.m. ET.
Golf Channel NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships Tournament Coverage
Monday, May 26 Final Round, Individual Stroke Play 5-8 p.m. ET (Live)
Tuesday, May 27 Semifinals, Team Match Play 5-8 p.m. ET (Live)
Wednesday, May 28 Finals, Team Match Play 5-8 p.m. ET (Live)
Live Streaming on Golf Live Extra: Live tournament action and news coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships also will be streamed online and through any mobile device via Golf Channel’s Golf Live Extra application.
Golf Channel Tournament Broadcast Team
Golf Channel’s NCAA Men’s Division I Golf Championships broadcast team will be as follows:
Bob Papa Play-by-Play host
Lanny Wadkins Lead Analyst (3-time NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships participant – 1969 (10th), 1970 (2nd) and 1971 (6th), Wake Forest University). Also a participant in the 2006 U.S. Senior Open at Prairie Dunes.
Curt Byrum Tower Announcer (Participant in 1979 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships, University of New Mexico).
Notah Begay On-Course Reporter (Member of the 1994 NCAA Team National Champions, Stanford University).
Billy Ray Brown On-Course Reporter (1982 NCAA Individual Champion, member of 3-time NCAA Team National Champions, University of Houston).
Steve Burkowski Interviews (Golf Channel College Insider, host of Golf Channel’s College Central news show from 2003-2006).
After a month’s absence while recovering from a recent heart attack, Notah Begay is set to rejoin Golf Channel’s broadcast team, serving as an on-course reporter for Golf Channel’s live tournament coverage. Begay, a Stanford University golf alum, also will serve as an analyst for Golf Central’s news coverage surrounding the tournament.
Golf Central Live From Prairie Dunes
Beginning Sunday, May 25, Golf Central will air on location from a dedicated set at Prairie Dunes Country Club, delivering wraparound coverage before and after tournament play. Kelly Tilghman (Duke University, 2-time NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships participant), Charlie Rymer (Georgia Tech, 4-time NCAA Men’s Golf Championships participant), Holly Sonders (Michigan State University) and Golf Channel’s college insider Steve Burkowski will anchor the network’s news coverage, with highlights, interviews, analysis and special features. Buddy Alexander, longtime men’s golf coach at the University of Florida who recently announced his retirement after this season, will join Golf Central and Morning Drive as guest analyst Monday-Wednesday from Prairie Dunes.
An expanded Golf Central on Wednesday (1-5 p.m. ET) will lead into the team match play finals.
Morning Drive
Golf Channel will begin each morning of the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships with the latest results and analysis on Morning Drive, featuring live interviews and reports from Holly Sonders and Buddy Alexander on-site at Prairie Dunes and previewing tournament action later in the day.
GolfChannel.com Expands Digital Coverage
GolfChannel.com has expanded its collegiate editorial presence to provide comprehensive coverage leading up to and during the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships as part of College Central (www.GolfChannel.com/college). College Central will be the source for all things NCAA golf, including tournament results, scoring, features and columns, video highlights and breaking news.
2014 marks the return of the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships to live television after a 14-year absence. Through a multi-year partnership with the NCAA, Golf Channel will air tournament action from both the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships beginning in 2015. The 2015 championships are scheduled to be contested at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla., and hosted by the University of South Florida. The 2015 championships will mark the first time since 1997 that the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship will air live on television.
NCAA Men’s Division I Golf Championships / Golf Channel Programming Schedule
Sunday, May 25 Golf Central 6-7 p.m. ET
Monday, May 26 Morning Drive 7-10 a.m. ET
Golf Central Pre Game 3-5 p.m. ET
NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships
Individual Stroke Play Final Round 5-8 p.m. ET
Tuesday, May 27 Morning Drive 7-10 a.m. ET
Golf Central Pre Game 3-5 p.m. ET
NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships
Team Match Play Semi Finals 5-8 p.m. ET
Wednesday, May 28 Morning Drive 7-10 a.m. ET
Golf Central Pre Game 1-5 p.m. ET
NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships
Team Match Play Finals 5-8 p.m. ET
ABOUT THE NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 450,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.NCAA.org and www.NCAA.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.
ABOUT GOLF CHANNEL
Golf Channel is a multimedia, golf entertainment and services company based in Orlando, Fla. Golf Channel, co-founded by Arnold Palmer in 1995 and now part of the NBC Sports Group, is available in more than 120 million homes and 83 countries worldwide. Exclusive partnerships with the world’s top tours allow Golf Channel to feature more live golf coverage than all other networks combined, as well as a programming schedule distinguished by golf’s highest-quality news, instruction and original programming. Golf Channel’s digital platforms, led by GolfChannel.com, are the leading golf destinations on the Internet, delivering unmatched coverage of the world of golf, as well as services that connect the world to golf. Fans are able to enjoy 24/7 live streaming of Golf Channel content through GolfChannel.com and Golf Channel’s mobile application, Golf Live Extra. Golf Channel programming also is available via SiriusXM’s PGA TOUR Radio.
-NBC Sports Group-
