Centennial Kicks Off 30th Gridiron Season With Innovative Multimedia Event on Wednesday
The Centennial Conference, one of the nation's elite small college athletic conferences, will inaugurate its 30th gridiron season Aug. 1 with an innovative multimedia event.
Rather than host a traditional coaches' press conference to begin the 2012 season, the Conference's 10 head coaches will discuss their prospects for the upcoming year in three different interactive formats - a traditional question-and-answer session with the media; one-on-one conversations between each coach and WGAL sports personality Mike Straub; and a real-time blog that will feature questions from a live audience. The media Q&A and the one-on-one conversations will both be streamed live via the Conference website at www.centennial.org. The blog can also be accessed at the same location.
"To my knowledge, this is a first for both Divisions II and III," said Centennial Conference Executive Director Steve Ulrich. "We decided that, in order to reach as many interested members of the Centennial family as possible, we would employ a multi-pronged approach to launch the start of the football season. The formats that we chose will bring our Conference not only to the media, but also to our friends and fans who want to know more about Centennial Conference and Division III football. We will present this information in ways that traditionally have been unavailable to them. We are encouraging people to participate by viewing the live video streams, by submitting questions via Facebook, Twitter or the blog, and by taking an interactive role in the day's events. I know our coaches are excited about the upcoming season and about sharing that enthusiasm via the platforms that this event will provide."
The kickoff event will be held at Franklin & Marshall College beginning at 10:30 a.m. with a brief state of the conference address given by Ulrich that will also be streamed live. Coaches will then have 10-minute blocks at each station, fielding questions from both members of the media and interested fans.
Members of the media who are interested in attending the event in person should contact Kimberly Wenger at 717-358-4463 or kimberly.wenger@centennial.org.
The Centennial Conference has a long history of electronic innovations, including among the first college athletic conferences to have a website on the Internet (1995), streaming audio broadcasts with the Centennial Conference Broadcast Network (2005), and streaming video of athletic events since 2005.
In its 20th year of excellence on and off the field, the Centennial Conference is one of the nation's elite small college conferences. The Centennial Conference encourages athletic competition among national liberal arts colleges and universities (Bryn Mawr, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg, Haverford, Johns Hopkins, McDaniel, Muhlenberg, Swarthmore, Ursinus, Washington) that share similar academic aspirations and a commitment to the importance of the total educational experience of students engaged in sports. Intercollegiate athletics programs are an integral part of the life of the member institutions and flow from their educational objectives. Each institution provides a comprehensive, broad-based athletics program. All varsity sports are treated equitably, and every sport is important. The Centennial Conference crowns champions in 24 sports and continues to sponsor intercollegiate programs of national prominence for women and men.
More information on the event can be found on the Centennial Conference website at www.centennial.org/sports/fball/2012-13/kickoff/
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