Sportsnet today announced it has reached a six-year agreement with Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), the national governing body of university sport in Canada, for the multiplatform rights to an all-encompassing portfolio of sports across television, online, and mobile.
The agreement, which begins this season and runs through the 2018/19 school year, features expanded coverage of men’s and women’s CIS sports, headlined by the Vanier Cup and including the following marquee events: Football (Mitchell Bowl and Uteck Bowl), Men’s and Women’s Hockey Championships; Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, and more to be announced at a later date.
Coverage for the 2013-14 season features 13 events, beginning with men’s football later this year. Sportsnet’s The Score will be one of the main hubs of CIS coverage, continuing its strong tradition of broadcasting university sports and amateur athletics, which began in 2002. Broadcast details will be announced in the coming weeks.
“CIS athletes have proven they can compete at world-class levels, and now they will receive the world-class coverage they deserve,” said Navaid Mansuri, Vice-President, Programming, Sportsnet. “The CIS is a highly-valued, long-term partner, and we look forward to working with them to significantly increase the profile of Canadian university sports and expose the country to some of our best athletes and stars in the making – along with sharing the game-day excitement from campuses across Canada. The sky is the limit from here.”
“This is a historic day for university sport in Canada,” said Pierre Lafontaine, Chief Executive Officer of CIS. “This expanded, long-term partnership with Sportsnet will help elevate the CIS brand and provide our 11,000 student athletes, 700 coaches and 54 member institutions the recognition they deserve. It will serve to shine a light on the many outstanding accomplishments of our student-athletes who will move on to become future leaders in this country and around the world.”
In addition to the various men’s and women’s events, Sportsnet now becomes the exclusive home of the Vanier Cup, the historic championship football game played each season between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. This year, the 2013 Vanier Cup will take place on Saturday, Nov. 23 on the campus of Université Laval in Quebec City. The Vanier Cup will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2014.
