Boston University Launches NCAA's First Video Podcasts for Athletics

Boston University has become the first in the nation to make video downloads of its athletic contests, game highlights and other video content available through the iTunes Music Store.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060311/NYSA002 )

BU Athletics debuted this innovative new service with a video podcast following yesterday's 4-1 Boston University victory over the University of Massachusetts in the Hockey East Tournament quarterfinals. Podcast downloads, averaging three-and-a-half minutes in length, will be available free of charge approximately one hour after Terrier home hockey games. This will give BU fans, students and alumni a new way to follow their beloved Terriers. And it will help fill the void in college hockey where television coverage can be sporadic and often only available in local markets.

The Boston University men's ice hockey team, ranked third in the nation, ended the regular season on a roll, finishing with a 16-2-2 record in the last 20 games to earn the Hockey East crown for the first time since 2000. In its storied history, the BU men's ice hockey team has amassed four NCAA Championships, 27 Beanpot Titles and sent 55 players on to play in the National Hockey League. "With this service, our fans can now get the content they want and view it at their convenience," said Boston University Director of Athletics, Michael Lynch. "We are proud of this offering and look forward to providing this advantage to our fans."

Boston University's Athletic Department, an NCAA Division I institution with 24 men's and women's varsity programs, will provide a variety of games, game highlights, interviews and unique content to its 250,000 alumni worldwide, 16,000 undergraduate students, 12,000 graduate students and 9,000 faculty and staff.

"With the rising popularity of iPods, iTunes and audio podcasts, we saw a great opportunity to bring Boston University to the forefront of portable technology," said Boston University Director of Information Systems Planning and Support, Michael Giannopoulos. "The athletic department's diverse fan base of students, faculty, staff and alumni made it the logical launching pad to get this emerging technology off the ground, into people's hands, and onto their iPods. We are thrilled to be the first university to offer athletic content this way."

In using the iTunes Music Store, subscribers will be able to download video clips and transfer it to their iPod. For fans without iPods, all video clips can be viewed on both laptop and desktop computers through Apple's free iTunes software.

Starting with the unveiling of a new athletics website in August 2005, Boston University has implemented a number of technological initiatives, including webcasting of select home hockey games, streaming video highlights, and now, video podcasting.

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