Aug. 13, 2002

SAN BRUNO, CA (Aug. 13, 2002) - The West Coast Conference (WCC) today announced that it has reached a multi-year programming agreement with the nation's first 24-hour all-college sports network, the National College Sports Network (NCSN). As part of the agreement, NCSN will have the rights to cover championships, tournaments, events and regular season games across a variety of men's and women's sports of The West Coast's member schools.

"The West Coast Conference-NCSN relationship will provide welcome national attention for all of our men's and women's sport teams that generally do not benefit from national television exposure," said WCC Commissioner Michael Gilleran. "This partnership with NCSN will enable The West Coast Conference to build awareness and appreciation for our student-athletes and sports programs in new markets."

NCSN will cover the action of men's and women's basketball, cross-country, golf, soccer, and tennis. Also showcased will be baseball, in addition to women's rowing and volleyball.

"Since our initial announcement last month to build the nation's first 24-hour cable network for college sports, the response by college sports fans, athletes, administrators and athletic directors has been nothing short of extraordinary," said Brian Bedol, President, CEO and co-founder of the network. "Today we are one important step closer to delivering on our promise to be the home of college sports in this country."

The WCC is one of the first major college conferences to strike an agreement with the soon-to-be-launched cable network. NCSN expects to announce others shortly.

"Our new agreement with the West Coast Conference reaffirms our vision that NCSN offers great value to conference and university athletic programs and their student-athletes through national television exposure," said Chris Bevilacqua, executive vice president and co-founder of NCSN. " With the success of West Coast Conference programs such as the defending NCAA Women's Soccer Champions we expect to achieve our goal to resent the 'best of the best' of college sports."

Schools of the West Coast Conference include:

Gonzaga University
Loyola Marymount University
University of Portland
Pepperdine University
Saint Mary's College
University of San Diego
University of San Francisco
Santa Clara University

About The West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference (www.wccsports.com) is an association of eight private institutions whose members are dedicated to providing opportunities for student-athletes to achieve their fullest potential, both on the playing field and in the classroom.

The league is characterized by the stability of its membership--only two conferences have been together longer--and its unique emphasis on combining excellence in athletics with excellence in academics. The WCC has produced 24 NCAA individual or team champions and numerous Academic All-Americans.

About NCSN
The National College Sports Network (NCSN) is the first cable network devoted exclusively to college sports, including a significant commitment to women's sports. It was co-founded by Brian Bedol, Stephen Greenberg and Chris Bevilacqua. Mr. Bedol and Mr. Greenberg were co-founders of Classic Sports Network, which they later sold to ESPN. Mr. Bevilacqua is a former senior executive with Nike Inc. where he headed that company's successful foray into the college market. NCSN is headquartered in New York City. It is expected to launch during the first quarter of 2003.