Dec. 12, 2008

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- SportsTime Ohio will once again be the television home for Cleveland State basketball this winter as part of a multi-faceted agreement between CSU and the regional cable sports network, bringing Viking basketball games to a potential four million homes in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and New York. The announcement was made on Friday (Dec. 12) by CSU Director of Athletics Lee Reed and Pat Kilkenny, STO Executive Producer & Vice-President of Programming.

As part of the agreement, STO will televise live at least five Viking road basketball games this season, starting with the Jan. 3 game at Detroit. STO will also air the games at Green Bay (Jan. 15), Milwaukee (Jan. 17), UIC (Feb. 5) and Loyola (Feb. 7).

The Viking Basketball Report, a weekly 30-minute highlight show, returns for a third season as well, allowing Viking fans to gain valuable insight about the team from head coach Gary Waters.

"I am happy to welcome SportsTime Ohio back as our television broadcast partner," Reed said. "SportsTime Ohio and Cleveland State are natural partners who have worked together over the last three years and benefited from each other's growth. I look forward to more great things this season."

"It's great that fans in northeast Ohio and around the midwest will be able to enjoy another exciting season of Cleveland State Basketball on SportsTime Ohio," Kilkenny said. "We've enjoyed the partnership that we've had over the last three seasons and we look forward to continuing to grow together. Just like last year when we chronicled CSU's journey to the NIT, we hope that we will be able to provide Viking fans with all of the excitement of this season."

To begin its third year working with Viking Basketball, STO will air the Time-Warner Cable production of Monday's (Dec. 15) game at Syracuse, incorporating into the broadcast live post-game comments from CSU head coach Gary Waters.

Mike Cairns, a 22-year television veteran, returns for his third season as play-by-play voice and host of The Viking Basketball Report while former Viking hoops standout Franklin Edwards will provide the color commentary of games.