April 22, 2008

BERKELEY - The University of California Athletic Department and ISP Sports, the exclusive multi-media and advertising rights holder for the Golden Bears since 2005, have reached an agreement to extend their relationship through 2017.

The announcement was jointly made Tuesday by Cal Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour and Ben Sutton, Chairman and CEO of ISP, America's Home for College Sports.

"Our relationship with ISP continues to get stronger," said Barbour. "They are doing an outstanding job representing our program. Having a long-term relationship with ISP bodes well for our future in obtaining corporate partnerships and showcasing Cal Athletics through radio, television, internet and other multi-media venues that ISP provides."

The agreement guarantees the University an annual rights fee and additional considerations based upon revenue generated by ISP over the course of the partnership.

ISP exclusively develops, produces and sells a variety of marketing opportunities involving Cal Athletics, including live play-by-play football and men's basketball game broadcasts on the Cal/ISP Sports Radio Network. The company also is the exclusive sales representative for the Cal Sports Quarterly magazine, athletic event display and exposure opportunities, and all signage in Cal's on-campus athletic facilities. ISP also manages the athletic website, CalBears.com, produces the Cal Sports Report weekly television show, and hosts corporate hospitality events surrounding athletic events at Cal throughout the year.

"We are extremely pleased to extend our partnership with Cal Athletics, which, under Sandy Barbour's leadership, is recognized as one of the country's premier athletic programs," Sutton said. "The fact that the University and our company were comfortable with this extended agreement is evidence that both of us are confident our relationship will continue to develop and prosper for years to come."

Based in Winston-Salem, N.C., ISP is the multi-media rights holder for more than 50 major college athletic programs, conferences, events and venues across the country. That group includes two other Pac 10 institutions - UCLA and Washington.

Since 2003, the company has more that doubled in size and now is the largest and fastest growing multimedia rights holder in collegiate athletics.