BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – CSU Bakersfield Athletics will continue a prominent position among local broadcast entities thanks to a pair of agreements that extend existing partnerships for the upcoming season.
Learfield’s Roadrunner Sports Properties, the multimedia rights holder for CSUB Athletics have agreed to a three-year radio rights extension for Roadrunner men’s basketball and baseball with American General Media, the current home for CSUB radio broadcasts.
The new agreement with AGM extends a long-standing relationship with the radio group who has been the flagship station for Roadrunner basketball broadcasts for nearly 25 years. Under the new three-year deal, all Roadrunner men’s basketball games home and away will be available on Newstalk 1180/96.1 FM KERN with select broadcasts on 1230/98.1 FM ESPN.
“KERN Radio and American General Media are very pleased to continue its long-standing relationship with CSU Bakersfield and Learfield,” said AGM President Rogers Brandon. “It has been a great partnership and this agreement assures that relationship well into the future.”
With recent success of men’s basketball, including an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016 and a NIT Semifinals run that ended in Madison Square Garden last season, interest in radio coverage of home and away contests have reached new levels with record numbers of fans tuning in.
Also included in the radio agreement is a select number of baseball games throughout the next three seasons including the WAC Tournament on 1230/98.1 FM ESPN.
“We are so thankful for the partnership with American General Media who continues to support our athletics department,” said Director of Athletics Ziggy Siegfried. “It is more important than ever to have our games carried on local radio for our growing fan base and they continue to provide excellent service in that department.”
American General Media is a Bakersfield-based radio group with six stations locally along with 23 additional stations in California’s Central Coast, New Mexico and Colorado. Rogers Brandon, the President of AGM also serves as the General Manager for the Bakersfield market. He’s also active in the Roadrunner Scholarship Fund and previously served on CSUB’s Board of Directors.
CSUB Athletics has also extended their partnership with TBC Media for their weekly ‘Roadrunner Rundown’ webcast which will air Tuesday’s beginning September 5 at 11 A.M. live on Bakersfield.com. The weekly one-hour show will also be available on-demand on GoRunners.com with plans for a weekly audio podcast version as well. This is the fourth-year for ‘Roadrunner Rundown’ which features interviews with CSUB coaches, student-athletes, supporters and other features surrounding Roadrunner Athletics.
TBC Media also provides a show recap and other information each Wednesday in a special CSUB Roadrunners section in The Bakersfield Californian.
Learfield’s Roadrunner Sports Properties is the multimedia rights holder for CSU Bakersfield Athletics and secured the new radio rights relationship on behalf of the university. The new affiliation continues to meet the demands for local radio coverage of CSUB basketball and baseball games.