NCAA.com to Kick Off 2011 College Football Season with Exclusive Content, Robust Video Features, and New Online Companions

NCAA.com will kick off the 2011 college football season on Thursday, Sept. 1, with exclusive online features that create a fully interactive destination for all college football fans. The site will launch new features, including online companions GameCenter and NCAA Football Saturday, exclusive editorial content, and robust video features to give fans complete access each week to video highlights, stats, rankings, photos, and social chatter across the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, and Division III.

NCAA Football Saturday, the site’s focal point on Saturday game days, will provide a dashboard for football content that will give users a true companion experience every Saturday during the college football season. NCAA Football Saturday will provide users with video highlights from the day’s top games, a live blog titled “From the Stands,” trending topics, expert analysis, fan polls, and photos.

NCAA.com also will feature GameCenter, the site’s live scoring application.  GameCenter allows fans to track key scores and stats from college football, including scoring drives, team and individual real-time statistics, play-by-play logs and social media touch-points.  In addition, fans will be able to “like” or follow their team via Twitter and Facebook integration.  Users also can toggle from game to game to follow the latest action involving their favorite team.

“It’s an exciting week for NCAA.com as we dramatically expand our college football presence and begin to offer fans new and innovative products and content franchises,” said Mark Johnson, vice president of business operations, Turner Sports.  “On NCAA.com, fans will be able to enjoy a fully interactive experience while staying informed about their favorite teams throughout the entire college football season.”

In addition to the extensive game day coverage, NCAA.com is the weekly destination for college football news and information.  Starting September 5, the site will feature the following content franchises:

• Monday – NCAA Football Plays of the Week – A weekly video snapshot of the best plays in college football.
• Tuesday – NCAA Football Power Rankings – NCAA.com’s editorial staff will compile a statistically based power rankings of the top 15 teams in the nation.  Fans also can select and share their top 25 each week and be part of the Fans’ Top 25.
• Wednesday – NCAA.com College Football Preview Show – A weekly show, hosted by Vince Cellini and Dave Archer, will look at the weekend’s upcoming games.
• Thursday – Weekend Preview – An in-depth written analysis of the key matchups for the weekend.
• Thursday – What to Watch – A viewer’s guide for each week’s slate of college football games.

NCAA.com college football coverage will kick off this week with Five Games, Five States, Five Days. For the first five days of the season, NCAA.com will travel to five different states and feature exclusive content from five different games within all divisions of college football. The games include:

• Thurs., Sept. 1: West Alabama Tigers vs. South Alabama Jaguars; Mobile, AL
• Fri, Sept. 2: Clark Atlanta Panthers vs. Georgia State Panthers; Atlanta, GA
• Sat., Sept. 3: East Carolina Pirates vs. South Carolina Gamecocks; Charlotte, NC
•  Sun., Sept. 4: Marshall Thundering Herd vs. West Virginia Mountaineers; Morgantown, WV
• Mon., Sept. 5: Miami Hurricanes vs. Maryland Terrapins; College Park, MD

Throughout the season, NCAA.com will continue to provide content that makes the site a key destination for college football fans who want the most up-to-date information on their favorite teams and alma maters.