CBS Sports Names Bess Barnes VP, College Sports Programming

CBS Sports has named Bess Barnes Vice President of College Sports Programming.  The announcement was made today by Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports and David Berson, Executive Vice President, CBS Sports and President, CBS Sports Network. In addition, CBS Sports announced expanded programming roles for Rob Correa, Executive Vice President, Programming, CBS Sports and Dan Weinberg, Senior Vice President, Programming.

Bess Barnes

Barnes will be responsible for the day-to-day management of college sports programming for CBS Sports’ broadcast and cable properties, including scheduling, acquisitions and serving as point person with the NCAA and CBS’s conference partners. Barnes will report to Weinberg.

Correa, currently responsible for CBS Sports’ programming for the NFL, Masters, PGA TOUR, PGA of America, U.S. Open Tennis Championships, CBS Sports Spectaculars and Specials, will continue to lead CBS Sports’ programming department and will assume added responsibilities to maximize programming across CBS Sports’ broadcast and cable platforms.  Correa will continue to report to McManus.

Weinberg assumes an expanded role overseeing all CBS Sports college sports programming across broadcast and cable outlets.  Weinberg also remains the lead programmer for CBS Sports Network. He will continue to report to Berson.

Barnes comes to CBS Sports from ESPN, where she was Director, Programming and Acquisitions, a position she assumed in January 2012. In that position she managed the relationship with the NCAA for the 24 championships on the ESPN Networks, negotiated many of ESPN’s college conference agreements and handled day-to-day interactions with the WNBA. She has spent her entire career at ESPN, beginning in 2002 as a Production Assistant. She was named Program Associate in 2004 and has served various programming roles over the past eight years.

Barnes graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Business Administration. While at Michigan, she competed on the golf team and served as captain.