University News

Sport Management Alumnus to Speak at WIU Nov. 28

November 14, 2007

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MACOMB, IL -- A Western Illinois University sport management alumnus with Big Ten and Big 12 connections will speak at Western Wednesday, Nov. 28 as part of 35th anniversary celebration of the department of kinesiology's sport management master's degree program.

Kevin Weiberg (WHY berg) will present "A Career in College Sports Management: Reflections on Three Decades of Public Service" (with a focus on the Big 12) from 10-11:30 a.m. and "The Changing Multimedia Landscape: Why Would a College Conference Want to Start Its Own Television Network?" (with a focus on the Big 10) from 1:30-3 p.m. The presentations, which are open free to the public, will be held in the University Union Sandburg Theatre.

A 1979 graduate, Weiberg left his post as commissioner of the Big 12 Conference in June 2007 to join the Big Ten Network as the vice president of University Planning and Development. As Big 12 commissioner, Weiberg had a prominent role in collegiate athletics, serving terms as coordinator of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), as a member of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee and as chair of the Division I-A Collegiate Commisioners' Association. He also served on the board of directors of the Collegiate Women's Sports Award and the women's basketball officiating consortium. During his tenure, Big 12 teams won 27 NCAA championships.

Weiberg had previously served as deputy commissioner at the Big Ten Conference before leaving in 1998 to become the second commissioner in the Big 12's history.

The Big Ten Network is a national television network, available to all cable and satellite providers nationwide, that allows fans to see their home teams regardless of where they live. The network currently has national agreements in place with DirecTV and AT&T and also an agreement with Buckeye CableSystem in Toledo, OH, for more than 150,000 subscribers in northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan. The network currently is available to viewers in 16 million homes.

The presentations are sponsored the Visiting Lecture Committee and the department of kinesiology's sport management program.

The WIU sport management graduate degree program was established in 1972 and is one of the oldest sport management programs in the United States.

For more information on Weiberg's visit or the sport management program, contact the kinesiology office at 309/298-1981 or kinesiology@wiu.edu or contact sport management graduate program coordinator Darlene Young at DS-Young@wiu.edu or 309/298-1225.




Posted By: Darcie Shinberger (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing