ACADEMIA
Spartan Network has 24/7 coverage of Michigan State athletics
After the Spartan Sports Network broadcast of Saturday's Michigan State-Ohio State game, followed by the postgame call-in show, MSU fans could listen to some Spartans-Hoosiers talk.
No, not a preview of Saturday's MSU visit to Indiana. The 1994 matchup between the teams, a 27-21 Hoosiers victory in Spartan Stadium.
The network has gone 24 hours, seven days a week this season at www.spartansportsnetwork.com, and Spartan Sports Network president and CEO Will Tieman said that made MSU the first college sports program with 24/7 coverage of its athletics.
"If you can't sleep early in the morning, maybe you're up with the baby, I'm sure we've got something good running on there," said Wendy Hart, network vice president and chief operating officer.
Along with the usual live programming and MSU coaches' shows, the network now replays those shows often and replays classic football and basketball games. For the first time, it also provides live coverage of Mark Dantonio's 11:30 a.m. Tuesday news conferences.
Hart said the response had been positive so far, and that officials from business partner tunein.com told her they expected several major colleges to follow suit next season.
The network also has international access now for its mobile application, which debuted in 2010. Hart said she had heard feedback from MSU fans in places such as Japan and Guatemala.