Friday Night Live, New ISC Website with Real Live Scoring, Expanded TV Coverage! Ensure the Iowa Sports Connection is State’s Leader Once Again in 2011!

By Mike Rickord

This is the 13th anniversary of the Iowa Sports Connection and of course that makes this the 13th annual Pigskin Preview! This 13th anniversary Iowa Sports Connection Pigskin Preview is the most in-depth magazine that has ever been published by our firm. Once again our staff, led by Tony Atzenti, Tim Weideman and John Streets, has accumulated more information than any media outlet in Iowa in one magazine with statewide reach.

Every high school from 8-man to 4-A is covered. The coverage includes every district and conference across the state “From The Missouri to the Mississippi.” The colleges and universities across the state from the Division I programs to the NAIA programs are also included in this 13th annual Pigskin Preview making it without a doubt the most comprehensive football magazine EVER printed in Iowa. The pads will be popping across this state from 8-man games in Lenox to Jack Trice Stadium where Iowa and Iowa State do battle on September 10th and the Iowa Sports Connection staff have a preview inside of every game and team for you football fans from border to border

The front cover of this edition also recognizes offense in 2011 with Iowa born and bred standouts on the cover. This year’s crop of homegrown talent includes our two cover boys: Hawkeye James Vanderberg, the “Keokuk Cannon” and Cyclone Jake “Knock your Socks Off” Knott, the former Waukee Warrior.

The Iowa Sports Connections Friday Night Live production in 2011 will continue to expand the state’s most powerful statewide high school multi-media network in history. Our Iowa Sports Connection Radio Network enters year No. 5 as we reach all 99 counties every Friday night and Saturday morning and Iowa’s only daily Iowa Sports Connection high school update Monday through Friday to all of our affiliates again reaching all 99 counties. In 2011 Friday Night Live will have over 100 correspondents live from games providing live updates from across the state and along with over 100 schools that will provide us with scores ensuring that the Iowa Sports Connection Friday Night Live Scoreboard show — from 10 p.m. until midnight — will have the state’s most in-depth scoreboard as it was recognized by the Iowa Broadcast News Association as the state’s premier sports production.

The Iowa Sports Connection Radio statewide coverage has expanded further with video and real time scoring updates on our new look website, iowasportsconnection.com. Our Hy-Vee High School Headquarters and command center are in year No. 3 in the heart of the state capital inside the WHO TV 13 building. The NBC affiliate in all of central Iowa and the Iowa Sports Connection have expanded our system that allows our field correspondents to load scores from the games through their smartphones and within seconds the scores scroll on iowasportsconnection.com, WHO-TV 13’s website, 13NOW.com for mobile browsers and scrolls during the sportscast on WHO-TV 13. Again this fall we will provide immediate scoring for over 100 games along with end of period and scoring details statewide with our television partners and now aired in Northeast Iowa on KCRG 9.2, KMEG 14 CBS in Sioux City, KWWL in Waterloo the NBC affiliate, and WQAD CBS in the Quad Cities are back on board to ensure that the Iowa Sports Connection multi-media network is the state’s leader in covering Iowa high school athletics year round with radio, television, web, and of course, our Iowa Sports Connection magazine. This alliance, along with a partnership with ESPN 1700 our flagship and over 27 radio affiliates, ensure that our six-hour Friday Night Live is the state’s leader as we kick off the 2011 Iowa high school sports season!

These new alliances, combined with our statewide magazine, digital magazines and newly redesigned iowasportsconnection.com, combine to bring Iowa the most powerful multimedia high school network reaching every county and covering every sport all year — not just state tournament coverage. Our affiliates will provide feet on the ground around the state and get the community feel in the reports along with our statewide broad-brush analysis. The magazine has expanded in size and quality in our 13th year but now along with over 477 Casey’s General Stores, we are also in the Scheels Sports stores in Iowa City, Sioux City, West Des Moines, Cedar Falls and Waterloo. These two distribution partners, along with the Iowa high schools and all of our clients businesses, have our magazine reaching every pocket of the great state of Iowa.

In closing, every year I apologize for this infomercial column but I am so proud of the staff and appreciative of our supporting partners and sponsors that I had to announce from my monthly pulpit. This growth has been a team effort with the schools and youth programs that comprise the foundation of Iowa sports “From the Pee Wees to the Preps to the Pros!” I look forward to expansion across Iowa and a fall of incredible football coverage and the family moments that we all share in this great state.

Thanks again for picking up the Iowa Sports Connection’s 13th annual Pigskin Preview! Have A Championship Year! God Bless You! God Bless America!