Indiana sports fans will soon tune in to “PNC Butler Radio Network”
INDIANAPOLIS – PNC Bank and the Butler University Athletic Department announced a five-year sponsorship agreement for naming rights of the Butler Bulldog sports radio network. The “PNC Butler Radio Network” will launch immediately and will offer listeners comprehensive Bulldog men’s basketball game action.
Fans can hear the 2016-17 basketball game broadcasts on the following PNC Butler Radio Network affiliates: WFNI 1070 AM and 93.5 FM in Indianapolis and WLYV 1450 AM in Fort Wayne. In the Indianapolis market, WFNI 107.5 FM will carry the games in the event of a Pacers’ game conflict, and WIBC 93.1 FM in the event of Colts’ game conflict. Mark Minner and Nick Gardner will continue to call Butler Bulldog games, handling play-by-play and color duties respectively. This season marks the 11th for Gardner and fourth for Minner.
For decades, PNC has supported educational, athletic, arts and cultural campus initiatives in Indianapolis, including a partnership with the College of Education to raise awareness and support for quality pre-K programs in Indiana. In addition, PNC has supported a variety of university sports events and a campaign for renovations to the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. It became the official bank of Butler Athletics in 2012.
“Our expanded relationship with Butler will create new opportunities for us to connect with students and their families,” said Connie Bond Stuart, PNC regional president central and southern Indiana. “The student-athletes have enabled Butler’s competitive sports program to achieve an elite status that is a source of pride for Hoosiers. We look forward to amplifying the reach of the Bulldog fan base.”
Learfield’s Butler Sports Properties, the university athletic department’s multimedia rights partner, secured the first-ever naming rights for the radio network.
“PNC has been an outstanding partner. We continue to be grateful for their support for our school, our athletic program and ultimately, our hard-working student-athletes,” said Barry Collier, Butler University Vice President and Director of Athletics. “We appreciate our continued relationship with PNC, and adding the PNC name to our radio network showcases that continued support.”
Butler basketball opens its season with exhibition games at Hinkle Fieldhouse this month. The men’s team will face Wabash College at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 29th. The full schedule for all 20 of Butler’s athletic teams can be found on the official athletics website at www.butlersports.com.
About PNC
PNC Bank, National Association, is a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC). PNC is one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the United States, organized around its customers and communities for strong relationships and local delivery of retail and business banking; residential mortgage banking; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management. For information about PNC, visit www.pnc.com.
About Butler University
A nationally recognized comprehensive university, U.S. News and World Report named Butler the Midwest’s Most Innovative School and one of the nation’s top 10 for Internships, Study Abroad, First-Year Experiences, Service Learning, and Undergraduate Research in 2015. With 4,700 students and a 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio, the university offers 65 undergraduate, eight pre-professional, and 19 graduate programs. Butler boasts a 95 percent graduate placement rate across its six colleges: Arts, Business, Communication, Education, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Butler believes in the value of an education steeped in the liberal arts, strengthened through student-faculty engagement, and defined by hands-on experience—giving graduates the ability to succeed in a competitive, ever-changing world. The Butler University Athletics Department features 20 varsity sports with 19 competing in the BIG EAST Conference, while Butler’s football team plays in the Pioneer Football League. More than 400 student-athletes represent Butler on the national stage through athletic competition.
About Learfield
An industry leader for more than four decades, Learfield has a deep presence in the college athletics landscape nationwide. In addition to Butler, it manages the multimedia and sponsorship rights for 120 collegiate institutions, conferences and arenas, and supports athletic departments at all competitive levels as title sponsor of the prestigious Learfield Directors’ Cup. Learfield also provides its collegiate partners access to professional concessions and ticket sales; branding, licensing and trademark consulting; digital and social platform expertise; campus-wide business and sponsorship development; and venue and technology systems through its affiliated companies.