(Written by Phil de Haan, Calvin Director of Media Relations)
Calvin-Hope game to be broadcast by satellite January 20
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- The best small-college basketball rivalry in the
nation is expanding its reach once again thanks to the science of
satellite.
On Saturday, January 20, 2001 fans of Calvin and Hope colleges will
gather at over 40 sites across North America to watch the two schools
square off in a men's basketball contest. From British Columbia to
Florida and California to Massachusetts, including Michigan gatherings
in Holland, Kalamazoo, Lansing and Traverse City, as well as the greater
Detroit area, thousands of fans will come together to cheer on their
alma mater.
They will view the continuation of a series that began 80 years ago and
pits two schools that share both geography (they are located just 35
miles apart in West Michigan) and religious roots (Calvin's
denomination, the Christian Reformed Church, split from Hope's
denomination, the Reformed Church, a century ago). Both schools also
have superb basketball traditions. In the 144 games played since
1920-21, Calvin has outscored Hope by just five total points on its way
to a 73-71 series lead. The two teams also have combined to win
outright or share 44 of the last 47 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic
Association titles. And Calvin won the 1992 and 2000 NCAA Division III
national Championships, while Hope twice was an NCAA Runner-Up in the
1990s.
Tickets to the annual two regular-season games between Calvin and Hope
are among the toughest to secure in Division III sports. Both schools
routinely sell out their home venues for the game. In fact, in 1997
Calvin moved its home game to VanAndel Arena in Grand Rapids where the
rivalry produced a sell-out, 11,442 tickets, that still stands as an
NCAA Division III record for men's basketball attendance. But the
rivalry was always confined to West Michigan.
In 1999, however, the two schools teamed with local PBS affiliate WGVU
TV (which broadcasts the games live in its viewing area) to put the
Saturday telecast on satellite. The two schools then organized
satellite viewing parties across the country and some 1,000 fans at
various locales tuned in. The 2000 contest drew twice as many sites and
viewers. And 2001 should bring even more people to the party.
In many sites Calvin and Hope alumni are cooperating to arrange the
events. In Traverse City the cooperation is very close: Bob and
Kristen Mannes are working together; he is a 1989 Calvin grad, while she
is a 1989 Hope grad!
Calvin and Hope officials have been working with local organizers for
months now to plan the January 20 details. They say the project is
time-consuming, but proving to be worth the effort.
"It (the satellite broadcast) is one of the biggest alumni events of the
year for us," says Calvin's Mike VanDenend, director of the school's
50,000-member Alumni Association. "It's been great to work with Hope as
a partner on the event and fun to plan something that draws so many
alumni from coast to coast."
-end-
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