Tuesday, August 28, 2012

PORTLAND, Ore. – Audio and video of Great Northwest Athletic Conference athletic events are now available through the “GameCentral” portal on GNACSports.com and feature a substantial upgrade in quality and delivery, Commissioner Dave Haglund announced Tuesday.

Live and on-demand video streams of volleyball, men’s basketball and women’s basketball will be available conference-wide; video streams of other sports will be available on an institution-by-institution basis. Live stats in virtually all sports are expected to be available through the portal.

The new conference audio/video portal is a result of a partnership with Stretch Internet, the Arizona-based company which ranks as one of the largest streaming media specialists in the country.  Stretch Internet currently works with more than 300 collegiate institutions across the country.

“We are extremely pleased to announce this agreement with Stretch Internet, one of the leading providers of collegiate athletics video streaming in the U.S.,” said Haglund. “This past spring we undertook a review of the foremost streaming providers in college athletics, and we always came back to Stretch Internet.

“It is our belief that the conference’s association with Stretch will provide our thousands of GNAC fans exemplary live and on-demand coverage of conference events. It will continue to be available free of charge. In addition, fans will be able to view the video stream and live statistics from the same viewer page, which should make for a much more enjoyable and informative viewing experience. We couldn’t be more pleased to launch this partnership.”

Fans can access the GNAC TV portal through www.gnacsports.com, the official web site of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference that has recently undergone a major redesign. All content through the GNAC’s “GameCentral” portal can be accessed through computers and most smartphones and tablets.

Features of the streaming portal include a fully customized, Flash-based media player; podcasting integration; mobile streaming; and mass messaging services with Facebook and Twitter integration. GNAC Insider, the weekly podcast highlighting the student-athletes, coaches and events of the NCAA Division II conference, will also be available through the portal.

"We're thrilled to partner with the GNAC and the outstanding schools that make up this conference," said Stretch Internet President Ryan Ermeling. "We've had several chances to chat with Commissioner Haglund and administrators at each of the schools, and I think it's become clear to all involved that this partnership is going to dynamically change the way these schools are able to engage their fans and supporters. We're excited to kick things off this fall."