LANCASTER, Pa. --- The Centennial Conference, one of the nation's elite small college athletic conferences, will kick off its 30th anniversary gridiron season on Wednesday, August 7th with an innovative multimedia event - #CCKickoff13 including Moravian College Head Coach Jeff Pukszyn at the Franklin & Marshall College campus.
What is #CCKickoff 13? It's the start of the Conference's 30th anniversary season, as the Centennial began as a football-only conference in 1983. Rather than hosting just a traditional coaches press conference to begin the year, the Conference's 10 head coaches will talk about their prospects for the upcoming season in three different interactive formats - the traditional question-and-answer session with the media, a one-on-one conversation with an emcee about Division III football, and a Twitter chat that will take questions from the live audience.
The media Q-and-A and the one-on-one conversation will both be streamed live through the Conference website, while the Twitter chat can be followed online as well.
"Last season's Kickoff was extremely successful for the first time something like this was tried in Divisions II and III," said Centennial Conference Executive Director Steve Ulrich. "The format brings our Conference not only to the media, but also to our friends and fans who want to know more about Centennial and Division III football than has been traditionally available to them. We are encouraging people to participate by viewing the live video streams, by submitting questions via Facebook or Twitter, and to take an interactive role in the day's festivities. I know our coaches are excited about the season and the platform that this provides."
It's a chance to talk with each of the Conference's 10 head coaches about their prospects for the 2013 gridiron season. Talk with ...
- Darwin Breaux, Dickinson
- John Troxell, Franklin & Marshall
- Barry Streeter, Gettysburg
- Jim Margraff, Johns Hopkins
- Tim Launtz, Juniata
- Mike Hoyt, McDaniel
- Jeff Pukszyn, Moravian
- Mike Donnelly, Muhlenberg
- Steve Briggs, Susquehanna
- Peter Gallagher, Ursinus
Coaches will be available in three formats ...
1) A traditional media conference format where the head coach speaks to assembled media and takes questions;
2) A one-on-one sit-down conversation with our emcee - Mike Straub of WGAL-TV - about the upcoming season and the Division III experience. Each coach will appear live for a ten-minute interview, featuring questions from fans! We're encouraging questions submitted on our Facebook page or via Twitter, using the hashtag #CCKickoff13.
3) A live interactive one-on-one Twitter chat with each coach. Each coach will sit down for a live 10-minute chat with you, the Centennial Conference fans. Join us on Twitter, using the hashtag #CCKickoff13, and ask your coach what to expect this season!
The kickoff event will be held at Franklin & Marshall College beginning at 10:30 a.m. with a brief state of the conference address given by Ulrich that will also be streamed live. Coaches will then have 10-minute blocks at each station, fielding questions from both members of the media and interested fans.
The Centennial Conference has a long history of electronic innovations, including among the first college athletic conferences to have a website on the Internet (1995), streaming audio broadcasts with the Centennial Conference Broadcast Network (2005), and streaming video of athletic events since 2005.
Schedule
10:30: Welcome
10:35: State of the Conference: Steve Ulrich, Executive Director
Media Session at the Podium
10:45 - Darwin Breaux, Dickinson; Barry Streeter, Gettysburg
11:05 - Tim Launtz, Juniata; Steve Briggs, Susquehanna
11:30 - John Troxell, Franklin & Marshall; Peter Gallagher, Ursinus
11:50 - Jim Margraff, Johns Hopkins; Mike Hoyt, McDaniel
12:10 - Jeff Pukszyn, Moravian; Mike Donnelly, Muhlenberg
A Conversation With ...
10:45 - Jim Margraff, Johns Hopkins; Mike Hoyt, McDaniel
11:05 - Jeff Pukszyn, Moravian; Mike Donnelly, Muhlenberg
11:30 - Darwin Breaux, Dickinson; Barry Streeter, Gettysburg
11:50 - Tim Launtz, Juniata; Steve Briggs, Susquehanna
12:10 - John Troxell, Franklin & Marshall; Peter Gallagher, Ursinus
Live Twitter Chat (@CentennialConf, #CCKickoff13)
10:45 - Tim Launtz, Juniata; Steve Briggs, Susquehanna
11:05 - John Troxell, Franklin & Marshall; Peter Gallagher, Ursinus
11:30 - Jim Margraff, Johns Hopkins; Mike Hoyt, McDaniel
11:50 - Jeff Pukszyn, Moravian; Mike Donnelly, Muhlenberg
12:10 - Darwin Breaux, Dickinson; Barry Streeter, Gettysburg
Last season was a first for this concept in Divisions II and III, as the Centennial Conference reached out not only to the media but also to the friends and fans of the 10 football programs, allowing interactive contact through social media and streaming video to get you ready for the upcoming season.
