Kentucky Company instrumental behind the scenes at NCAA Final Four and other major sporting events for 26 years.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 27, 2012) — When it comes to college hoops, one Kentucky team will definitely be at this year’s “Big Dance.” Hammond Communications Group (HCG), a full-service multimedia production company and leading supplier of turnkey digital signage solutions, will once again be providing crucial media support services for the NCAA Men’s and Women’s, Southeastern Conference, and Big 10 Conference basketball tournaments. HCG will produce nearly 400 high-definition press conferences over 27 days beginning March 8.
HCG specializes in information intensive events and audio/visual support for meetings and events of all sizes, live press conference and media support, award-winning web site development, and equipment rental. In 2010, HCG was awarded a five-year contract extension for media support services with the NCAA.
With hundreds of professionals deployed across the country during the tournaments, working seamlessly with CBS/Turner Sports in cities including Dayton, Albuquerque, Pittsburgh, Boston, Louisville, St. Louis, Atlanta, Phoenix, New Orleans and others, HCG will have more than fifty key personnel managing and producing each site’s press interview room where coaches and student athletes interact with regional and national media. For each stadium/arena, HCG supplies a high-definition (HD) video courtesy system so that NCAA representatives and onsite media can view real-time game and press conference feeds on monitors located throughout the facility. HCG also supplies the instant replay monitors used courtside by officials. In addition, each individual press conference feed is distributed worldwide via satellite by HCG through an onsite uplink truck, which also serves as a back-up to CBS.
“Our first event of this type was in 1985 at the NCAA Men’s Final Four at Rupp Arena. We were initially subcontracted by Host Communications, now IMG, but in 1987 we contracted directly with the NCAA and we’ve never looked back,” notes Ron Mossotti, Co-Founder and President of Hammond Communications Group. “We utilize a small army of very talented people come tourney time to pull this off… People who love what they do and who log an incredible amount of hours and travel miles to make it happen so seamlessly in so many separate venues. It’s a tremendous accomplishment each year.”
The Southeastern Conference men’s basketball tournament is March 8-11. The Big 10 Conference men’s tournament is March 8-11. The NCAA Men’s basketball tournament is March 13-25 with the Final Four to be held March 31, April 2 in New Orleans. The NCAA Women’s Final Four is to be held April 1, 3 in Denver.
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