Illinois Athletics and the Fighting Illini Radio Network, under the direction of Fighting Illini Sports Properties, have announced that select home volleyball matches at Huff Hall will be broadcast in Mandarin Chinese online through FIGHTINGILLINI.COM.
The broadcast, which will be led by David He, a junior majoring in Recreation, Sport, and Tourism, and Ray Zhang, will debut tonight as the Illini take on No. 1 Nebraska on IlliNOISE Night at 7:30 p.m. CT in Huff Hall. Fans can access the stream HERE.
Over 4,500 students from China attend the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, making them the largest group of international students on campus. The number of Chinese students attending Illinois has gradually increased from 850 students in the fall of 2005 to more than five times that number today.
Broadcasting volleyball matches in Chinese is the latest effort in a series of moves to better connect with international students on campus. Along with volleyball, Illinois Athletics has offered a Mandarin Broadcast in both football and men’s basketball starting in 2015.
The English language broadcast, featuring Dave Loane and Mike Trame on the call, will be broadcast locally on WDWS 1400 and on FIGHTINGILLINI.com.
Fighting Illini Sports Properties is a property of Learfield Sports, which manages the multimedia rights and sponsorships for nearly 100 collegiate institutions and associations. The company also titles the prestigious Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, and represents collegiate institutions, conferences and arenas for their respective multimedia rights and sponsorship initiatives. Learfield offers these partners with professional concessions and ticket sales, licensing and trademark consulting, digital platform expertise and venue and technology systems through its owned companies. To learn more about its history, businesses and job opportunities, visit learfieldsports.com.
For more Fighting Illini volleyball news, stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com and follow the team on Twitter @IlliniVBall or like Fighting Illini Volleyball on Facebook.
Courtesy of University of Illinois Athletics.
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