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Three Hawai’i home matches at the beginning of the 2012 season will be nationally televised.
The Hawai’i athletics department announced Tuesday that its men’s volleyball team’s matches against UC San Diego and UCLA in January will air live on Fox College Sports.
Hawai’i will open its season with a two-match series against UC San Diego on Jan. 5-6 with both matches being televised. In addition, Hawai’i will play UCLA to conclude its home non-conference tournament, the Outrigger Invitational, on Jan. 14.
Oceanic Time Warner Cable will produce the matches, and they will be transmitted via satellite and air live on the mainland. In addition, each match will be replayed on Fox College Sports at least once following the live broadcast.
Fox College Sports is available to more than 56 million households.
Hawai’i finished last season No. 8 in the national rankings and lost to UC Irvine in the MPSF Tournament quarterfinals. The Warriors return three starters from the 2011 season.
UCLA returns to the Outrigger Invitational as the defending-tournament champions after going 3-0 last season, including a victory against Hawai’i. The Bruins have six returning starters and will likely be a top 10 nationally ranked team to open the season.
The nationally televised match will also be the final Outrigger Invitational match for UCLA coach Al Scates. The Hall of Fame coach announced in May that he would retire following the 2012 season.
UC San Diego did not qualify for the MPSF Tournament last season but was able to split its two-match series against Hawai’i.
These three men’s volleyball matches are part of 36 Hawai’i sporting events that will air on Fox College Sports from January to May. This new television deal is a result of a joint partnership among Hawai’i, the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Oceanic and Fox College Sports.