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Michigan State, Michigan Athletics Programs To Compete For Pontiac Challenge Cup
Sept. 17, 2003 BRIGHTON, Mich. - The Michigan-Michigan State intercollegiate athletic rivalry has been waged for more than a century, but never have the Wolverines and Spartans competed for an overall title. Now, whenever the two schools hook up, not only will state bragging rights be up for grabs in a single sport, but these rivals will now compete for the Pontiac Challenge Cup, a trophy awarded three times throughout the athletic year to the University with the most success against the other. The Pontiac Challenge Cup provides for positive promotion and competition among the 23 common sports teams from both Michigan and Michigan State. These teams will compete during three traditional athletic seasons (Fall, Winter and Spring) in head-to-head events. There are six sports categories per athletic season, each with one competition point at stake. The school earning the most points will be presented with the Cup at the conclusion of each season. The selection of the specific competition events are determined as follows: (1) head-to-head competition between Michigan and Michigan State; (2) multi-team meets held at Michigan or Michigan State involving both schools; (3) multi-team meets held elsewhere in the state of Michigan involving both schools; or (4) Big Ten Championships. Along with the handsome crystal Challenge Cup trophy, each school's athletic scholarship fund will benefit from Pontiac's combined donation and payment of $155,000 to be split between the two universities. "Highlighting great team performance and athletic achievement through the Pontiac Challenge Cup competition is an excellent way for us to demonstrate our support for these two schools," said Lynn Myers, General Manager of Pontiac-GMC. "As the performance division of General Motors, Pontiac's participation is a natural fit. We're thrilled to be involved." Both schools are eager to begin the Pontiac Challenge Cup competition, the first event scheduled for Oct. 1 when Michigan State hosts Michigan in volleyball.
"This is a great opportunity for both universities to showcase our athletics teams," said Ron Mason, Michigan State Director of Athletics. "The Michigan State-Michigan rivalry has been well documented, and I believe that the Challenge Cup will further enhance the coverage of our athletics teams." "The Michigan-Michigan State rivalry is one of the best intra-state rivalries in the country," said Bill Martin, Michigan's Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. "We have approximately 700 student-athletes and this challenge gives us an opportunity to showcase the best of many different men's and women's sports that make up our entire athletic department." The concept for the Pontiac Challenge Cup grew out of discussions among the two universities and Fox Sports Net Detroit, which is the exclusive television partner of the series. FSN is airing the following programming to promote the Michigan-Michigan State athletic series: * Pontiac Challenge Cup editions of the DETROIT SPORTS REPORT, each Friday at 6:30 PM, starting Oct. 3. * A Pontiac Challenge Cup Year-in-Review special to debut in June 2004. * The production of two dozen 30-second vignettes profiling athletes (12 from each school) competing in the Pontiac Challenge Cup events, each airing multiple times on Fox Sports Net throughout the athletic year. * Pontiac Challenge Cup updates on weekly airings of SPARTAN SPORTS ZONE (Mondays at 6:00 PM) and WOLVERINE SPORTS MAGAZINE (Wednesdays at 7:00 PM). * Live U-M vs. MSU ice hockey matchups on Dec. 5 and March 6. * Ongoing coverage of Michigan and Michigan State athletics on the DETROIT SPORTS REPORT (nightly at 10:00 PM). In addition to Pontiac Challenge Cup programming, the Wolverines and Spartans will appear separately in selected Fox Sports Net telecasts of volleyball, men's and women's basketball, and hockey. The pact between Fox Sports Net, Pontiac and the two universities, is intended to provide increased regional exposure for the intrastate rivalry while showcasing athletes in all of the sports in which the schools compete against one another. "The Pontiac Challenge Cup is a major part of our growing relationship between Fox Sports Net and these two prestigious universities," said Greg Hammaren, Vice President/General Manager, FSN Detroit. "We are delighted to showcase the talents of all these terrific athletes, in every sport, who are competing for the Pontiac Challenge Cup title." The Pontiac Challenge Cup seasonal competitions are outlined below:
Fall (6 points at stake) Sport Gender Events Dates/Location 1 Challenge Cup Point Awarded To... Cross Country M & W 2 (M & W) Nov. 2 @MSU (Big Ten) Winner of combined season series Field Hockey W 1 Oct. 17 @ U-M Winner of game Football M 1 Nov. 1 @ MSU Winner of game Soccer M 1 Oct. 12 @ MSU Winner of game Soccer W 1 Oct. 24 @ U-M Winner of game Volleyball W 2 Oct. 1 @ MSU; Nov. 5 @ U-M Winner of season series
Notes: Fans can keep track of Pontiac Challenge Cup standings and schedule of events at the following web sites: MgoBlue.com, MSUSpartans.com and FoxSports.com (keyword: Challenge Cup). Pontiac is a division of General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM). In 2003, Pontiac became a national sponsor of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and conducted the "Pontiac High Performance Play of the NCAA Tournament" during the 2003 National Basketball Tournament. Through on-line voting, college basketball fans chose Duke player Christian Laettner's game-winning jumpshot over Kentucky to receive the "Pontiac High Performance Play of the NCAA Tournament" award. The division markets the Vibe, Sunfire, Grand Am, Grand Prix, Aztek, Montana and Bonneville and will bring back the legendary GTO later this year. General Motors, the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, designs, builds and markets cars and trucks worldwide, and has been the global automotive sales leader since 1931. More detailed information on GM can be found at www.gm.com. Fox Sports Net's programming related to the Pontiac Challenge Cup is part of the more than 3,000 hours devoted annually to the region's sports scene, going to more than 3.4 million cable and satellite households throughout Michigan and portions of Northwest Ohio and Northern Indiana. FSN Detroit also provides live coverage of the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Pistons, CCHA hockey, Detroit Shock, Detroit Fury, MHSAA championship events, Mid-American Conference football and basketball, Big Ten volleyball and women's basketball, plus Horizon League and Mid-Continent Conference basketball games. |
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