BlueFrame adds United States Collegiate Athletic Association Partnership
NORFOLK, VA – The United States Collegiate Athletic Association is proud to announce BlueFrame Technology as the Official Video Streaming Partner of the USCAA. BlueFrame Technology is the premier end-to-end video streaming provider, servicing over 1,000 colleges, high schools, and athletic organizations across North America. BlueFrame has official partnerships with over 40 collegiate conferences and organizations spanning all levels of competition and with the addition of the USCAA, BlueFrame will serve all but one of the five collegiate national governing bodies.
"This is the next big step in the advancement of the quality of the USCAA Network," says USCAA CEO Matthew Simms. "With this technology, we will have a true network, capable of aggregating all USCAA member content, and generating a first-class production when on site at the Small College National Championships. This is the next step in the goal of having our Championships aired on a national television broadcast."
The agreement provides the USCAA with BlueFrame’s proprietary production software, a high-definition streaming account for all Small College National Championship’s and will create the USCAA Sports Network, which will not only feature USCAA Championships and Special Events, but also individual channels for all USCAA members who choose to partner with BlueFrame.
“We are thrilled about this partnership and believe it will help raise the profile of the USCAA, it’s member institutions, and their hard-working student-athletes," commented Mark Krug, BlueFrame’s Director of Partnerships. "Furthermore, USCAA Championships, including the Small College World Series, will be available to watch across all modern web, mobile, and TV applications, which will help increase viewers and interest. A lot of credit goes to CEO Matthew Sims and COO BJ Bertges who helped make this partnership a reality.”
The three-year contract begins in the 2021-2022 academic year and provides members with options to broadcast in high-definition and provides captioning services for any events using play-by-play announcers. BlueFrame's platform also archives footage so fans who are unable to view a broadcast live can still watch a game at their convenience.
While campuses will not be required to utilize BlueFrame during this agreement, many members have live-streamed athletic events over the past several years, and BlueFrame provides more features and options than previously available to members. Currently, the PSUAC utilizes the BlueFrame platform and not only do those campuses have their own campus networks, but the Penn State Commonwealth Campus Athletics Network is home to all regular season games and PSUAC Championships.
“With access to first-class live streaming software and the creation of the USCAA Sports Network, we can continue to enhance the Championship experience”, says BJ Bertges, Chief Operating Officer of the USCAA. “We got a taste of the production capabilities during the Small College World Series, and I can only imagine where we can go from here with all the tools BlueFrame provides. Not only is the video quality better than we have ever had but we now have more opportunities to showcase not only the Small College National Championships, but also our members and conferences who choose to partner with BlueFrame.”
USCAA Sports Network will help continue to elevate the Championship experience with options to monetize through commercial programming, allowing the USCAA to prominently feature its partners and sponsors as well as local partners in the cities where championships are hosted. With content available online, users can access live and archived events using various devices including smartphones, tablets (Amazon Fire Tablet) and televisions (Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, and Roku).
BlueFrame will begin building the USCAA Sports Network this summer with goals to launch at the beginning of the fall sports season.