NCAA Productions is the official film and television production company for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

History

Football

It was founded by Dick Snider as NCAA Films. One of the earliest programs to be produced was the television show College Football, the first Sunday morning show to nationally broadcast college football highlights. From 1946 to 1970, Look published the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) Team. After Look folded, the FWAA started a long association with NCAA Films, which produced a 30-minute television show and sold it to sponsors.

Basketball

In 1979, the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament expanded to add Thursday-Friday first round games. Those games were done by NCAA Productions, who also did the regional semifinals in prior years. By the 1985 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament (with four games being played at each first round site), NCAA Productions (who produced college basketball telecasts for ESPN) typically sent two announcer crews to each site to call two games each. During much of the 1980s, NCAA Productions televised and/or produced all tournament games which CBS did not carry. As previously mentioned, while ESPN provided a national audience for selected NCAA Productions (and sometimes, tape delayed) games, live telecasts were made available (via syndication) to local television stations in the participating markets.

Commentators