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Kenny Chesney to Headline Capital One Jamfest as Part of The Big Dance® Concert Series During the 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four®One of Music’s Biggest Stars to perform a FREE concert in Downtown Houston
For Immediate Release
Friday, March 11, 2011
Contact(s)
Gail Dent
Associate Director of Public and Media Relations
317/917-6117
HOUSTON—NCAA, Turner Sports and Capital One (COF: NYSE) today announced that music sensation Kenny Chesney will be the headlining performer on Sunday, April 3, at the Capital One JamFest, part of The Big Dance Concert Series—a free, three-day music festival, produced by Turner Sports, CBS Sports and the NCAA, taking place at Discovery Green in downtown Houston during the 2011 NCAA Men’s Final Four weekend. The specific time of Chesney’s performance, as well as the other artists to perform Sunday during the Capital One JamFest, will be announced at a later date.
“We recognize the important role played by fans in college sports, and the Capital One JamFest is for them,” said Marc Mentry, Managing Vice President, Advertising and Sponsorships at Capital One. “A country music icon like Kenny Chesney is the perfect headliner for this fun, free event that allows the fans and the local Houston community to further enrich their NCAA Final Four experience.”
The Big Dance Concert Series tips off Friday evening of Final Four weekend, April 1, with the AT&T Block Party and continues on Saturday, April 2 with the Coke Zero™ Countdown, featuring Kings of Leon. Additional details surrounding activities and entertainment associated with each day will be announced shortly.
The Big Dance Concert Series will culminate with Capital One JamFest on Sunday, April 3, with Chesney, a four-time Country Music Association and four-time Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year winner. Chesney has sold more than 30 million albums, notched 21 No. 1 singles and has made concert history by selling more than one million tickets for eight consecutive years. His newest release, Hemingway's Whiskey, has already yielded two No. 1 singles: "Boys of Fall" and "Somewhere With You." Beginning on March 17, Chesney will take his “Goin’ Coastal Tour” all over the country.
“The Big Dance is just one of many events that will celebrate and highlight the NCAA Men’s Final Four,” said Greg Shaheen, NCAA interim executive vice president of championships and alliances. “We are excited to bring our annual concert series to downtown Houston’s Discovery Green, which provides a great opportunity for Houstonians and visitors alike, to enjoy free music, entertainment and activities as part of the Final Four.”
Discovery Green, site of The Big Dance Concert Series, is conveniently located in downtown Houston. The urban park serves as a village green, a source of health and happiness for local citizens and a window into the diverse talents and traditions that enrich life in Houston. In April 2010, the NCAA announced a new 14-year television, Internet and wireless rights agreement with Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., and CBS Broadcasting Inc., to present the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship beginning in 2011 through 2024. As part of the agreement, all games will be shown live across four national networks beginning in 2011 – a first for the 73-year old championship. Additionally, CBS and Turner Broadcasting have been licensed and will collaborate on the NCAA’s corporate marketing program.
“The Big Dance Concert Series offers NCAA Corporate Champions the opportunity to engage with Final Four fans on-site, one of the myriad activation platforms available as part of the NCAA Corporate Marketing Program,” said Will Funk, senior vice president of NCAA Partnerships and Branded Programming within Turner Sports Ad Sales.
For the latest information about The Big Dance Concert Series and all NCAA Men’s Final Four events and activities, go to NCAA.com/finalfour.
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.NCAA.org and www.NCAA.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes. The NCAA is proud to have the following elite companies as official Corporate Champions—AT&T, Capital One and Coca-Cola—and the following elite companies as official Corporate Partners—Enterprise, The Hartford, Infiniti, LG, Lowe’s, Planters, Reese’s, Unilever and UPS.
About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $122.2 billion in deposits and $197.5 billion in total assets outstanding as of December 31, 2010. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.
Capital One, an NCAA Corporate Champion, began its affiliation with college sports with the sponsorship of the 2001 Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (now the Capital One Bowl) and ESPN’s Capital One Bowl Week. In 2010, Capital One launched the Capital One Cup, a prestigious new program rewarding NCAA Division I athletics programs for their cumulative on-field performance across multiple men’s and women’s sports. In addition, Capital One sponsors the ABC College Football Halftime Report, Capital One All-America Mascot Team, all 88 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.
About Turner Sports
Turner Sports, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is an industry leader in televised and online sports programming, airing championship level sporting events on TBS, TNT and truTV, and managing some of the most popular sports sites on the Internet. Turner Sports’ television line-up includes the NBA, Major League Baseball, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, NASCAR and professional golf. The company’s digital portfolio includes SI.com, NASCAR.COM, NCAA.com, PGATOUR.COM, GOLF.com and PGA.com, as well as an accompanying collection of mobile websites and connected device apps. Turner Sports and the NBA also jointly manage NBA Digital, which includes NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, NBA Mobile, the NBA Game Time App, NBADLEAGUE.com and WNBA.com.
NCAA, Final Four, March Madness and The Big Dance are licensed by or trademarks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
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CONTACTS:
Gail Dent NCAA 317/917-6117 gdent@ncaa.org
Britney Seltzer Dancie Perugini Ware
Public Relations 713/224-9115 britney@dpwpr.com
Sukhi Sahni Capital One 703/720-2390 sukhi.sahni@capitalone.com
Jenn Toner Turner Broadcasting 212/275-6642 jennifer.toner@turner.com
Jen Sabatelle CBS Sports 212/975-4120 jsabatelle@cbs.com
