ESPN who? PSN brings games into dorms

Ask any collegiate wrestler what the toughest thing about his sport is, and he'll probably tell you it's making weight.

Between crash dieting, workouts and time on the scale, staying under that golden number is enough to keep the most dedicated grappler up at night. But since the Penn team's Jan. 26 match against Hofstra, the Quakers have a different concern - the cameras putting on ten pounds.

For the first time ever, Penn sports fans will be able to catch the Red and Blue in action from the comfort of their own homes, via a live internet feed through the newly-implemented Penn Sports Network.

The 2006-07 package - available for $9.95 for the rest of the academic year - provides live video coverage of home wrestling matches in addition to men's and women's basketball games that aren't otherwise televised.

Because athletic programs at Dartmouth, Harvard, and Princeton run the same system, Penn may also be able to swap away feeds with its league rivals.

"It's gotten an extremely exciting reaction," said Marketing Coordinator Brian Head, who has spearheaded the operation since this past summer. "When it's all said and done for this year I expect we'll probably be around 200 paid subscribers."

This number may seem low considering the Penn student-athlete contingent is 1,000 strong, but with innovations on the horizon, PSN may find a wider audience in 2007-08.

In addition to wiring the Palestra - with 900 feet of cables, according to Head - Franklin Field is set to undergo a transformation that would make it PSN-capable. That would enable broadcasts of lower-profile sports such as lacrosse and field hockey in addition to football.

Wharton junior Jason Gurwin, who was Head's technological confidant throughout the process, believes this network won't be lost on the student body.

"I don't think [the athletic department] expects people to show up to all the wrestling matches, all the lacrosse games," Gurwin said. "I think this just lets them - even if they just want to catch 5 minutes, 10 minutes of a game - to connect to the student-athletes. Because there's a lot of talented athletes out there who aren't in the big-name sports."

While numbers regarding geographical dispersion of subscribers is not available, the scope of PSN will likely go beyond Philadelphia's city limits.

Wrestling coach Zeke Jones said that he has used the network as a recruiting tool - he doesn't hesitate to tell parents of potential Quakers about the service, which would allow them to watch matches on their computers, even from the Midwest or the West Coast.

"I think it's certainly an opportunity that most universities can't provide," Jones said. "We've already got responses back. It certainly works to our advantage."

But ultimately, PSN was developed for students - and not just the ones watching.

"It's really, when it comes down to it, entirely student-run," Head said. "We want students to have the ability to get the production experience of doing a live broadcast. It's another outlet."

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