Big Ten Network, Comcast reach deal

League, cable carrier offer programming in seven states

Finally, the Big Ten Network and Comcast Corp. reached a deal. The BTN and the Philadelphia-based cable carrier announced a multiyear agreement Thursday for programming that starts Aug. 15 on expanded basic cable in states with Big Ten schools: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Comcast doesn't have any subscribers in Iowa, the eighth Big Ten state.

After the 2008-09 basketball season ends, Comcast has the option to shift the network to its digital service in Big Ten states. Outside of the region, Comcast has the option to not offer the channel at all, or to put it on its sports and entertainment package or other tiers of service.

BTN programming includes coverage of every men's and women's sport played in the conference, from football and basketball to soccer and track.

Big Ten Network president Mark Silverman praised Thursday's deal.

"This agreement allows us to reach many more Big Ten fans with our programming because of the high concentration of Comcast subscribers in Big Ten states," he said in an e-mail message.

Comcast has agreed to pay about 70 cents per subscriber to the Big Ten, which had sought $1.10. It's the first major cable operator to agree to carry the network.

MORE FOOTBALL

NOTRE DAME, NBC AGREE TO DEAL THROUGH 2015: NBC renewed its television contract with Notre Dame football through the 2015 season Thursday despite the Fighting Irish last year drawing their lowest ratings since the network began broadcasting their games in 1991.

NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol said the network doesn't look at year-to-year results when it comes to Notre Dame, calling the football program a premier brand that defines the network as much as the Olympics, the NFL and U.S. Open golf.

Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed, although Ebersol said the contract is a flat fee and not based on ratings. The current contract that expires in 2010 is reported to be worth $9 million a year.

EX-OHIO STATE PLAYER GETS YEAR IN JAIL: A former Ohio State defensive end accused of having sex with a 14-year-old girl has been sentenced to a year in prison for sexual battery.

Jason Simmons, who played for the Buckeyes in the early 1990s, faced up to 15 years in prison when he was sentenced Thursday in Dayton, Ohio.

ST. AUGUSTINE'S TIME CHANGES: St. Augustine's home games against Shaw on Oct. 4 and Chowan on Nov. 1 will now start at 4 p.m., the school announced Thursday.

SHAW TO FACE TEXAS SOUTHERN: Shaw, the 2007 CIAA champion, will face Texas Southern in the Capital City Football Classic in Sacramento, Calif., on Sept. 13. The game will begin at 4:05 p.m. and will be broadcast live on Comcast Sports Net.

BRIEFLY: Alabama coach Nick Saban said Thursday that senior cornerback Lionel Mitchell has been placed on medical scholarship because of chronic back problems, ending the former starter's college career.

* Crews started pulling up the turf Thursday at Indiana's Memorial Stadium, the first step in replacing the flood-damaged field.

BASKETBALL

NABC OPPOSES EIGHTH-GRADE COMMITMENTS: If college basketball coaches have their way, Michael Avery would be the last eighth- grader making a college commitment.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches said Thursday it strongly opposes accepting commitments from students who have not yet completed their sophomore season in high school.

The decision comes a little more than a month after Avery, 15, said he would attend Kentucky and cites NCAA rules that prohibit coaches from contacting athletes before mid-June following their sophomore seasons.