JACKSON, Miss., July 27, 2004 – Who will be selected as Mississippi's next top college football player? For the first time in the award's history the Conerly Trophy will be presented during a live broadcast to a statewide audience. The Conerly Trophy presented by Cellular South will air live at 7 p.m., Wednesday, December 1 on Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB).
"This is the most significant award presented to a Mississippi athlete, said Gene Edwards, MPB deputy director of operations. "We are thrilled to be able to share the anticipation and announcement of the Conerly Trophy winner with all Mississippians. In spite of severe budget restraints we remain committed to expanding local programming coverage on MPB. We are able to do this because of outstanding local companies like Cellular South."
The one-hour broadcast will originate from the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum and include features on each of the finalists, a history of the Conerly Award and the excitement of the live announcement of the 2004 Conerly Trophy winner. The special live broadcast is presented by Cellular South, title sponsor of the Conerly Trophy for seven years of the award's nine-year history.
"As a Mississippi-headquartered company, Cellular South is proud of our partnership with the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum to present one of the most highly coveted sports awards in the state - The Conerly Trophy presented by Cellular South," said Hu Meena, Cellular South president. "This award has honored some of our state's most outstanding athletes and will continue to do so in the future. With its live coverage of the awards presentation, Mississippi Public Broadcasting will allow all Mississippians to share in the excitement of honoring our state's finest college football athletes. We're looking forward to a great football season and Conerly Trophy presentation in December."
"Cellular South's commitment to bringing this event to every Mississippian is significant because live broadcasts like the Conerly Trophy are simply not possible without corporate partnerships," said Ty Warren, Executive Director, Foundation for Public Broadcasting in Mississippi.
The Conerly Trophy, founded and organized exclusively by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame & Museum since 1996, is awarded annually to Mississippi's top college football player as determined by a panel of 60 media voters representing radio, television and print outlets in small, medium and large sized markets across the state. The award, named after the late Charlie Conerly, is an original bronze sculpture sculpted by the late Bruce Brady, a nationally acclaimed artist from Brookhaven.
"This is a year of many firsts for the award," said Michael Rubenstein, Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame & Museum Executive Director. "The first presentation broadcast on live television, the first presentation on a Wednesday, and the first presentation to include multi-media features on the finalists and the history of the award."
The Conerly Trophy is named after the late Charlie Conerly - the only football inductee in the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame who combines all of the following accomplishments: native Mississippian who was an All-American at a Mississippi university; NFL rookie of the year; NFL All-Pro; quarterbacked a team to a world championship. For more information, visit www.msfame.com.
Cellular South is one of the largest privately held wireless providers in the U.S. The company is licensed to provide wireless service in five southeastern states -- Mississippi, Eastern Arkansas, Southwest Tennessee Coastal Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle through Walton County - totaling a population of more than five million. Cellular South offers a different kind of wireless service based on the simple premise that customers have rights, including service and pricing that is fair and makes sense. For more information, contact Cellular South at 1-877-CSOUTH1 or visit cellularsouth.com.
Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame & Museum is operated by the Mississippi Sports Foundation, Inc. (MSF), a non-profit corporation established in June 1992. The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame & Museum occupies 21,542 square feet on Lakeland drive in Jackson. The site, donated by the City of Jackson, is adjacent to the Jim Buck Ross Agriculture and Forestry Museum and across from Smith-Wills Stadium. For more information, visit www.mfame.com.
Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) operates an eight-station public television network, an eight-station public radio network, and the Radio Reading Service of Mississippi. MPB serves all 82 counties of the state of Mississippi providing quality instructional and public programming. Since its first broadcast in 1970, MPB has won over 350 awards for its local productions. MPB provides live broadcasts of the Mississippi High School Activities Association State Football Championships in December and State Basketball Championships in March. For more information, visit www.mpbonline.org.
About Cellular South
The company is one of the largest privately held wireless providers in the U.S. and is licensed to provide wireless service - to a total population of more than five million people - on its network stretching from the Memphis Metropolitan Area, throughout all of Mississippi, along Coastal Alabama and the Florida Panhandle through Destin/Seaside. Cellular South offers a different kind of wireless service based on the simple premise that customers have rights, including the right to a network that works, and service and pricing that is fair and makes sense. For more information, contact Cellular South at 1-877-CSOUTH1 or visit cellularsouth.com.
Contact:
Tanya Rankin, Cellular South (601) 974-7134 trankin@cellularsouth.com
