NEW YORK – April 2, 2012 – Bob Costas, a 22-time Emmy Award-winning journalist and one of America’s preeminent interviewers, tackles the state of college athletics in a live town hall setting with Costas Tonight: Live from 30 Rock, premiering Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.

Costas Tonight: Live from 30 Rock will take place in front of a live studio audience from iconic studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and will include an in-depth one-on-one interview with NCAA President Dr. Mark Emmert. Joined in a town hall setting by some of the top names in college sports, Costas will explore all of the headlines and critical issues facing college athletics, from academics to BCS realignment to Title IX.

SCHEDULED TO APPEAR:

• Dr. Mark Emmert – President, NCAA
• Bill Hancock – Executive Director of the BCS
• Rick Majerus – Head Coach Saint Louis Basketball
• Jay Bilas – ESPN College Basketball Commentator
• Joe Nocera – New York Times Op-Ed Columnist
• Dale Brown – Former LSU Head Coach
• Doug Woolard – Athletic Director South Florida
• Drew Rosenhaus – Sports Agent
• Sonny Vaccaro – Former Nike, Adidas, Reebok Executive
• Doug Flutie – NBC Sports & NBC Sports Network analyst
• Angela Ruggiero – Former Harvard hockey star, 4-time Olympian and President of Women’s Sports Foundation
• Tamika Catchings – Former Tennessee star, now plays for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever

SEGMENTS INCLUDE:

• Costas one-on-one with Mark Emmert
• NCAA Coaches and Stars Panel
• Athletics and Academics
• Pay for Play
• BCS and Conference Realignment
• Title IX/Women’s Sports

Re-Air Dates (All times ET):

Thursday, April 5, 7 a.m.
Friday, April 6, 4 p.m.
Saturday, April 7, 10:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 8, 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.
Monday, April 9, 6 a.m. and 8 a.m.
Tuesday, April 10, 9 p.m.
Wednesday, April 11, 4 p.m.
Thursday, April 12, 7 a.m.
Friday, April 20, 7 a.m.

Costas Tonight builds on Costas’ long and storied career as an interviewer from Later with Bob Costas and Costas Coast-to-Coast to his acclaimed HBO programs, On the Record and CostasNOW. Wednesday’s live town hall is part of the new series that included Costas Tonight: Live from the Super Bowl, and first the one-hour interview show, Costas Tonight, which featured Floyd Mayweather, David Stern and Gary Bettman. The next edition of Costas Tonight will air May 31 on the NBC Sports Network.

– NBC Sports Group –

Bob Costas Interviews NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, NBA Commissioner David Stern and WBC Welterweight Boxing Champion Floyd Mayweather

FULL VIDEO CLIP BELOW: MAYWEATHER DISCUSSES POSSIBILITY OF FIGHT WITH MANNY PACQUIAO

“This is a serious issue. We have medical experts working with us. We’re trying to educate the players.” Bettman on Concussions

“It is a frenzy on a global scale.” –Stern on Jeremy Lin

60-Minute Interview Show from Studio 8G at 30 Rock is First of New Series

New York – February 29, 2012 – Bob Costas, a 22-time Emmy Award-winning journalist and one of America’s preeminent interviewers, premieres his 60-minute interview show Costas Tonight tomorrow 8-9 p.m. ET on the NBC Sports Network.

In his first edition of Costas Tonight, which originates from Studio 8G at 30 Rockefeller Plaza and was taped yesterday, Costas discussed the key topics in the NHL with Commissioner Gary Bettman, and the state of the NBA, including the Jeremy Lin phenomenon, with Commissioner David Stern.

Costas also sat down with the controversial, five-division world champion, current WBC Welterweight Champion and undefeated 42-0 professional boxer, Floyd Mayweather and discussed, among other topics, preparations for his May 5 bout against world class fighter Miguel Cotto, the tumultuous relationship with his father, and if there is a chance for a fight with WBO Welterweight Champion Manny Pacquiao.

MAYWEATHER ON HIS UPCOMING FIGHT WITH MIGUEL COTTO:“He’s a champion. He’s a guy that I can’t overlook, coming from a Puerto Rican boxing background and me coming from an American boxing family. He poses a threat but it’s a good matchup.”MAYWEATHER ON GAMBLING: “I’m just about entertainment, you know having personality, being outgoing, being outspoken and, when the gloves are off, I’m just at home on an everyday basis betting on basketball, betting on football. (Tuesday) I placed a bet on Kansas (for the) first half, I bet about 100k and I won about 83k so they came through, (Wednesday) I think I’m going to bet on Duke, for the first half, just before I get on the plane to go to LA. Hopefully it’s not too hot.”

BETTMAN ON IF REMOVING FIGHTING FROM HOCKEY WOULD ALIENATE FANS: “There are those who say if we eliminate it, there are people who aren’t fans who would become fans because they are turned off on it. It is one of the great imponderables.”

BETTMAN ON CONCUSSIONS IN HOCKEY: “We don’t want the head targeted as the principal point of contact, and we actually passed a rule that went into effect this season that prohibits such a hit, but there are a lot of hits in our game. It’s a very physical game where the head is incidentally a point of contact… this is a serious issue. We have medical experts working with us. We’re trying to educate the players. Perhaps the most important thing we’ve done is we are trying to change the culture of the game, where if a guy gets, as they used to say, dinged, it’s ok for a guy to say, ‘I think I have concussion-like symptoms’ and get treatment.”

BETTMAN ON THE BEST THING HE LEARNED FROM STERN WHEN HE WAS AT THE NBA: “I don’t think you can just point to one thing, because it was 12 spectacular years in terms of my professional life. But in terms of doing the right thing, working hard and focusing on what needs to be taken care of, learning how to prioritize, and also managing owners because David has always been extraordinary at that.”

STERN ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN SPORTS TODAY: “I often say and have said that Russell and Chamberlain labored in anonymity compared to today’s athletes.”

STERN ON JEREMY LIN PHENOMENON: “It is a frenzy on a global scale. Jeremy Lin is taking it to another layer on a global scale.”

STERN ON WHETHER HE SOUGHT ADVICE FROM BETTMAN DURING NBA LOCKOUT: “I think it is fair to say that we talk to each other regularly and have a wide range of discussions on relevant topics.”

BETTMAN AND STERN REACTING TO COMMENTS MADE BY BRYANT GUMBEL DURING NBA LOCKOUT ON HBO. GUMBEL SAID: “(Stern) has always seemed eager to be viewed as some kind of modern plantation overseer, treating NBA men as if they were his boys.”

Bettman: “Let me answer first, because I worked with David for over 12 years. That is probably the most ignorant, stupid statement I’ve ever heard. Anybody who knows David knows that nothing could be further from the truth.”

Stern: “Thank you, friend Gary. I actually, you know, sort of enjoyed it to a degree because the flood of phone calls that I got from a very diverse community said ‘What is this guy’s problem?’ And I said, ‘His ratings are going down, it’s a slow news day, he wants some headlines.’ And I wouldn’t say anything publicly, it was taken care of by Charles Barkley and Jesse Jackson.”

Re-Air Dates (All times ET):

Thursday, March 1 – 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Friday, March 2 – 2 a.m., 9 a.m., 5 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Saturday, March 3 – 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 4 – 10 p.m.

# # #

Costas Tonight builds on Costas’ long and storied career as an interviewer from Later with Bob Costas and Costas Coast-to-Coast to his acclaimed HBO programs, On the Record and CostasNOW. Tomorrow night’s edition of Costas Tonight was taped yesterday in Studio 8G, the home of Football Night in America.

On Thursday of Super Bowl week, the live town hall Costas Tonight: Live From the Super Bowl debuted. The two-hour live program in front of a studio audience from the Indiana Repertory Theater featured some of the NFL’s biggest newsmakers and stars, including a one-on-one interview with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

The Costas Tonight: Live From…series continues on Wednesday, April 4, with a discussion of the state of college athletics before a live studio audience at 30 Rock. The next Costas Tonight interview program will be Thursday, May 31.

–NBC Sports Group–