Jan. 2, 2004

NEW YORK - College Sports Television (CSTV) will profile University of Maryland men's basketball coach Gary Williams and his Terrapins in the next installment of its Nike Training Camp original series Sunday, January 4, at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT. Williams, who guided Maryland to the 2002 NCAA National Championship, has led the Terps to 10 straight NCAA tournament berths, seven Sweet Sixteen appearances and two Final Four finishes since taking the helm in 1989.

CSTV, the first 24-hour college sports network, is available to more than 15 million homes nationally on cable and satellite. The network is available on Adelphia and Insight cable systems, among others, and is also available on DirecTV (channel 610). For information on CSTV availability in particular markets, consumers can log on to www.cstv.com or call their cable or satellite operator.

Among those interviewed for the Nike Training Camp program were Williams, assistant coaches Dave Dickerson and Jimmy Patsos and current Maryland players Chris McCray, John Gilchrist, Nik Caner-Medley and Travis Garrison. The show also takes viewers behind the scenes to Maryland practices.

Nike Training Camp is CSTV's original series that goes behind the scenes as top coaches across various college sports share their keys to success through instruction, training techniques and motivation for aspiring college and amateur athletes. Nike Training Camp has focused thus far on University of North Carolina women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance, who earlier this month led the Tar Heels to their 18th national championship under his watch, and Stanford women's volleyball coach John Dunning, who has taken the Cardinal to one national title and one runnerup finish in his three years at Stanford. Coaches participating in future Nike Training Camp programs include Miami (Fla.) football coach Larry Coker and men's basketball coaches Billy Donovan (Florida) and Bob Huggins (Cincinnati).

"Nike Training Camp gives viewers an exclusive look at how Gary Williams has resurrected the Maryland basketball program," said Joel Feld, executive producer and executive vice president, CSTV. "Williams faced several hurdles when he took over in 1989 and this program provides insight on how he put his stamp on the program while returning Maryland to national prominence."

Soundbites from the January 4 Nike Training Camp:

Gary Williams:
"I have my class everyday. I know I prepare as well for my class as any professor does and you're not just teaching basketball. You're teaching a bunch of guys that get a tremendous amount of attention how to keep their heads on straight. How to grow up in the world we live in today."

Williams, on efforts to improve the perception of the Maryland basketball program after the untimely death of former star Len Bias in 1986:
"We had to convince people here that basketball could be a good thing. They had gone through the Len Bias thing, then there was a tough coaching situation and a lot of people who worked at the university, both faculty and staff, thought that basketball had really hurt the academic reputation of the school. And so we had to get that thinking turned around by bringing in the right kids, by making sure they understood that our guys would do the right (thing) in terms of going to school. That probably took the longest time to convince people here on campus, that we were going to do things the right way."

The Gary Williams File