“SCHOOLED: THE PRICE OF COLLEGE SPORTS” AIRING ON EPIX OCTOBER 16th  WITH EYE-OPENING REVELATIONS ABOUT COLLEGE ATHLETIC PROGRAMS

Original Documentary is Executive Produced by  Bobby Valentine, and Features Interviews with Domonique Foxworth (President, NFL Players Association), Arian Foster (NFL, Houston Texans), and Johnathan Franklin (NFL, Green Bay Packers) and other key voices discussing the Business of College Football and Basketball and the NCAA’s Treatment of Its Athletes 

New York, NY, October 8, 2013 – Premium network EPIX will air SCHOOLED: The Price of College Sports on Wednesday, October 16 at 8 PM. The timely and controversial original documentary will be available on all platforms including EPIX On Demand, EpixHD.com and EPIX apps on hundreds of devices including Xbox, PS3, Roku, iPads, iPhones and more.

A must-see for all college athletes and pro-sports hopefuls, SCHOOLED: THE PRICE OF COLLEGE SPORTS is a new original documentary that examines the provocative issues surrounding the business of college sports and the NCAA’s treatment of its athletes.  Pulitzer Prize winning civil rights scholar, Taylor Branch, bases the exposé on a controversial 2011 article that ran in The Atlantic “The Shame of College Sports”.  Narrated by actor Sam Rockwell, the documentary weaves interviews, archival and behind-the-scenes footage to tell the story of how college sports has become a billion dollar industry built on athletes who are robbed of monetary privileges.  Those interviewed include: former college and NFL player and president of the NFL Players Association Domonique Foxworth, UCLA star and NBA player Ed O’Bannon, former University of Tennessee All-American and star running back for the Houston Texans Arian Foster, former UCLA standout now Green Bay Packers running back Johnathan Franklin, former UCLA punter now member of the Minnesota Vikings Jeff Locke and former University of North Carolina fullback Devon Ramsay, whose eligibility case was one of the most controversial in recent NCAA history. Also interviewed for the film are Emmy-winning sportscaster Bob Costas, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, New York Times reporter Joe Nocera and Dave Zirin of The Nation.  Sports Illustrated reporters Frank Deford, George Dohrmann, BJ Schecter and Michael Rosenberg join them; and longtime college sports marketing innovator Sonny Vaccaro is also featured in the film.

Mark Greenberg, EPIX President and CEO says, “The treatment of college athletes is an increasingly disturbing issue in the sports world. SCHOOLED: THE PRICE OF COLLEGE SPORTS does an excellent and responsible job of addressing a controversial issue and creating a springboard for discussion.”

When first published Branch’s article set off a firestorm of controversy and admiration. At the time, Sports Illustrated’s Frank Deford said the story “may well be the most important article ever written about college sports.”  Branch, who also appears in the documentary, argues that decades of greed and self-interest have finally caught up with the NCAA and that the organization is poised to collapse under the weight of its own hypocrisy.

For a sneak peek of SCHOOLED: THE PRICE OF COLLEGE SPORTS, click: http://www.hightail.com/download/OGhkSlJ6Q0M4aU52TzhUQw

For more information, go to http://press.epixhd.com/ or epixhd.com.  The Twitter handle is @schooledfilm. Check your local listings for channel lineup.

SCHOOLED: THE PRICE OF COLLEGE SPORTS is an EPIX Original Documentary.  It is executive produced by Bobby Valentine (former Major League Baseball manager and now Director of Athletics at Sacred Heart University); and produced by Andrew J. Muscato, Taylor Branch, and Domonique Foxworth (former college and NFL player and now head of the NFL Players Association). Ross Finkel, Jon Paley and Trevor Martin are the directors.  Jill Burkhart is the EPIX Executive-in-charge of Production.

About EPIX
EPIX® is the newest premium entertainment network delivering the latest movie releases, classic library titles, plus original films, comedy, music and sports events on TV, on demand, online and on devices. Launched October 2009 as the first multiplatform premium network with online accessibility for subscribers through EpixHD.com, EPIX pioneered the development and proliferation of TV Everywhere for American consumers. EPIX was the first premium network to launch on Xbox 360®consoles, first on Android™ tablets and phones, first on Roku® players and first to launch in the U.S. on PlayStation®3 (PS3™) systems. EPIX is available to authenticated subscribers on hundreds of devices including Apple® iPads®, iPhones®, Kindle Fire tablets, Samsung® Smart TVs and Blu-ray™ players and more. Today EPIX remains the only premium service providing its entire monthly line-up from new Hollywood hits to original programs on all platforms and provides more movies than any other premium network.

EPIX is a joint venture between Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA and VIA.B), its Paramount Pictures unit, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) and Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), available to over 30 million homes nationwide through distribution partners including Charter Communications, Cox Communications, DISH Network, Mediacom Communications, NCTC, Suddenlink Communications and Verizon FiOS.

For more information about EPIX, go to www.EpixHD.com. Follow EPIX on Twitter @EpixHD and on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/EpixHD.

Contact:
Marlea Willis/Epix
Mwillis@epixhd.com
212.846.6748

Joe Favorito
fatherknickerbocker1@yahoo.com
201.746.0005

Berklee College of Music, the world leader in contemporary music education, is the first non-profit music institution to offer accredited bachelor degrees online.

The college’s award-winning online division, Berklee Online, will offer 120-credit bachelor of professional studies degrees in music business and music production. The music business degree offers courses on licensing, management, marketing, and touring, with a focus on mobile music, streaming, funding, and developing revenue sources. The music production degree provides an extensive background in Berklee’s approach to music production, with courses on the world’s top software programs, recording, engineering, mixing, and more. All courses are taught by Berklee faculty members or industry experts.

Berklee Online begins accepting applications October 7, 2013, and will be issuing early acceptance notices to students beginning December 13, 2013. The inaugural class begins in the fall of 2014.

The $16,500 per year tuition for the online degree is 60 percent less expensive than the physical college. While there are advantages to attending the college’s Boston campus, where demand is at an all-time high — applications are up 300 percent over the last decade — these online degrees help achieve Berklee’s goal to make quality music education more accessible and affordable to students around the world.

“Berklee has learned a lesson from our front row seat observing the music industry, namely, lead the change or be a victim of it. With an online degree, we can expand access to the powerful tools of contemporary music making to many more students. And coupled with MOOCs, which are free, and online education that is less expensive, we have created a multi-faceted global search for talent,” said Berklee President Roger Brown.

The online degree program will be highly selective, accepting no more than 300 students in its inaugural class. Like the physical college, the online degrees are accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).

For 12 years, Berklee Online has been teaching music online across various disciplines — from for-credit, instructor-led online courses to free non-credit offerings through Coursera and EdX. The University Professional Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) has awarded Berklee Online with its Best Online College Course Award for an unprecedented eight years in a row. Since 2002, Berklee Online has taught more than 30,000 students from 144 countries.

With new courses on composing and producing electronic music, direct to fan marketing and sales, game audio, and music video editing, Berklee Online’s curriculum has constantly evolved to prepare students for jobs in a modern music industry always in flux.

Berklee Online students include members of Nine Inch Nails (Robin Finck, Alessandro Cortini), Dave Matthews Band (Stefan Lessard), Karmin (Amy Heidemann), and Sugarland (Annie Clements), producers running major studios, industry executives at leading technology and business firms, and more.

Berklee has always attempted to stay ahead of the curve. Founded in 1945, it was the first U.S. school to teach the contemporary music of the time, jazz. In the 1960s, it was the first school to recognize electric guitar and rock music. In 1979, it established the world’s first undergraduate degree program in film scoring. In the 80s, it launched the first college-level majors in electronic music and songwriting. Music therapy, hip-hop, and video game scoring hit the curriculum in the 90s and 00s. Berklee alumni are building the future of the music industry and guiding the efforts of forward-thinking companies like PledgeMusic, Spotify, Pandora, Topspin, Live Nation Labs, CD Baby, the Echo Nest, Sonicbids, and others.

Berklee Online is the online continuing education division of Berklee College of Music, delivering access to Berklee’s acclaimed curriculum from anywhere in the world. Berklee Online’s award-winning courses, multi-course certificate programs, and upcoming degree programs are accredited by NEASC and taught by the college’s world-renowned faculty, providing lifelong learning opportunities to people interested in music and working in the music industry.

Media Contact
Nick Balkin
nbalkin@berklee.edu
(617) 747-2247