By Kevin Erpenbeck

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The national spotlight on UK athletics will be brighter than ever as most sports programs prepare for their 2014 season to be broadcast over the freshly launched SEC Network.

The new cable college sports channel dedicated to the Southeastern Conference officially hit the air on Aug. 14. The channel is owned by ESPN Inc. and is under a 20-year contract agreement to broadcast any sports news or games that occur at an SEC university.

This kind of national attention to UK sports has players and coaches alike excited for their upcoming season.

“This is a whole new world for us,” said women’s soccer head coach Jon Lipsitz. “To think that every one of our home and away games (except a match against Louisville) will be seen by millions of people is unprecedented. It’s something that’s never been seen before in collegiate athletics.”

Senior women’s soccer captain Arin Gilliland said she always felt more “pumped” for the televised matches she played in her previous seasons at UK. Now that she knows that all but one of her games will be televised this season, Gilliland feels more ready than ever for her games.

“The televised games really get your adrenaline going,” Gilliland said. “There’s nothing more exciting than knowing that millions of people are watching you play. To have almost all the games like that is a tremendous thing and it’s going to do wondrous things for our program.”

One benefit national attention brings to UK sports programs is the possibility for more commitments from recruited players outside of Kentucky, said volleyball head coach Craig Skinner.

“When you talk about recruiting outside this general area around the country, you can tell their family members that they can see their daughters play all the time,” Skinner said. “The attention gets recruits excited to put on the (UK) uniform, and it helps expand our recruiting tentacles around the nation.”

Not all UK sport programs participate in the SEC, however. The men’s soccer team competes in Conference USA. But as part of the SEC Network deal for UK, all men’s matches will be broadcast on the cable network’s digital affiliate channel, SEC Network Plus.

Men’s soccer head coach Johan Cedergren said the new coverage will only bolster the program quickly.

“For a men’s soccer team to be able to broadcast every single home game and have commentary with that … That’s huge for us,” Cedergren said. “We’re going to be one of the few in the country that can do that. The kids can see the product we put on the field and our wonderful facilities. We’re really happy to have that.”

While Lipsitz admitted that ESPN and the SEC probably did not create the cable network for women’s soccer games, he is willing to take full advantage of the opportunity this year and in years to come.

“Thanks, SEC football,” Lipsitz said. “We appreciate those benefits.”