Rascal Flatts teams up with Raycom Sports for football season

Country music superstars Rascal Flatts will open each Raycom Sports telecast of ACC and SEC football for the 2008 season. The season kicks off this Saturday (August 30) at 12:30pm ET when the Florida Gators host Hawaii. The band, Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney, who have sold over 17 million records, will be featured in the opening video montage to lead into each week’s syndicated game.

Their current single, “Bob That Head,” has specifically been rewritten and recorded for both the ACC and SEC. Rascal Flatts also personalized a greeting to air for each conference.

“We can’t think of anything more fun and exciting than mixing two of our favorites things- music and football,” says LeVox.

“We are extremely excited to have one of the most popular groups in music involved with Raycom Sports football this season,” said Ken Haines, president & CEO of Raycom Sports.
“Rascal Flatts has established themselves as one of the most talented musical groups in the world, and they are just the type of BAND that our fans really love to listen to and watch.”

“Bob That Head,” available on Rascal Flatts album “Still Feels Good,” worked perfectly into an opening sequence. It showcases two of the most exciting entertainment events in the country…a Rascal Flatts concert and an SEC/ACC college football game. The song, with lyrics that detail getting ready for a big event, have been worked into a video montage showing one of the production trucks traveling down the highway as well as the Raycom Sports crew setting up at a football stadium and the Rascal Flatts crew setting up a stage for a concert.

“When you hear “Bob That Head” you feel the wheels churning and know that something exciting is ready to happen” said Raycom Sports producer Dave Barringer, who created the opening sequence. “And working with Rascal Flatts, from the guys and their management to everyone else involved, has been a great experience. Their entire operation really loves college football and they were excited about the idea. They were able to visualize how “Bob That Head” fits into college football and our telecasts.

Rascal Flatts join a star-studded list of performers featured in Raycom football and basketball telecasts over the years, including Brooks & Dunn, Daughtry, Sugarland, Alison Krauss, Chris Brown, Lil’ Mama, T-Pain and Ricky Skaggs.

Since their career launched in 2000, Rascal Flatts has sold over 17 million albums, scored 9 #1 singles and 17 top 10 hits and each of their five albums are multi-platinum sellers. They are the reigning AMA, CMT, ACM and CMA Vocal Group of The Year with two, six, five and five respective consecutive wins. They were honored as the 2008 Academy of Country Music/The Home Depot® Humanitarian Award recipients during the recent ACM Awards show in May. This honor, in part, due to their dedication to raising funds for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, where in the past 3 years they have donated 2.2 million dollars, as well as their work on the American Red Cross Celebrity Cabinet board. Rascal Flatts’ highly successful concert tours, “Still Feels Good Tour” and “Bob That Head Tour,” have played to nearly 1.2 million fans in the past year.

Raycom Sports, based in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the leading independent syndicators in the nation. Raycom owns the television rights to ACC basketball and syndicated television rights to ACC football and SEC football and basketball. In addition, Raycom owns events around the country, including the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte and the LPGA Longs Drugs Challenge in San Francisco.

Raycom Media, parent company of Raycom Sports, owns 44 television stations, covering over 12% of the U.S. and is headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama.