BET Kicks Off Senior Year With One of the Hottest Tours to Ever Hit Black College Campuses

BET Kicks Off Senior Year With One of the Hottest Tours to Ever Hit Black College Campuses

On-Campus Event Exclusively for College Students Launches September 8 at Tennessee State University with Stops Planned at 14 Historically Black Colleges and Universities

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- HBCUs get ready, because college campuses will never be the same again! This fall, BET is hitting the road for the Black College Tour, and with three successful years under its belt, "Senior Fever" is definitely in the air! Alongside some of its key marketing partners, BET will provide a day of entertainment, games, contests, and product samples/information, for current students at 14 historically Black colleges and universities. Starting at Tennessee State University in Nashville on September 8, the events will be on campus and targeted towards college students presently enrolled in the host institutions. Festivities will be hosted by BET's on-air talent and feature exciting live performances from Universal/Motown recording artists.

Procter and Gamble is once again the Tour's presenting sponsor. Pontiac, Pepsi, Southwest Airlines, the U.S. Air Force, Verizon Wireless, and Universal/Motown, are all associate sponsors, many for a third or fourth year. McDonald's(R) joins the Tour this year and will provide students with an "i'm lovin' it(TM)" experience.

"While we continue to bring campuses all of the exciting elements that have become student favorites, we are constantly working with sponsors each year to develop new and innovative outlets to reach students and provide a day of positive interaction," said Michelle Garner, BET's Advertising Sales Vice President of Special Projects and Event Marketing.

"Southwest Airlines is proud to be a part of such an exciting HBCU event as it continues to grow in popularity every year," said Rob Brown director of multicultural marketing for the Dallas-based airline. "Our sponsorship simply underscores the communities we can reach by partnering with the BET Black College Tour."

After a highly successful freshman year on the Tour, Rap City Top Ten will once again tape from the schools each Friday with the show's new host, J- Nicks. As in previous years, the Black College Tour will also include basketball tournaments, freestyle rap, and singing contests, video game competitions, music performances, product sampling and a career center. The endeavor is part of BET's continual effort to support historically Black colleges and universities.

The overwhelming success of the BET Black College Tour can be attributed to the support and generosity of the Tour sponsors who provide relevant, engaging and informative entertainment and professional networking opportunities for minority students. Previous Black College Tours have included free roundtrip airline tickets courtesy of Southwest Airlines; new product samples from Procter & Gamble; a Verizon Wireless 3-point basketball shoot-out contest; a Pepsi Flow freestyle rap competition; as well as free concerts from Universal/Motown hit artists including Akon (SRC), Granddaddy Souf (SRC), and new up & coming artists.

The following are the dates and schools BET is scheduled to visit during the 2005 BET Black College Tour:

2005 BET Black College Tour Schedule

September 8 Tennessee State University Nashville, TN
September 16 Jackson State University Jackson, MS
September 23 Clark Atlanta University Atlanta, GA
September 30 Bethune-Cookman College Daytona, FL
October 7 Grambling University Grambling, LA
October 13 Tuskegee University Tuskegee, AL
October 14 Alabama State University Montgomery, AL
October 19 Florida A&M University Tallahassee, FL
October 26 Virginia Union University Richmond, VA
October 28 North Carolina A&T State University Greensboro, NC
November 3 Prairie View A&M University Prairie View, TX
November 4 Texas Southern University Houston, TX
November 9 Johnson C. Smith University Charlotte, NC
November 11 South Carolina State University Orangeburg, SC

ABOUT BET

BET, a subsidiary of Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA; VIA.B), is the nation's leading television network providing quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs programming for the African-American audience. The BET Network reaches more than 80 million households according to Nielsen media research, and can be seen in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. BET is a dominant consumer brand in the urban marketplace with a diverse group of branded businesses: BET.com, the Number 1 Internet portal for African Americans; BET Digital Networks - BET Jazz, BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Event Productions, specializing in a full range of event production services, including event management, venue selection, talent recruitment, sound, lighting and stage production; and BET Books, the nation's leading publisher of African-American themed romance novels under the Arabesque imprint which also publishes compelling fiction under the Sepia imprint and inspirational fiction and nonfiction under the New Spirit imprint.

Source: BET (Black Entertainment Television)

CONTACT: Anne Williams of BET, +1-202-608-2063, or
anne.williams@bet.net

Web site: http://www.bet.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: Interview and nominees photo opportunities with BET executives, on-air talent, and guest performers are available at each tour date. BET Black College Tour photography is also available by contacting BET Corporate Communications at (202) 608-2063. For more details, please contact Anne Williams at 202-608-2063 or anne.williams@bet.net

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