On November 15th 1999, the staff of WKYU-PBS unveiled the only satellite uplink truck owned by a Kentucky university. This in itself was extraordinary but in the mind of Producer/Director David Brinkley, it was simply the final piece of a puzzle. Once again standing apart from the crowd, David and the others at WKYU-PBS sought out to create a student-run sports network devoted to Western Kentucky University Athletics.

If this were to happen, it would make WKU head and shoulders above any other university out there. Few other university in the country have ever had the equipment and the staff on hand to take a sports network from start to finish. To accomplish this there would have to be a cooperation between WKYU-PBS, Western Kentucky University and affiliates across the nation.

Knowing full well the amount of work which would be involved, David Brinkley spent countless hours in meetings and on the phone to make the dream a reality. Finally on November 15th 2000, exactly one year after the satellite truck unveiling, the Hilltopper Sports Satellite Network was born. Debuting with the largest coverage area of any sports network in the southeast, HSSN forced everyone to take another look at Western and Western Athletics.

Thanks to our affiliates, we now reach over 13 million people nationwide. Even more impressive, HSSN is nearly entirely staffed by students.

In fact, other than producing, engineering and commentating the games, WKU students handle every aspect of the game production. This means HSSN offers these students the opportunity of competing on a level comparable to that of large networks like ESPN.

But HSSN doesn't just mean opportunities for the broadcasting students. In addition, broadcasting to a larger audience helps with recruitment of students and places Western among the elite colleges in the nation.

As we look to the future, HSSN will continue to incorporate new digital technologies and the best student staff to always bring fans of Hilltopper Athletics the excitement they know and love.