ESPN3.com streams thousands of live events each year, including many championship games, to millions of viewers. Now, as part of the seventh annual “Don’t Give Up ESPYs V Foundation Auction” – held Sunday, July 3, to Wednesday, July 13 – the broadband site will add a live production of a fan’s local event to the list.

The 11-day online and on-air public auction will feature hundreds of items and experiences for bid to raise money and awareness for The V Foundation for Cancer Research. Last year’s ESPN Radio “Don’t Give Up ESPYs V Foundation Auction” raised $504,000 in net proceeds for The V Foundation for Cancer Research. The event has raised more than $4,100,000 in its six years.

A majority of the nearly 200 experiences and items in the auction will be available online via www.espnradio.com or www.ebay.com (July 3-13) while 18 fan “experiences” will be auctioned in an 18-hour radiothon across ESPN Radio’s six national shows on Wednesday, July 13, beginning at 6 a.m. ET. Listeners can call 1-800-4JimmyV to make bids on items in the radiothon with the highest bidder at 59 minutes past each hour winning the experience.

The opening bid for every online auction item and experience will begin at a $1.99. Items available online include autographed jerseys, footballs, basketballs, baseballs, hats, shoes, helmets, boxing gloves and photos. Highlights:

• An opportunity to kick off the 2011 college football season by attending the Oregon vs. LSU showdown in the Cowboys Classic on Saturday, Sept. 3 (8 p.m. on ABC). The winning bidder and a guest will receive two game tickets, a parking pass, VIP access to watch editions of College Football Live, SportsCenter and College GameDay, and meet and greets with personalities such as Brent Musburger, Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Erin Andrews, Desmond Howard, Trevor Matich, Brad Edwards and Ryen Russillo.
• Special access ticket packages to top professional and college sporting events including the Breeders’ Cup, U.S. Open, Monday Night Football, Sunday Night Baseball, Little League World Series, and more.
• Trips to ESPN’s headquarters to visit various shows – including Mike & Mike in the Morning, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, SportsNation, Baseball Tonight, First Take, NFL Live and ESPN’s college basketball studio coverage – or other experiences at ESPN such as golfing with ESPN’s Herm Edwards, spending a day with Howie Schwab and being a highlight producer for a day.
• Spend a day with ESPN’s Rick Reilly while he is on a reporting assignment.
• Having the headshot of a winning bidder placed on a stick positioned with the athletes and celebrities on the set of Pardon the Interruption.

The event is one of Team ESPN’s corporate outreach initiatives which will coincide with the ESPY Celebrity Golf Classic (July 12) and the ESPYs (July 13), which will be televised live on ESPN at 9 p.m.

ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is the country’s largest sports radio network, providing more than 9,000 hours of talk and event content annually to more than 700 stations, including owned stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas, and more than 350 full-time affiliates. ESPN Radio’s event programming features the NBA (and The Finals), MLB (and the World Series), college football’s BCS (and regular-season schedule) the USGA’s U.S. Open, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Weekday studio programming includes: Mike and Mike in the Morning (Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic) 6-10 a.m.; The Herd with Colin Cowherd 10 a.m.-1 p.m.; The Scott Van Pelt Show 1-4 p.m.; and The Doug Gottlieb Show 4-7 p.m.

ESPN Radio also offers the only all-sports Spanish radio network, ESPN Deportes, which has 42 affiliates with stations in eight of the top 10 Hispanic markets, including owned KZMP-AM 1540 in Dallas. ESPN Deportes Radio programming features top soccer events and leagues such as Copa America, Spain’s La Liga, MLS and also Sunday Night Baseball.

The V Foundation
The V Foundation for Cancer Research was founded in 1993 by ESPN and the late Jim Valvano, legendary North Carolina State basketball coach and ESPN commentator. Since 1993, The Foundation has raised more than $100 million to fund cancer research grants nationwide. It awards 100 percent of all direct cash donations and net proceeds of events directly to cancer research and related programs. Administrative and fundraising expenses are paid by the Foundation’s endowment. The Foundation awards grants through a competitive awards process strictly supervised by a Scientific Advisory Board. For more information on The V Foundation or to make a donation, please visit www.jimmyv.org.

Team ESPN
Team ESPN encompasses ESPN’s multi-faceted corporate outreach initiatives, including volunteerism, corporate giving and cause marketing, while utilizing its diverse media assets. Its slogan is Fans Helping Fans®. Primary charitable programs include The V Foundation for Cancer Research and sports-related initiatives including Boys and Girls Club’s programs, Special Olympics and other sports for the disabled, and Make-A-Wish; and military/veteran’s programs. www.teamespn.com.

About ESPN3.com
ESPN3.com is ESPN’s live sports broadband network, a 24/7 online destination that delivers thousands of live, global sports events annually.  It is currently available in approximately 70 million homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or cable TV video subscription from an affiliated service provider.  It is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks.

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