Tom Dienhart joins BTN as BTN.com senior writer

CHICAGO - BTN today announced it has hired Tom Dienhart as its senior writer for BTN.com, covering football and men?s basketball. Dienhart comes to the network after serving as the senior national college football writer at Rivals.com/Yahoo! Sports since 2008.

"We?re thrilled to bring aboard a talented, seasoned journalist to enhance the original content on BTN.com, a true BTN insider," said BTN VP of Digital and Interactive Media Michael Calderon. "Tom arrives at the right time in the evolution of BTN.com and will complement our existing group of hosts, analysts and reporters who are dedicated to keeping Big Ten fans informed."

Dienhart, who begins at the network on Monday, said he looks forward to being a part of BTN at this stage of its development. "The network continues to grow and mature across many platforms. To be part of that growth process is exciting," he said.

Prior to joining Rivals.com/Yahoo! Sports, Dienhart covered college football at The Sporting News for 18 years (1990-2008). His writing has won several awards from the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), while his expertise has brought him appearances on ESPN, NFL Network, the Jim Rome Show, SiriusXM College Sports Nation, FOX Sports Radio, the Paul Finebaum Show, Yahoo! Sports Radio and The Mtn.

As a member of the National Football Foundation and FWAA, Dienhart votes for numerous awards, including the Heisman, Butkus, Thorpe, Lombardi, Biletnikoff, Walker, O?Brien, Manning, Mackey, Guy, Groza and Hendricks trophies. He also has covered every major BCS bowl game, as well as multiple BCS championship games.

In addition to his role with BTN.com, Dienhart will contribute to the network?s on-air and social media platforms. Fans can follow him on Twitter at @TomDienhart.

About BTN: A joint venture between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Networks, BTN is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With more than 800 events, all in HD, the 24/7 network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. Events include football, men?s and women?s basketball games; dozens of Big Ten Championship events; studio shows; coaches? shows; and classic games. The network televises and streams more Olympic sporting events and women?s sports than has ever been aired on any other network. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation?s finest universities. The groundbreaking Student U initiative provides real-world experience for students interested in careers in sports television. The network is available to more than 80 million homes across the United States and Canada, and currently has agreements with more than 300 affiliates, including AT&T U-Verse, Atlantic Broadband, Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV, DISH Network, Insight, Mediacom, Rogers Cable (Canada), Shaw Cable and Shaw Direct (Canada), Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS. For updated information, go to http://www.BTN.com.