When one of the most powerful sports networks visits a campus they haven’t frequented for five years, it make sure its presence is felt again. Entertainment Sports Programming Network (ESPN) rolled out its 53-foot 2000 Featherlite trailer right in front of Davidson Library to promote and encourage the growth of Gaucho sports, honor university Athletic Director Gary Cunningham, and its partnership with Cox Communications.”I think this is another great step in our working relationship with Cox Communications,” said Chris Gilpatric, the regional account executive of the Western Region for ESPN. “We are dedicated to setting programs. ESPN is trying to branch out to the community and trying to reach the students at the grassroots level. Events like this is what we do, not only with Cox Communications, but with UCSB.”ESPN honored the athletic program of UCSB at 11:15 a.m. while students peered to see what all the commotion was all about. Cunningham was presented with a special award courtesy of the cable station.”The award recognizes the high caliber of the UCSB sports programs … which have provided years of top-rated local sporting events,” the corporation pronounced in its preview to the festivities.Women’s basketball Head Coach Mark French was on hand to receive much deserved praise, from Gilpatric and Julie McGovern, the vice president general manger of Cox. The next night, French guided his Gauchos to a convincing 74-48 victory over Cal Poly to break the Big West record for consecutive wins against conference opponents with 44 straight wins.The highlight of the entire event, however, was “The Truck” parking its wide load in the center of campus. Students waltzed in and out of the van with amazement; many in awe of being in a van that had more stations inside of it than an off-ramp to Las Vegas.As soon as a person walked into the van, they were immediately hit with bright lights that are replicas of those in a studio. The immediate reaction of everyone aboard seemed to be like children in a candy store, checking out every facet of this stimulating reservoir of entertainment.The most intriguing and memorable aspect of the van was that the truck had a replica SportsCenter desk that allowed people to take home a 45-second clip of their one shot at becoming a sports anchor. The fact that students were allowed to take home something from this truck was memorable in its own right.The truck had a SportsCenter wall that showcased interviews with the networks top anchors. On the left of the bus, there were several panels where a person could sit down and choose from any specific ESPN program they wanted to check out at that time, including SportsCentury, ESPN Classic, Sportsfigures, a review of the top 50 athletes, and NFL Primetown.Top anchor Chris Berman had his own section of the bus presenting the highlights the network achieved over the years, including former North Carolina State’s Head Coach Jimmy Valvano’s speech at the ESPY awards just before he died of cancer.The floor of the truck was wood panel, in the manner of a basketball court, and the ceiling even had a red ticker tape promoting the mighty corporation. All in all, it was ESPN condensed in a bottle and distributed to the gawking spectators.”This is simply an opportunity to solidify our partnership with UCSB and ESPN,” McGovern said. “We want to bring these events to the community and deliver a product while working with ESPN and the Gauchos, and it’s a way to tell our customers we really appreciate them.”