Indiana University will be the first institution in the U.S. to broadcast its basketball games in Mandarin.
The university announced Friday it would broadcast all 19 home men's basketball games in the language. IU students who speak fluent Mandarin will provide commentary for the games, which will be available to stream for free anywhere in the world.
The university says it recruited the student broadcasters and will train them through the Mark Cuban Center for Sports Media and Technology.
IU has close to 3,000 Chinese students at its Bloomington campus and about 4,450 Chinese alumni.
President Michael McRobbie says the Mandarin broadcasts will help Chinese students and alumni stay connected with the university.
"Basketball is the most popular sport in China, and broadcasting IU men's basketball games in Mandarin will bring one of America's most storied and famous basketball programs to a country of more than 1.3 billion people in their native language," McRobbie said in a statement.
The first IU men's basketball game of the season is Tuesday, Nov. 3 at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers will take on Ottawa in an exhibition game at 7 p.m.