Sports in Brief: ESPN, SEC to operate television network

The Southeastern Conference and ESPN on Thursday announced a 20-year agreement to operate an SEC network that is scheduled to debut in August 2014.

SEC commissioner Mike Slive said the SEC network will produce 1,000 live events each year, including 450 televised on the network and 550 distributed digitally. Slive says the network will carry approximately 45 SEC football games each year "and a depth of content across all sports."

No financial terms were released for the deal, which continues through 2034.

The announcement came at a news conference attended by Slive, ESPN president John Skipper, 32 SEC coaches, and each of the league's 14 athletic directors. The emphasis was this is to be a national network.

Notre Dame unveiled a plan to add buildings and more than 3,000 revenue-producing premium seats in and around Notre Dame Stadium in a push to make that area of campus more of a community hub.

The stadium that opened in 1930 and was expanded in 1997 is used fewer than 10 times a year for football games, commencement, and recreational events.

PRO FOOTBALL: New York Jets defensive end Claude Davis and cornerback Cliff Harris were cut a day after they were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana.

The two players, who were signed to reserve-future contracts in January and never played for the Jets, were arrested Monday night in Morristown, N.J., after an officer noticed the vehicle they were in was filled with smoke.

GOLF: For all the talk about the greens, Rory McIlroy's most important club was his driver in the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, N.C.

McIlroy kept the ball in play at Quail Hollow and gave himself plenty of birdie chances on a cloudy, soft afternoon. He ran off six birdies in a seven-hole stretch around the turn and finished with an eight-foot birdie putt for a 5-under 67 to share the lead with six other players.

Thai teen Ariya Jutanugarn shot a 7-under 64 to take a 2-stroke lead after the first round of the LPGA Tour's Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg, Va.

- Wire reports