February 11, 2002

FORMER FOOTBALL AND BASEBALL STAR DEION SANDERS TO HOST "MISS USA 2002,"LIVE FROM GARY, IND., MARCH 1 ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK

Deion Sanders, one of the National Football League's all-time greatest cornerbacks and a former Major League baseball player, has been drafted to host MISS USA 2002, to be broadcast live from the Genesis Center in Gary, Ind., Friday, March 1 (9:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network. Fifty-one young women from each of the states and the District of Columbia will compete for the Miss USA title.

Sanders, who joined CBS Sports this Fall as a feature reporter/contributor on "The NFL Today," had a 12-year NFL career. He was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and is the only athlete in professional sports history to play in both a World Series (1992) and a Super Bowl (1994, 1995). Sanders football career included stints with the Atlanta Falcons, the San Francisco 49ers, the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins. In baseball, he played for the New York Yankees, the Atlanta Braves, the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants.

At the conclusion of the event, Kandace Krueger, Miss USA 2001, will crown her successor, Miss USA 2002, who will spend the next year working on behalf of charities and humanitarian causes and pageant sponsors.

MISS USA 2002 is being produced by Miss Universe L.P., LLLP, in association with Triage Entertainment. Stu Scheiberg and Marilyn Seabury are the executive producers; Glenn Weiss is the director.

RATING: To Be Announced

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Press Contacts: Beth Feldman (CBS) 212/975-3183 bstoller-feldman@cbs.com

Tracey Raab (CBS) 323/575-4269 tracey.raab@tvc.cbs.com

Mary Hilliard McMillan (Miss Universe Organization) 212/373-4982