Tom Joyner Virtual College Fair Launches with MetroPCS as New Strategic Partner, Adds Live Events to Connect More College-Bound Students and Parents with Schools

DALLAS, Sept. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tom Joyner Virtual College Fair and MetroPCS Communications, Inc. this year are offering both online and live resources to connect college-bound students and their parents with schools and universities across the country.  

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100714/DA34639LOGO-b)

The website, www.TomJoynerCollegeFair.com, is the brainchild of nationally syndicated radio host and philanthropist, Tom Joyner. The site encourages all potential higher-education students to pursue a degree and contains important information from more than 84 participating schools. Listeners of the Tom Joyner Morning Show can access the site through BlackAmericaWeb.com.

"College shouldn't be an option," said Joyner. "It's a necessity in today's world and the virtual college fair makes the first step more accessible than ever to the audience that's most important to me."

Tom Joyner Virtual College Fair offers students and parents critical information about the admission process, financial aid, housing and student life from the country's leading Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) through a highly interactive website.  Participating HBCUs include Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, North Carolina A&T, Lane College and Prairie View A&M, as well as traditional colleges who have placed an emphasis on wanting minority students to succeed in their higher education pursuits like West Point Academy, University of South Florida and the University of Iowa.  

As a presenting sponsor, MetroPCS is helping to fuel the success of the website that last year had more than 200,000 online visitors and more than 80 participating schools

"We're excited to partner with Tom Joyner Virtual College Fair and provide access to vitally important college information that will affect lives and shape futures for years to come," said Tom Keys, president and COO of MetroPCS. "Offering information about choosing the right school and being equipped with the right tools to succeed is just one way that we're delivering education for all of our customers and others within the communities in which we serve."

Tom Joyner Virtual College Fair and MetroPCS will expand the reach of the online site to in-person events in cities across the country including Atlanta, Dallas, Jacksonville, Miami, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia and Southern Michigan. For more information regarding the Tom Joyner Virtual College Fair, please visit BlackAmericaWeb.com (http://www.blackamericaweb.com) or TomJoynerCollegeFair.com.

About Tom Joyner and the Tom Joyner Morning Show

Joyner has been a long time advocate for higher education.  Joyner, an alumnus of an HBCU, Tuskegee University, challenged himself to help students continue their education.  In 1998, he established the Tom Joyner Foundation, which to date has raised over $60 million for Black colleges and the students who attend those institutions.  

The Tom Joyner Morning Show is the nation's #1 syndicated urban morning show in the country, airing in more than 105 markets and reaching nearly 8 million listeners.  It has distinguished itself over the years as continuously giving back to its audience with quality programming, highly popular promotions, special events and philanthropy.  Since 2004, Joyner has awarded millions in cash and prizes to contest winners and his Foundation has raised more than $60 million to help keep students in historically black colleges and universities.  The Morning Show with co-hosts Sybil Wilkes, J. Anthony Brown and senior news analyst Roland Martin, also features "Inside Her Story" with Jacque Reid; political commentary from Stephanie Robinson and Jeff Johnson; and celebrity news with Kevin Frazier, as well as comedic observations from D.L. Hughley, Dominique and the Celebrity Snitch Huggy Lowdown.  Joyner's website, BlackAmericaWeb.com, has more than 1.5 million registered users and delivers news with exclusive reports from award winning journalists and unprecedented political coverage as well as interactive elements with on demand audio.

About MetroPCS Communications, Inc.

Dallas-based MetroPCS Communications, Inc. is a provider of no annual contract, unlimited wireless communications service for a flat-rate. MetroPCS is the fifth largest facilities-based wireless carrier in the United States based on number of subscribers served. With Metro USASM, MetroPCS customers can use their service in areas throughout the United States covering a population of over 280 million people. As of June 30, 2011, MetroPCS had approximately 9.1 million subscribers. For more information please visit www.metropcs.com.

SOURCE MetroPCS Communications, Inc.