Daktronics Taps Vice President Seth Hansen to Lead Project Management in Sports and Entertainment Markets

BROOKINGS, S.D., July 23, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Daktronics (Nasdaq:DAKT) of Brookings, S.D., announced today that Vice President Seth Hansen has been appointed to lead the company's project management operations within the sports and entertainment industries.

These industries have large, complex systems that often bring with them significant responsibilities for installation and integration. Hansen is a seasoned manager of technical contracts such as these and has consistently demonstrated the ability to meet project milestones while providing customers with the best possible experience.

"Daktronics has a long history of high performance on large projects and we are excited at the experience that Seth brings to this position,"said Jim Morgan, CEO of Daktronics. "He has the key qualities to lead our project management team as these systems continue to grow in size and complexity. We welcome Seth into his new role and look forward to continued success in this area of service to the sports and entertainment industries."

Hansen began his career at Daktronics in the Customer Service and Engineering departments before moving on to becoming a systems engineer and project manager on multiple legislative voting systems, including the United Nations. Seth branched into the sports world with the 1988 Winter Olympics in Canada, and for more than 15 years managed a variety of projects involving display systems and services for subsequent Olympic Games, Major League Baseball clubs and Division I Colleges to name a few. Over the last five years Hansen has focused internally to Daktronics by leading our Information Technology group.

Hansen's experience and responsibilities of applications engineer, project manager and Vice President of Information Technology promise to serve him and Daktronics well in this new role.

About Daktronics

Daktronics has strong leadership positions in, and is the world's largest supplier of, large screen video displays, electronic scoreboards, LED text and graphics displays, and related control systems. The company excels in the control of display systems, including those that require integration of multiple complex displays showing real-time information, graphics, animation, and video. Daktronics designs, manufactures, markets and services display systems for customers around the world in four domestic business units:  Live Events, Commercial, Schools and Theatres and Transportation, and one International business unit. For more information, visit the company's World Wide Web site at: http://www.daktronics.com, e-mail the company at investor@daktronics.com, call (605) 692-0200 or toll-free (800) 843-5843 in the United States or write to the company at 201 Daktronics Dr., PO Box 5128, Brookings, S.D. 57006-5128.

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Safe Harbor Statement

Cautionary Notice: In addition to statements of historical fact, this news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is intended to enjoy the protection of that Act.  These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's expectations or beliefs concerning future events. The Company cautions that these and similar statements involve risk and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations, including, but not limited to, changes in economic and market conditions, management of growth, timing and magnitude of future contracts, fluctuations in margins, the introduction of new products and technology, the impact of adverse weather conditions and other risks noted in the company's SEC filings, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for its 2012 fiscal year.  Forward-looking statements are made in the context of information available as of the date stated. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise such statements to reflect new circumstances or unanticipated events as they occur.

CONTACT: INVESTOR RELATIONS:

         Bill Retterath, Chief Financial Officer

         (605) 692-0200

         Investor@daktronics.com