Penn State-Notre Dame time set with others

Official Release courtesy of Penn State athletics

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., June 19, 2007 -- The kick times for Penn State’s first three contests during its blockbuster 2007 home football schedule are set, with the Nittany Lions making two appearances on the Big Ten Network, which will launch in August.

Penn State will be featured on the Big Ten Network on September 1, when the Nittany Lions host Florida International for their 121st season opener. The first meeting between the schools will kick at 12:00 p.m. ET in Beaver Stadium as part of the Network’s opening day of Big Ten Football telecasts.

The Nittany Lions also will appear on the Big Ten Network on Sept. 15, hosting Buffalo at 12:00 p.m. The schools will be meeting for the first time since 1900 and just the second time overall.
Penn State also will make at least one appearance on the Big Ten Network during the eight-game conference schedule. Every Big Ten football team will make at least two appearances on the Network each season. The Big Ten Network will air more than 35 football games each year, with 18 contests already announced for the 2007 season.

All games produced by the Big Ten Network will be available to cable and satellite operators nationwide as part of their agreements to carry the network. Whenever the Big Ten Network is producing more than one game airing at the same time, the network will split the feeds regionally among cable operators to allow Big Ten fans to watch the game with the most regional interest. In addition, cable and satellite providers that have agreed to carry the network will be offered the chance to carry the additional games via “overflow” channels. The majority of the games airing on the Big Ten Network will be shown in high definition (HD).

The announcement of the FIU and Buffalo kick times brings the total of announced kick times and TV to five games, all at home, for the upcoming season.

Penn State will host Notre Dame on Sept. 8, with ESPN airing the clash at 6:00 p.m. in Beaver Stadium.

The Nittany Lions’ 88th Homecoming game, against Wisconsin on Oct. 13, will kick at 3:30 p.m. ET and air on ABC.

The Oct. 27 border battle with Ohio State will kick at 8:00 p.m. and air on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. A determination on which network will air the game may not be made until 12 days before the game.

The Nittany Lions have long been one of college football's premier programs for television networks. Every Nittany Lion game has been televised the past three seasons and 151 of the last 153 Penn State games overall have been on TV. Since 1995, Penn State has had 137 regular season telecasts, tops in the Big Ten.

Future Penn State contests may be selected by the networks under the six and 12-day provisions of their contracts with the Big Ten Conference.

Coach Joe Paterno enters his 42nd season as head coach with 15 returning starters (8 offense, 6 defense, 1 specialist) from last year’s 9-4 squad. The Nittany Lions have a blockbuster 2007 home schedule that includes five bowl teams from 2006: Notre Dame, Iowa (Oct. 6), Wisconsin, Ohio State and Purdue (Nov. 3).

The Big Ten Network is a national television network, available to all cable and satellite providers nationwide, that will allow fans to see their home teams regardless of where they live. The network currently has national agreements in place with DirecTV and AT&T and also a local agreement with Buckeye CableSystem in Toledo, Ohio, for more than 150,000 subscribers in northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan. Additionally, the network has agreements pending with more than 40 other cable operators within the eight states of the Big Ten. In total, the network currently is available to viewers in 16 million homes.

Launching in August, the Big Ten Network is dedicated to covering the Big Ten Conference and its 11 member institutions. The Big Ten Network will provide unprecedented access to an extensive schedule of conference sports events and shows; original programs in academics, the arts and sciences; campus activities and associated personalities. Sports programming will include live coverage of more major men's and women's events than ever before, along with news, highlights and analysis, all complemented by hours of university-produced campus programming. The network is available to all cable and satellite carriers and television distributors nationwide, with most programs offered in stunning high-definition television (HDTV). The Big Ten Network is a 20-year partnership between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Cable Networks.

To get the Big Ten Network, Penn State alumni and fans should call their cable provider and request the network.

For more information regarding the Big Ten Network, visit http://www.bigtennetwork.com/.