Two College Football Press Releases

I’ll be ready with links later, but flushing out some press releases first so I don’t have to do them later.

Big Ten Network is ready for college football with a game on Thursday and a bunch of games on Saturday.

Big Ten Network Kicks Off Third Season

Live football coverage begins Thursday night

CHICAGO – With seven football games on opening weekend, a full slate of new programming and nationwide distribution, the Big Ten Network is poised to begin its third year of operation.

The network will carry first game of the Big Ten football season at 8 PM ET on Thursday, as Indiana hosts Eastern Kentucky at newly-renovated Memorial Stadium. Six other Big Ten teams – Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin – will open their seasons on Saturday with games on the Big Ten Network. Overall, the network will once again televise between 35-40 football games and all of them will be produced in high definition.

“As we enter our third year of wall-to-wall Big Ten coverage, we’re excited about the additions and enhancements we’ve made to our weekly programming lineup,” Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman said. “Every night of the week and all day long on Saturday, the Big Ten Network will be the number one destination for Big Ten fans.”

Six New Programs to Debut

The Big Ten Network will debut several new programs this month, headlined by the “Football Four-Pack,” a quartet of new studio shows that will air at 10 PM ET Tuesday through Friday.

Tuesday’s show, Breakdown, will be hosted by Dave Revsine, Howard Griffith and Chris Martin. That show will use coaches’ film to review what happened during last week’s games and more importantly, why. Sites and Sounds will air on Wednesdays with Rick Pizzo and Troy Vincent, former Wisconsin defensive back and one of the network’s new analysts. Former Big Ten head coaches Gerry DiNardo and Glen Mason will join Revsine on Thursday nights for Behind The Schemes to discuss the X’s and O’s of the coming week’s games. Finally, on Fridays, Revsine will host Big Ten Football and Beyond along with DiNardo, Griffith, Chicago Tribune college football reporter Teddy Greenstein and Sports Illustrated’s Cory McCartney to get a look at the national games that might affect the Big Ten.

The Big Ten Network will be the place for fans to get all they need on football Saturdays. The day begins at 10 AM ET with the new Big Ten Cookout show. Host Melanie Collins and Chefs Ben and Julius will give fans a taste of the pre-game tailgating scene in the Big Ten. Revsine, Griffith and DiNardo will host the Big Ten Football Saturday Pre-Game Show. Expanded to 90 minutes this year, the program will whip around the Big Ten to take a final look at the day’s games. After the network’s game coverage, the studio crew will return for the Big Ten Football Saturday Post-Game Show, complete with more Big Ten highlights, analysis and post-game reaction from coaches and players than any other network.

The network’s new series, The Big Ten’s Best, will pay tribute to the Big Ten’s outstanding history and legacy. Each episode will rank the conference’s top 10 performers or performances in a particular category and include interviews with players, coaches and media. The series premieres at 8 PM ET on Friday, Sept. 4 with Best Dynamic Football Duos of the 80’s and 90’s. New episodes will air at 8 PM ET each Friday.

Rascal Flatts Records Original Big Ten Network Lyrics, Open

The opening of each Big Ten Network primetime football telecast will include a special performance by country music superstars and Ohio natives Rascal Flatts interlaced with a montage of Big Ten highlights. The band’s performance will include special lyrics of their single Me and My Gang, tailored to Big Ten football. Their performance was recorded in front of a live audience at a recent concert in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Speaking of music, ESPN tells us that the Dave Matthews Band will be the official band for its college football coverage from beginning to end this season. Why?

Dave Matthews Band Official Band of ESPN’s 2009 College Football Coverage

ESPN Networks to Feature Songs from Dave Matthews Band’s Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King plus Others throughout the Season

The Grammy Award-winning Dave Matthews Band will serve as the official band of ESPN’s college football coverage from the kickoff of the season to the conclusion of the BCS National Championship Game on ABC on Jan. 7, providing 10 songs – seven from their new album Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King — for game and studio telecasts across multiple platforms. The other three songs will come from the albums Crash and Under the Table and Dreaming.

The music will be featured in various ways during game and studio telecasts, including as the networks go to and return from commercial breaks, in highlight montages and for promotions of upcoming programs and show segments across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN360.com, ESPN Mobile TV and ESPN International.

On occasion, the song will be accompanied by a video montage of Dave Matthews Band concert performance footage and college football highlights. Every Saturday Night Football Presented by Southwest Airlines telecast on ABC will feature a 45-second montage of first-half highlights at the beginning of the second half.

Dave Matthews Band’s Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, available for purchase at http://www.davematthewsband.com, has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 in June 2009, marking the band’s fifth consecutive studio album to enter the chart in the top position – thus tying Dave Matthews Band and Metallica as the only two groups in chart history to have five consecutive studio albums bow at No. 1.

Dave Matthews Band is Carter Beauford (drums), Stefan Lessard (bass), Dave Matthews (vocals, guitar) and Boyd Tinsley (violin). With more than 15 million tickets sold, it is the highest-grossing American act of all time.

I don’t mind Dave Matthews, but not when I watch college football. This will just piss me off while watching the games.