Aug. 27, 2007
Iowa Football Camp Central
24 Hawkeyes to Watch
The Big Ten Network: Nuts and Bolts
  |
|
IOWA CITY – The Big Ten Network won’t broadcast its first live event from the University of Iowa campus until Sept. 8 when the Iowa football team entertains Syracuse in prime time from historic Kinnick Stadium. However, that doesn’t mean the Hawkeyes and their fans will be on the sidelines.
The Big Ten Network plans to join fans of the Iowa Hawkeyes for the “Hawkeye Huddle” that will be staged on Chicago’s Navy Pier on Friday, Aug. 31. As many as 10,000 fans of the Hawkeyes, and alumni and friends of the University of Iowa will be on hand to celebrate the start of another college football season and the Iowa Hawkeyes first visit to the Windy City’s Soldier Field.
The Big Ten Network will file reports from the Hawkeye Huddle during the debut of its “Friday Night Tailgate” show hosted by Mike Hall.
Airing every Friday at 7 p .m. (Iowa time), Friday Night Tailgate will give viewers a look at all the passion and fervor when Big Ten campuses come alive as student-athletes, students, fans, and faculty get ready for Saturday’s game. Capping a week of in-depth football analysis, Friday Night Tailgate will use the studio as well as a campus presence to provide an unparalleled look at the next day’s games, as well as the excitement and anticipation that surround Friday night in the Big Ten.
The Big Ten Network will also have a presence outside Soldier Field on game day, providing a glimpse of the energy and excitement on the Chicago’s lakefront prior to the Hawkeyes’ 2007 season opener against Northern Illinois.
“These are two great examples of what the Big Ten Network will offer fans of the Iowa Hawkeyes,” said Rick Klatt, the UI’s associate athletics director for external affairs.
The Iowa football team’s 2007 home opener Sept. 8 against Syracuse will be the first event to televised live by the Big Ten Network from the UI campus. Live, high definition television coverage will begin at 7 p.m. from historic Kinnick Stadium.
That football game is one of four the UI expects to be televised live this fall by the Big Ten Network. More than 20 games of Coach Todd Lickliter’s UI men’s basketball team are already slated for live coverage by the Big Ten Network. The number of events to be televised live by the Network will grow later this month when the television schedules for volleyball, field hockey, women’s soccer, wrestling and women’s basketball are announced.
“We expect as many as 65 to 70 events involving UI teams to be televised live on the Big Ten Network which is why, in Iowa, we believe the Big Ten Network is actually the University of Iowa Network,” said Klatt.
Friends of the UI and fans of the Iowa Hawkeyes in getting the Big Ten Network – the “University of Iowa Network” for Iowans – on their basic cable package are encouraged to call their local cable television operator or 1-866-WANT-B10.
Click HERE to learn more about the Big Ten Network.