May 26, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., - Penn State's initial two home games of the 2010 season, against Youngstown State (Sept. 4) and Kent State (Sept. 18) have been set for noon kicks with national television coverage.
The contests are the Nittany Lions' fourth and fifth announced start times for the upcoming season.
The Youngstown State game will be televised by the Big Ten Network. The Nittany Lions and Penguins have met once before, with Penn State winning the 2006 season opener in Beaver Stadium. Penn State will play multiple games on the Big Ten Network this season, including at least one conference clash.
The Kent State contest will air on ESPN or ESPN2. The Lions lead the series with the Golden Flashes, 2-0, winning in 1965 and 2003 in Happy Valley.
The Nittany Lions' Oct. 2 contest at Iowa and Oct. 30 home game with Michigan had previously been announced for 8:00 p.m. kicks and will air on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC. Penn State's Homecoming clash with Illinois will kick at 12:00 p.m. on Oct. 9 in Beaver Stadium and be televised by the Big Ten Network, ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC.
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.
Penn State played four football games last season on the Big Ten Network, which is available in portions of Youngstown and northwestern Pennsylvania on Time Warner Cable. However, Armstrong Cable does not carry the Big Ten Network to Austintown, Boardman, Canfield, Girard, Mineral Ridge, Niles, North Lima and Poland in suburban Youngstown.
Beaver Falls, Ellwood City, New Castle and Wampum just across the Pennsylvania border from Youngstown also have Armstrong subscribers without access to the Big Ten Network, in addition to other western Pennsylvania cities like Butler, Connellsville, Cranberry Twp., Grove City, Mars, Meadville, Somerset, Tidoute, Titusville, Warren, West Sunbury and Zelienople.
Armstrong has more than 140,000 customers in western Pennsylvania and more than 70,000 customers in Ohio, none of whom have cable access to the Big Ten Network.
The Big Ten Network is available in 75 million homes in the United States and Canada on DirecTV, Dish Network and Verizon FiOS and 300 cable providers, including Atlantic Broadband, Cablevision, CATV Service, Comcast, Nittany Media, RCN, Service Electric and Time-Warner in Pennsylvania. The network is available in 38 states and 19 of the nation's top 20 markets.
The Nittany Lions played eight games on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC last season.
Penn State is 51-13 (79.7) since the start of the 2005 season, tied for the nation's No. 7 winning percentage over that span. The Nittany Lions earned their second consecutive 11-2 record last season, capped by a win over LSU in the Capital One Bowl, Penn State's fourth bowl victory in the past five seasons. Penn State posted its 23rd final Top 10 ranking under Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno.
The Nittany Lions return 37 letterwinners for the 2010 season, including 13 starters (7 offense, 5 defense, 1 specialist), as well as 11 players that have starting experience. Penn State opens the season Sept. 4 vs. Youngstown State in Beaver Stadium and visits 2009 national champion Alabama on Sept. 11.
Penn State Football will hold its 36th annual summer camps in June. The camps feature two offense / defense skills and fundamentals camps for athletes entering 8th-12th grade in the fall, to be held June 20-23 and June 27-30. A "seniors only" camp will be held June 25-26, Penn State's popular 7-on-7 team passing camp will be held June 18-19 and a placekicking camp is June 4-5.
For more information on the Penn State Football Camps, please visit: www.pennstatefootballcamps.com or call the Penn State sports camps office at 814-865-0561.