July 20, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - The Big Ten Network will air five consecutive days of the Nittany Lions' most memorable victories and events from the past year and campus programming during Penn State Week, July 26-30.
The Nittany Lion basketball, Lady Lion basketball, football, men's gymnastics, women's soccer, men's and women's track and field/cross country and women's volleyball teams will be among the squads featured during Penn State Week. The network also will air Penn State institutional programming, including President Graham Spanier's program, "Expert Opinion," episodes of "We Are: The Millenials" and the highly-acclaimed documentary, "Making The Blue Band."
The Big Ten Network televised more than 500 athletic events in 2009-10, including more than 100 events featuring Penn State. The network is available to approximately 75 million homes through agreements with more than 300 cable, satellite and telco providers in all 50 states and Canada. The network is available on cable in 46 states and 19 of the top 20 U.S. markets.
The Big Ten Network, though, is not carried by Adams, Blue Ridge and MetroCast cable in Pennsylvania. The network also is not available to Armstrong Cable customers in western Pennsylvania and suburban Youngstown, Ohio. A combined total of more than 35,000 Penn State alumni live in communities served by the four cable providers, in addition to thousands more fans and current Penn State students.
The Nittany Lions' football season opener with Youngstown State (Sept. 4) will air exclusively on the network and will be the first of the more than 100 Penn State events that will air on the Big Ten Network in 2010-11. Additional football games will air exclusively on the network this fall, in addition to the women's volleyball, soccer and field hockey events announced earlier this month.
In addition to numerous games, Penn State conference championships in men's gymnastics, women's soccer and women's cross country/track and field will be featured during Penn State Week. Among the highlights of Penn State Week on Big Ten Network:
Monday, July 26 (all times ET)
2:00 p.m. - 2009 Big Ten Cross Country Championships
5:00 p.m - Making The Blue Band documentary
8:00 p.m. - 2006 FedEx Orange Bowl - Penn State vs. Florida State
10:00 p.m. - 2009 Penn State vs. Michigan women's volleyball
Tuesday, July 27
6:00 p.m. - 2001 Big Ten Basketball Tournament: Penn State vs. Michigan State
8:00 p.m. - 1994 Football: Penn State at Illinois
10:00 p.m. - 2010 Lady Lion Basketball vs. Michigan
Wednesday, July 28
2:00 p.m. - 2010 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships
6:00 p.m. - 2008 Nittany Lion Basketball vs. Indiana
10:00 p.m. - 2008 Big Ten Men's Gymnastics Championships
Thursday, July 29
2:00 p.m. - 2008 Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament, Championship game: Penn State vs. Minnesota
6:00 p.m. - 2001 NCAA Basketball Tournament: Penn State vs. North Carolina
8:00 p.m. - 2001 Football: Ohio State at Penn State
10:00 p.m. - 2010 Big Ten Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships
Friday, July 30
6:00 p.m. - 1993 Football: Penn State at Michigan State
8:00 p.m. - 1989 Holiday Bowl: Penn State vs. BYU
For the complete Penn State Week schedule, click here .
The Big Ten Network aired more than 100 Penn State athletic events during the 2009-10 academic year. Twenty-four Penn State teams appeared on the network, including football (4 games, plus Blue-White Game), Nittany Lion basketball (16), Lady Lion basketball (9), the three-time defending NCAA women's volleyball champions (7), wrestling and 19 more squads.
Penn State also is the leader in the production of institutional, non-sports programming among all Big Ten institutions, with nearly 190 hours of programming airing on the network this past year. President Graham Spanier's panel program, "Expert Opinion," has been well-received by the network and viewers during its initial year on the air.
About the Big Ten Network: The Big Ten Network is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With approximately 350 live events, and nearly all of them in HD, the network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. The network operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, showcasing a wide array of classic-to-current sports and televising more Olympic sporting events and women's sports than has ever been aired on any other network. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation's finest universities. Each year, the network offers between 35 and 40 football games, 105 regular season men's basketball games; 55 women's basketball games; dozens of Big Ten Championship events; studio shows; coaches' shows; and classic games.
Available to all cable and satellite providers nationwide and in Canada, the network has agreements with more than 300 affiliates, including Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-Verse, DirecTV, DISH Network, Atlantic Broadband, Bright House, CATV Service, Inc., Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox (Omaha, Cleveland, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas), Insight, Kuhn Communications, Mediacom, Midcontinent, Nittany Media, RCN, Rogers Cable (Canada), Service Electric, Shaw Cable and Shaw Direct (Canada), Time Warner Cable, Western Broadband, Windstream and WOW.