March 7, 2011
CHICAGO; - The Big Ten Network will unveil its newest original program, "Path to the Pros," at 9:00 p.m. ET Wednesday, March 9.. The four-episode series follows four Big Ten football players, including Penn State All-American Stefen Wisniewski (Bridgeville), as they prepare for the NFL Draft.
Each 30-minute show will take viewers behind the scenes as the NFL hopefuls prepare for the next level of their careers, including completing individual workouts, attending meetings and being interviewed.
The former Big Ten players joining Wisniewski in the series are J.J. Watt (Wisconsin), Quentin Davie (Northwestern), Dane Sanzenbacher (Ohio State). Wednesday's episode will air immediately following the Big Ten Basketball Tournament Preview, which begins at 8:00 p.m. ET, and re-air at 10:30 p.m.
Wisniewski is among the most distinguished Penn State Football student-athletes in the program's 124-year history. He is the first Nittany Lion Football student-athlete to be selected a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American®, earning first team honors from 2009 and 2010. He finished second in balloting for the 2010 Academic All-American® of the Year in college football. Wisniewski finished with a 3.90 cumulative grade point average, earning his degree in secondary education this past December.
A participant in the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine, Wisniewski gained six All-America recognitions following the 2010 season, earning first-team honors from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and Scout.com. He also was selected an Associated Press second-team All-American, joining previous second-team accolades from the Walter Camp Football Foundation, www.CBSsports.com and www.Rivals.com.
A starter in 38 of the last 39 games of his stellar career, Wisniewski earned first-team All-Big Ten accolades in 2009 and 2010. The former Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School standout became the first Nittany Lion to earn first team All-America and Academic All-America® accolades in the same season since another former Western Pennsylvania standout, linebacker Paul Posluszny (2005 and '06).
The complete "Path to the Pros" debut schedule is below.
`Path to the Pros' Scheduled Debut Dates
Wednesday, March 9 - 9 PM ET
Thursday, March 31 - 8:30 PM ET
Thursday, April 14 - 8:30PM ET
Thursday, May 5 - 8 PM ET
Also this week, the Big Ten Network will air Penn State's first round game in the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament on Thursday, March 10. The Nittany Lions, the No. 6 seed, will face 11th-seeded Indiana at 7:30 p.m. Should Penn State defeat the Hoosiers, it will play No. 3 seed Wisconsin, Friday at approximately 9:00 p.m on the Big Ten Network. The network also will air the third quarterfinal game Friday at 6:30 p.m. Penn State tied for fourth place in the Big Ten standings with a 9-9 record.
The Big Ten Network also will re-air the 2011 Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Tuesday, March 8 from 8-11 p.m. Coach Cael Sanderson guided Penn State to its first Big Ten crown, by one point over Iowa, as five Niittany Lions won titles.
The Big Ten Network is available in more than 75 million homes in the United States and Canada on DirecTV, Dish Network, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-Verse and 300 cable providers, including Atlantic Broadband, Cablevision, CATV Service, Charter, Comcast, Consolidated Communications, Cox (Cleveland, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Omaha, Las Vegas and Northern Virginia), Insight, Kuhn Communications, Mediacom, Nittany Media, RCN, Service Electric, Shen-Heights TV and Time-Warner Cable.
Armstrong, Blue Ridge, Adams and MetroCast Cable in Pennsylvania, though, do not carry the Big Ten Network. More than 35,000 Penn State alumni live in the communities served by the four cable providers in Pennsylvania and the Youngstown, Ohio area.
About the Big Ten Network: A joint venture between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Networks, 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 sporting 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.
For more information on the Big Ten Network, go to www.BigTenNetwork.com.