ESPN To Premiere FCS Kickoff August 23rd

Courtesy: ESPN

The 2014 college football season is still months away.  But ESPN announced this week that it will debut a new college football program this Fall.

Eastern Washington will host Sam Houston State University in the first broadcast of FCS Kickoff for the 2014 college football season.  The game will be broadcast on Saturday, August 23^rd at 3:30pm ET on ESPN.  Eastern Washington fell to Sam Houston State 49 – 34 in the 2013 season.  The loss was Eastern Washington’s only loss to an FCS opponent in the 2013 season.  Both teams are expected to be included in the 2014 preseason FCS Coaches Top 25 poll.

The matchup between Sam Houston State and Eastern Washington will be only the first of many more games to come in ESPN’s FCS Kickoff.  AS Brent Colborne, ESPN Director of Programming and Acquisitions noted in an interview, “FCS conferences and member institutions are an important part of the overall fabric of collegiate athletics and ESPN’s programming schedule.  We regularly talk with our league partners on opportunities for increased exposure and expansion of our content offerings. The FCS Kickoff is one result that will further showcase the quality and depth of FCS football to our national audience.”

Updates on ESPN’s FCS broadcast schedule will be available online at http://espn.go.com and http://www.facebook.com/ESPN throughout the year.  To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Tebow Added To SEC Network, ESPN Staff

Courtesy: ESPN

Former college football standout Tim Tebow had a hard time finding his place in the NFL.  But now, it looks like the former Florida Gator star will be hanging up his cleats in favor of a suit and tie.  That’s because he has been hired by the SEC Network.  Tebow will serve as an analyst for the networks’ pre-game show SEC Nation.  The terms of his deal also include contributions on ESPN’s SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, and ESPN’s annual Heisman Trophy award show coverage.  Tebow will make his ESPN debut on Monday, January 6^th.  He will serve as an analyst for ESPN’s pre-game coverage of the 2013 Vizio BCS National Championship.  Audiences can catch his contributions on SportsCenter at 9am, College Football Live at 3pm, and College GameDay Built By The Home Depot at 7pm.

Along with his duties on ESPN, Tebow will also be part of the fledgling SEC Network’s studio coverage of college football’s new College Football Playoffs.  The new playoff system begins with the 2014 college football season.  Tebow is the first college football analyst signed by the new network.  He will be joined Joe Tessitore and Paul Finebaum.  Tessitore is the lead ringside announcer for ESPN’s Friday Night Fights and will be host of SEC Nation.  Finebaum is host of The Paul Finebaum radio show.  The very first edition of SEC Nation will broadcast live Thursday, August 28^th from Columbia, South Carolina where the Gamecocks of South Carolina will host the Aggies of Texas A&M University.  The SEC Network will have exclusive coverage of the game.  The weekly pre-game show will make its two-hour Saturday debut on Saturday, August 30 from 10am – noon.  That broadcast will come live from the campus of Auburn, where the Tigers will host the Arkansas Razorbacks.  SEC Nation will air every Saturday throughout the college football season.  It will offer a comprehensive look at all of the biggest of each week’s college football matchups.

More information on Tebow, the SEC Network and SEC Nation is available online at http://www.secdigitalnetwork.com/.  To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.