Saturday, August 07, 2004

CSTV's FOOTBALL SCHEDULE FOR 2004



STANFORD-BYU KICKS OFF CSTV 2004 COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Rutgers-Navy, Grambling-Bethune Cookman, Lehigh-Lafayette,
Williams-Amherst and Penn-Princeton Rivalries Renewed on CSTV

CSTV Provides Most Comprehensive On-Air and Online
Coverage of College Football, From Division I-A to Division III

NEW YORK, July 28, 2004 - An explosive meeting between prolific offensive powers Stanford and Brigham Young will kick off CSTV: College Sports Television's (www.collegesports.com) 2004 College Football Saturday game-of-the-week schedule on Saturday, September 11 (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT). College Sports TV's rivalry- and tradition-laden lineup also features intense match-ups such as Navy vs. Rutgers, Grambling vs. Bethune-Cookman, Lehigh vs. Lafayette, Penn vs. Princeton and Montana vs. Montana State.

"Led by our game-of-the-week package, CSTV will be the number one home for college football fans this fall," said Brian Bedol, president and CEO, CSTV. "College Sports TV and CollegeSports.com will cover more games, student-athletes, teams and conferences than any other network, providing fans with the most and best news, analysis and highlights. Our 2004 schedule leads off with a great Division I-A match-up featuring two high-powered offenses, and continues with some of the most storied rivalries in the game."
The 2004 CSTV College Football Schedule (all times ET):

Sat., Sept. 11 Brigham Young @ Stanford 10:00 p.m. Division I-A football makes its debut on College Sports TV when Pac-10 power Stanford takes on Mountain West Conference mainstay BYU in primetime; expect an aerial display from the colleges that produced John Elway, Steve Young, Ty Detmer and Jim McMahon.

Sat., Sept. 18 The Ohio Classic: Grambling vs. Bethune-Cookman 1:00 p.m.These fierce rivals, arguably the top two programs in historically black college football, face off in Cincinnati at Paul Brown Stadium for bragging rights on and off the field; in addition, both teams' marching bands will strut their stuff when College Sports TV premieres Defeat The Beat: The National Collegiate Band Championship the same weekend.

Sat, Sept. 18 Lafayette @ Princeton 7:00 p.m. Two schools with storied football programs square off under the lights; the first meeting between the Leopards and the Tigers took place in 1883. Lafayette captured last year's contest 28-13.Sat.,

Sept. 25 Delaware @ Massachusetts 2:00 p.m. Delaware captured the national championship last season, although UMass was co-champion of the Atlantic 10 Conference with the Blue Hens; Delaware nipped UMass in OT last year; the Minutemen got the best of UD the year prior.

Sat., Oct. 2 Northern Iowa @ Southern Illinois 2:30 p.m. A re-match of last year's 43-40 UNI victory over the Salukis; these two were 2003 Gateway Conference co-champions, and are again highly regarded heading into this fall.Sat.,

Oct. 2 Maine @ Delaware 6:00 p.m. Duel between defending national champ and perennial contender; Delaware defeated Maine 24-21 last season on a late field goal enroute to its national title.

Sat., Oct. 9 Idaho State @ Montana 3:00 p.m. In Montana's Homecoming game, a pair of ranked teams get it on at one of the top venues in all of college football; these two have been playing since 1921; expect a high-scoring affair, as Idaho State upended Montana last fall 43-40.

Sat., Oct. 16 McNeese State @ Northwestern State 5:00 p.m. The biggest rivalry in the Southland Conference should once again help decide the conference championship. McNeese State is the defending conference champ, although experts also expect big things from Northwestern State this season.

Sat., Oct. 23 Wofford @ Appalachian State 3:00 p.m.Defending Southern Conference champion Wofford takes on the 2004 pre-season conference favorite; Wofford head coach Mike Ayers was 2003 I-AA National Coach of the Year.

Sat., Oct. 30 Colgate @ Lehigh 1:00 p.m. 43rd meeting in one of the top rivalries in the Patriot League; Colgate, 2003 national finalist, is lead by 2003 Walter Payton I-AA Player of the Year Jamaal Branch; this contest should definitely have conference championship and national playoff implications.

Sat., Nov. 6 Penn @ Princeton 1:00 p.m. The classic Ivy League backyard brawl features local rivals Princeton and Penn; Penn won the Ivy League last fall going undefeated in league and overall play. Princeton, looking to avenge its loss to the Quakers last season, is expected to unleash its aerial attack.

Sat., Nov. 13 Furman @ Wofford 1:00 p.m. University of Florida QB Ingle Martin transferred to Furman and has the Paladins primed to take over the Southern Conference title from Wofford, which defeated Furman 7-6 last year. This series dates back to 1889, and Furman is the Southern Conference's most successful program, with 513 victories and 11 conference titles.

Sat. Nov. 13 Williams @ Amherst 8:30 p.m. The "Best Little Game in America" features these bitter conference rivals, who have faced off 118 times dating back to 1884 (Williams owns a 66-47-5 series advantage); Williams was victorious last year, 14-10, in what is also called the "Ultimate Grudge Match," which is also the fourth-most-played rivalry in all of college football.

Sat., Nov. 20 Rutgers @ Navy 1:30 p.m. Rutgers took it to Navy last year, but the Midshipmen went to a post-season bowl. This time, the game is on Navy's home turf, picturesque Navy-Marine Corps Stadium. Navy is looking to snap Rutgers' three-game series win skein.

Sat., Nov. 20 Lehigh @ Lafayette 5:00 p.m. The most-played rivalry in college football, and perennially the biggest game of the year in the Patriot League; Lehigh and Lafayette fight for the title of "King of the Valley." This meeting will be the 140th between the two schools; Lehigh emerged victorious last fall 30-10.

Sat., Nov. 20 Montana State @ Montana 8:30 p.m. Cats-Grizzlies, one of the most storied rivalries in I-AA, draws standing-room only crowds, the best tailgates, and year-long bragging rights statewide. Montana State won last year 27-10 enroute to its second straight Big Sky championship, but Montana was conference coaches' pick as #1 team heading into this season.

CSTV will also have comprehensive coverage of the conference championships, NCAA playoffs and the Bowl Championship Series.

College Sports TV, the fastest-growing independent cable network, is available to more than 20 million homes nationally on cable and satellite. The network is available on Time Warner, Adelphia and Insight cable systems, among others, and is also available on DirecTV (channel 610). For information on CSTV availability in particular markets, consumers can log on to www.collegesports.com or call their cable or satellite operator.

CSTV is comprised of two primary business units: College Sports TV and CollegeSports.com. College Sports TV televises regular season and championship event coverage from every major collegiate athletic conference, in addition to nine NCAA Championships. The network also has a programming and marketing agreement with the U.S. Olympic Committee. CollegeSports.com, the most-trafficked college sports Web site, and its network of nearly 160 official athletic sites for top colleges, universities and athletic associations, are the number one online source for college sports news, information, scores and analysis.

CSTV was co-founded by President/CEO Brian Bedol, Chairman Stephen Greenberg and Executive Vice President Chris Bevilacqua. Bedol and Greenberg co-founded Classic Sports Network, which they sold to ESPN. It is now ESPN Classic. Bevilacqua is a former senior executive with Nike Inc., where he headed the company's successful foray into the college market
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Eric HandlerCSTV: College Sports Television
212-342-8760 ehandler@cstv.com