CHARLOTTE, N.C. - For the fourth consecutive season, ESPN Regional Television, Inc., and the Mid-American Conference have announced a six-week regionally syndicated football package that will air in 24 television markets, including Chicago; Philadelphia; Detroit; Cleveland; Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnati; Indianapolis; Grand Rapids, Mich.; and Buffalo. The package will consist of six weeks of MAC conference and non-conference matchups, beginning Saturday, Sept. 18.
"We are extremely excited about the upcoming football season and the MAC Game of the Week schedule," said Pete Derzis, senior vice president & general manager, ESPN Regional Television. "We have assembled an extensive group of MAC affiliates that reaches a significant base of college football fans. The demand for this content is a testament to the quality of MAC football."
All games will begin at noon ET, with the telecast window extending to 3:30 p.m. The games will be distributed nationally via the ESPN GamePlan pay-per-view package, which is available to fans via cable, DIRECTV and Dish Network. The telecasts will also be available on ESPN3.com, ESPN's broadband sports network.
"In 2010, the Mid-American Conference hopes to build upon the success of our syndicated Game of the Week package from the past few seasons" said Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher, Mid-American Conference commissioner. "This year's package presents a number of attractive match-ups. Through the efforts of our partners at ESPN Regional Television, we have a strong group of affiliates throughout the MAC footprint that assist in our continuing efforts to foster and grow the MAC brand."
The six-week package will begin Sept. 18 with a non-conference match up as 2010 MAC front-runner Temple hosts the University of Connecticut from the BIG EAST Conference. The package will conclude Oct. 30, when Northern Illinois travels to Western Michigan. A full list of games can be found below.
The 24 markets that will air the package represent more than 22.7 million television households, or 20 percent of the U.S. Those markets and affiliates include: Chicago (WPWR - MNT); Philadelphia (WPVI - ABC); Detroit (WXYZ - ABC); Cleveland (WEWS - ABC); Indianapolis (WNDY - MNT); Columbus (WWHO - CW); Cincinnati (WKRC-DT2 - CW); Milwaukee (WMLW - Independent); Grand Rapids (WZZM - ABC); and Buffalo (WNYO - MNT). A full listing can be found below.
Michael Reghi will call the action each week with analyst Doug Chapman.
The 2010 football campaign marks the 64th season of MAC football and the 14th with a championship game. The season concludes Friday, Dec. 3, at Ford Field with the Marathon MAC Football Championship on ESPN2. With a record-tying five schools participating in bowl games last season, the MAC has produced bowl teams from 10 conference schools in the past five years. In addition, the competitiveness of the league has seen seven different schools represent their respective divisions in the last five championship games.
The number of MAC players in the NFL continues to grow as 91 former student-athletes were on active NFL rosters as of June 2009. Among those athletes are two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (Miami University) and 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison (Kent State University) of Pittsburgh.
The legacy of MAC greatness also has been recognized within its coaches, including former MAC greats Sid Gillman, Woody Hayes, Don James, Don Nehlen, Ara Parseghian, Doyt Perry, Bo Schembechler and Herb Deromedi in the College Football Hall of Fame.
2010 MAC 'Game of the Week' Schedule (All Times Noon ET)
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Date
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Matchup
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Sat, Sep 18
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University of Connecticut at Temple
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Sat, Oct 2
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Ohio University at Eastern Michigan
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Sat, Oct 9
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Temple at Northern Illinois and
Western Michigan at Ball State (Split Network)
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Sat, Oct 16
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Miami (OH) at Central Michigan
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Sat, Oct 23
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Temple at Buffalo
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Sat, Oct 30
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Northern Illinois at Western Michigan
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MAC Football Affiliates
City/DMA Size Station Affiliation
Chicago (3) WPWR MNT
Philadelphia (4) WPVI / WPVI-DT2 ABC / Live Well
Detroit (11) WXYZ ABC
Tampa-St. Pete (14) BrightHouse RSN
Cleveland (18) WEWS ABC
Orlando (19) BrightHouse RSN
Indianapolis (25) WNDY MNT
Cincinnati (33) WKRC-DT2 CW
Columbus, OH (34) WWHO CW
Milwaukee (35) WMLW Independent
Harrisburg, PA (39) EHP MNT
Grand Rapids, MI (41) WZZM ABC
Buffalo (52) WNYO MNT
Charleston, WV (63) WSAZ-DT2 MNT
Dayton, OH (65) WKEF ABC
Flint, MI (68) WSMH FOX
Toledo, OH (73) WTVG ABC
Madison, WI (85) ETVW MNT
South Bend, IN (91) WMYS Independent
Youngstown, OH (110) WYTV ABC
Lansing , MI (115) WHTV MNT
LaCrosse, WI (127) KQEG Independent
Rockford, IL (134) WTVO-DT2 ABC
Wheeling, WV (159) WTOV-DT2 RTN