BTN to Air Big Ten Football Media Days Live on Thursday

BTN will kick off the 2012 Big Ten football season Thursday with nearly five hours of live televised coverage of Big Ten Football Media Days from the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago. The show also will be available on BTN2Go.

Mike Hall and Chris Martin will anchor the network's coverage from the BTN studios beginning at 11 AM ET. Coverage will include full press conferences for all 12 head coaches, as well as Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany and Big Ten Coordinator of Football Officials Bill Carollo. BTN will also re-air the press conferences at 8 PM ET Thursday.

BTN will also air a 60-minute Big Ten Football Kickoff Luncheon Special at 8 PM ET on Friday, July 27, hosted by Dave Revsine, with analysis from BTN's Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith.

Fans can also track the day's activities by following BTN.com's Tom Dienhart and Brent Yarina on Twitter (@BTNTomDienhart & @BTNBrentYarina).

Press Conference Schedule (live on BTN & BTN2Go):
All times Eastern

LEADERS DIVISION COACHES
11:00 AM Bret Bielema (Wisconsin)
11:15 AM Danny Hope (Purdue)
11:30 AM Urban Meyer (Ohio State)
11:45 AM BREAK
12:00 PM Tim Beckman (Illinois)
12:15 PM Kevin Wilson (Indiana)
12:30 PM Bill O'Brien (Penn State)
12:45 PM BREAK

LEGENDS DIVISION COACHES
1:00 PM Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern)
1:15 PM Jerry Kill (Minnesota)
1:30 PM Brady Hoke (Michigan)
1:45 PM BREAK
2:00 PM Bo Pelini (Nebraska)
2:15 PM Mark Dantonio (Michigan State)
2:30 PM Kirk Ferentz (Iowa)
2:45 PM Bill Carollo (Big Ten Coordinator of Football Officials)
3:15 PM Jim Delany (Big Ten Commissioner)

BTN Announces On-Air Talent Roster for 2012 Football Season

BTN today revealed its game broadcast teams and studio talent for the 2012 football season. The network's football schedule will feature more than 40 games, extensive pre-game, halftime and post-game coverage on Saturdays and football-themed studio shows every weeknight.

For the sixth straight year, Dave Revsine, Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith will anchor the network's game-day studio coverage on Big Ten Football Saturday, and will contribute to additional studio shows during the week.

BTN's broadcast teams for football telecasts include Eric Collins (play-by-play) and Derek Rackley (analyst); Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Chris Martin (analyst) and Matt Devlin (play-by-play) and Glen Mason (analyst).

Additional play-by-play voices for football are returning talent Wayne Larrivee and Brian Anderson, currently the television voice of the Milwaukee Brewers who also does college basketball broadcasts for BTN and CBS and MLB games for TBS. Northwestern graduate Josh Lewin, play-by-play announcer of the New York Mets on WFAN and current radio voice of the San Diego Chargers, also joins the BTN group of announcers.

In addition to Anderson and Lewin, new voices include Antwaan Randle El (studio analyst and sideline), Tom Waddle (studio analyst), Chuck Long (studio and game analyst,) and J Leman (game analyst and sideline). Former Indiana quarterback Randle El retired from the NFL just this month after spending 10 years in the league. Waddle is a former Chicago Bears wide receiver and current Chicago radio co-host. He also will co-host The Next Level, BTN's weekly show featuring the NFL play of former Big Ten stars and the professional potential of current Big Ten student-athletes. Long is a former Iowa quarterback and member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Leman is a former Illinois linebacker.

Additional new faces on BTN include Evan Fitzgerald, Northwestern graduate and current sports anchor at CBS 58 in Milwaukee; Damon Benning, former Nebraska running back; and Justin Conzemius, former Minnesota defensive back.

July 19, 2012

Park Ridge, Ill. - The Big Ten Conference announced today that BTN and ESPNU will continue to air coverage of the opening session of the 2012 Big Ten Football Media Days on Thursday, July 26. The media days will be held at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

BTN will present nearly five hours of live coverage of Big Ten Football Media Days on Thursday, airing the press conferences for all 12 coaches, Big Ten Coordinator of Football Officials Bill Carollo and Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany. Mike Hall and Chris Martin will host the network's live coverage beginning at 10 a.m. CT on BTN and on BTN2Go. Fans can also track the day's activities by following BTN.com's Tom Dienhart (@BTNTomDienhart) and Brent Yarina (@BTNBrentYarina) on Twitter. BTN will also re-air the press conferences beginning at 7 p.m. CT on Thursday night.

For the seventh consecutive year, the opening session of the Big Ten Football Media Days will appear on an ESPN network. Coverage by ESPNU will begin on Thursday at 10 a.m. CT, and will feature all 12 head coaches and Commissioner Delany either live or tape-delayed as they address the assembled media. In addition, select Big Ten coaches and players will appear live on ESPN's SportsCenter, College Football Live or on ESPNU. 

Media Session with Coaches 

LEADERS DIVISION COACHES
Bret Bielema, Wisconsin 10:00 - 10:15 a.m.
Danny Hope, Purdue 10:15 - 10:30 a.m.
Urban Meyer, Ohio State 10:30 - 10:45 a.m.
BREAK 10:45 - 11:00 a.m.
Tim Beckman, Illinois 11:00 - 11:15 a.m.
Kevin Wilson, Indiana 11:15 - 11:30 a.m.
Bill O'Brien, Penn State 11:30 - 11:45 a.m.

BREAK 11:45 - 12:00 p.m.

LEGENDS DIVISION COACHES
Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern 12:00 - 12:15 p.m.
Jerry Kill, Minnesota 12:15 - 12:30 p.m.
Brady Hoke, Michigan 12:30 - 12:45 p.m.
BREAK 12:45 - 1:00 p.m.
Bo Pelini, Nebraska 1:00 - 1:15 p.m. 
Mark Dantonio, Michigan State 1:15 - 1:30 p.m. 
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa 1:30 - 1:45 p.m.

The 2012 Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon presented by Allstate and BMW will take place on Friday, July 27, at McCormick Place in Chicago with the annual players and coaches autograph and photo session set to begin at 10 a.m. CT, followed by the luncheon at 11:30 a.m. CT.  BTN will also air a 60-minute Kickoff Luncheon Special at 7 p.m. CT on Friday, July 27. Dave Revsine, Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith will be joined by all 12 Big Ten coaches.

A limited number of tickets remain available for $100 per seat or $1,000 per table (10 seats). Contact Sue Immekus at the Big Ten office at 847-696-1010, ext. 122, or simmekus@bigten.org to purchase tickets.

The Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon annually attracts some of the most talented names in college sports. The event has drawn legendary coaches as well as each of the conference's Heisman Trophy winners since 1970. In all, more than 800 of the conference's finest players, over 60 head coaches and more than 46,000 supporters have made the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon a yearly stop in their preseason college football schedules.