Commerce, Texas

Texas A&M University-Commerce and Pittsburg State University announced today that the 2007 football season opener will be broadcast live nationwide on CSTV.

The game, which will be played on Saturday, August 25, was originally scheduled for 7 p.m.,and now has been tentatively set to kick off at 1:30 p.m. (CDT) at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium. In addition, the game will be available for free online through CSTV.com.

Texas A&M University-Commerce president Keith McFarland is excited about the opportunity. "This is a great opportunity for Texas A&M University-Commerce and for our football team because this will give us national exposure, which can only be beneficial to the university. As a marketing resource, we couldn't ask for a better means to get our name out there, where we are located, and what we are about."

Scotty Conley, head football coach at A&M-Commerce, agreed with the president. "We are excited for our student-athletes to have this opportunity to compete in front of a national television audience and appreciate the decision the NCAA and CSTV have made to have this game as the kickoff to our 2007 season. It should be a great weekend for our student-athletes, the universities and Division II football. Pittsburg State is a talented and well-coached program that has a great tradition and we will be playing in front of their fans. Our players and coaching staff look forward to this challenge."

"I am excited that our university will be showcased on national television. I have high expectations that our fans will tune in and attend the game," said new athletic director Carlton Cooper.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for Texas A&M-Commerce to gain national exposure in what is sure to be an awesome showcase of NCAA Division II football. For the Lions to step up and challenge an annual contender on a national stage will make for an exciting first weekend of Lone Star Conference football this fall. I hope the nation will tune in and see the great product that Coach Conley is putting together at A&M-Commerce," said Lone Star Conference Commissioner Stan Wagnon.

"We're tremendously excited for the opportunity to showcase what we feel is one of the premier venues in college football on a national stage," said Pittsburg State University athletic director and head football coach Chuck Broyles. "Our matchup with A&M Commerce already was significant - meeting a regional foe and an historic rival. Certainly the presence of a national television audience further strengthens this as a marquee season opener."

The two teams were familiar foes during the 1990's, meeting six times during that decade. Despite a 5-1 series advantage held by Pitt State, the Lions lone win against the Gorillas came on Sept. 14, 1991, halting Pitt State's 56-game regular season winning streak in that game. Later that season, the two teams met up again as the Gorillas went on to defeat the Lions, 38-28, in the national quarterfinals en route to capturing the 1991 NCAA Division II National Championship.

"The NCAA's partnership with CSTV has created a very important platform to help broaden the public awareness and interest in Division II intercollegiate athletics," said Mike Racy, NCAA Vice President for Division II. "This particular broadcast agreement allows Division II and CSTV to showcase key regular season match-ups in football and men's and women's basketball and we are thrilled that the Pittsburg State and Texas A&M-Commerce football game has been selected to kickoff the 2007 broadcast season."

CSTV Networks, Inc., part of the CBS Corporation, is the leading digital and cable programming company dedicated to college sports. Connecting more fans to more college sports than any other company, its many platforms for programming distribution include CSTV, national cable television network, televising regular-season and championship events for 35 men's and women's college sports; CSTV.com and its network of more than 215 official athletic sites; CSTV All Access, broadband services providing live audio and video of more than 10,000 events annually; as well as satellite television and radio, in-flight entertainment, wireless networks and more. Further information is available at www.CSTV.com.

CSTV is widely available on cable systems across the country, including Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Cablevision, Charter, Insight, Bright House Networks, Mediacom, Insight, RCN, Advanced Cable and Bresnan. It is also available on DIRECTV's Total Choice Premier Package Channel 610 and DISH Network's America's Top 120 Package Channel 152.