Fresno State Athletics
ESPN to Show Three Bulldog Home Games in 2005
5/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
May 23, 2005
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State football program will once again enjoy tremendous national exposure in 2005 as ESPN has elected to televise three Fresno State home games during the upcoming season.
ESPN2 will kick off the coverage with the September 27 game against defending MAC champion Toledo at 6 p.m. ESPN and the university agreed to move the showdown vs. defending WAC champion Boise State to Thursday, Nov. 10, at 5 p.m. It will be Fresno State's first home Thursday night game since 1997. Additionally, Fresno State's regular-season finale against Louisiana Tech has been moved to Friday, Dec. 2, at 6 p.m. and will be shown on ESPN2.
"This gives us unbelievable exposure this season," said head coach Pat Hill. "To have three home games shown, especially a Thursday night game, brings a lot of attention to our program, our university and the Valley. This is a prime time opportunity for a Bulldog home game that we have not had for a long time"
The game will be offered in high definition on ESPN HD and feature the use of SkyCam. Commentators Mike Tirico, Kirk Herbstreit and Erin Andrews will call the game.
"We consider ESPN College Football Thursday to be the Monday Night Football of college football," said Dave Brown, vice president, programming and acquisitions, ESPN. "The Boise State-Fresno State game is a great match-up of top teams and a showcase of one of the WAC's best rivalries. We are very excited to have this game on our schedule."
"We knew that moving games off of Saturday may inconvenience some of our fans," said Interim Athletics Director Paul Oliaro. "However, it was an opportunity that we couldn't pass up. The exposure for our campus and community will be very beneficial. One of our primary goals for this season was to avoid major conflicts with Friday night high school football games and we were able to accomplish that. Plus, we get a reprieve for our home schedule next season by not having more than one mid-week game. Overall, it's a good situation for our program."
The Bulldogs, coming off a 9-3 record and No. 22 ranking in the final college football polls, will likely begin the 2005 season ranked in the Top 25.
Three home national telecasts equals the most in school history. The Bulldogs had three nationally televised home games in 2002, but none were on a Thursday night. The match-up vs. Boise State is the first home Thursday ESPN game since Oct. 2, 1997.
The Bulldogs are 2-0 in Thursday night games on ESPN, beating Utah at home 27-13 in 1997 and winning at Louisiana Tech 45-13 in 2002.
The addition of these three nationally televised games, gives the Bulldogs 32 appearances this decade. The remainder of the Bulldog television schedule will be announced at a later date.
Tickets for the 2005 season are available at the Bulldog Ticket Office (559) 278-DOGS or on-line at www.gobulldogs.com.
