COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- If things go as planned, Tennessee Tech's
football game against Murray State on Oct. 4 could be chosen as the
OVC Game of the Week on ESPN3.
On Tuesday, the OVC revealed the first two games that are part of
the league's eight-game football "Game of the Week" package that
will be carried exclusively on ESPN3 this fall. The package
will begin on Saturday, Sept. 20, when UT Martin hosts Eastern
Kentucky at 12 p.m. CT. The second game of the package will
take place on Saturday, Oct. 4 and will be a "Wild Card" selection
which will be announced roughly 12 days before the contest.
The Golden Eagles host the Racers that day in a 7 p.m. contest in
Tucker Stadium, in a rivalry that has produced several sensational
games through the years. It is one of four games that will be
considered for the Wild Card contest.
The remaining six games will be announced via OVC social media
outlets (Twitter.com/OVCSports and Facebook.com/OVCSports) as well
as OVCSports.com over the next three days.
A season ago UT Martin won for the first-time ever in Richmond,
Kentucky, knocking off Eastern Kentucky 16-7. Overall it was just
the second win in 24 all-time games for the Skyhawks against the
Colonels. UTM kicker Jackson Redditt made three field goals (from
38, 45 and 51 yards) and Abou Toure rushed for 111 yards to lift
the Skyhawks to the victory. This season UT Martin returns 61
players from last year's team that was 7-5 overall and 5-3 in the
OVC. Eastern Kentucky brings back 45 lettermen from last year's
team that was 6-6 overall and 4-4 in the OVC.
The four games up for consideration for the Oct. 4 Wildcard
Selection are Eastern Kentucky/Austin Peay, UT Martin/Jacksonville
State, Murray State/Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State/Southeast
Missouri.
This marks the second-straight season the league has produced the
Game of the Week package in conjunction with WebStream Sports.
WebStream Sports, an Indianapolis-based company which is a proven
leader in video production, streaming video and content creation.
The company, founded in 2006, produces more than 1,000 events
annually and has also served as a web streaming consultant for the
OVC for the past year.
Kevin Ingram, host of "The Wake Up Zone" on 104.5 The Zone in
Nashville, will handle play-by-play duties while Bob Belvin, on-air
talent and contributor at 100.7 FM/AM 540 (ESPN Clarksville), will
provide analysis. The duo has worked together each of the past two
years in the league's TV package.
The OVC Football Game of the Week package is part of a five-year
agreement with ESPN which was announced last October. The deal runs
through the completion of the 2017-18 season.
ESPN3 is ESPN's live multi-screen sports network, a destination
that delivers thousands of global sports events annually and
accessible online via WatchESPN.com, on smart phones and tablets
via the WatchESPN app, through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold members
and on Apple TV and Roku. It is currently available in more than 85
million homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their
high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an
affiliated service provider. It is also available at no cost
to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based
military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational
networks and on-base military networks.
2014 OVC
Football Game of the Week on ESPN3 Schedule
Sept. 20 - Eastern Kentucky at UT Martin, 12:00 p.m. CT
Oct. 4 - Wildcard Selection (Eastern Kentucky at Austin Peay, UT
Martin at Jacksonville State, Murray State at Tennessee Tech,
Tennessee State at Southeast Missouri)
The remaining six games will be announced over the
course of the rest of this week.