CU-West Virginia Set For Thursday Night This Fall

Printable 2008 Football Schedule

BOULDER ? This September’s football game between the University of Colorado and West Virginia University has been moved to a Thursday night to accommodate a national television audience, CU, ESPN and the Big 12 Conference jointly announced Monday.

The game, the first-ever between the two schools, is set for Folsom Field in Boulder on Thursday, Sept. 18, with kickoff shortly after 6:30 p.m. MDT.?

It will be just the second Thursday night home game in CU history; the only previous one was on Sept. 6, 1990, when CU defeated Stanford, 21-17.? ?The lone other weeknight game was on Labor Day in 1989 (Sept. 4), when the Buffs beat Texas, 27-6.? Both games were televised by ESPN.

In addition, CU’s home opener against Eastern Washington on Saturday, Sept. 6, will have a 1:30 p.m. kickoff, barring the unlikely chance it would be selected for television broadcast. ?The season opener against Colorado State at Invesco Field in Denver on Saturday, Aug. 30, but the time and television have yet to be finalized.

CU’s fourth non-conference game will be on the road against Florida State on Sept. 27, with FSU officials announcing earlier this month that the game will be played in Jacksonville rather than in Tallahassee. ?The time and TV arrangements for the game at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium won’t be announced until Sept. 15.

Originally, CU was to host North Carolina on Sept. 13 and play at Florida State on Sept. 20, but the Tarheels opted out of the series with the Buffs last summer.? West Virginia was in a similar situation and needed a quality opponent, and the CU-WVU series came about through ESPN, with the schedule then adjusted for a Sept. 20 date at Florida State with the Mountaineers coming to Boulder the following Saturday, ahead of CU’s league opener versus Texas on Oct. 4.

ESPN then acquired additional Big 12 games and started exploring options for the Thursday games with member schools.

Athletic Director Mike Bohn is appreciative of both ESPN selecting the game and the Boulder campus’ agreement in allowing the special weeknight game.? ?

“This is an honor to be selected, and it will be a great showcase for the entire university,” Bohn said.? “I’m especially appreciative of our campus constituents working with us to make it possible.? We recognize that there will be some inconveniences, and ESPN has accommodated us with a later than usual kickoff for that night to help solve some of the traffic and parking issues.”? ?

The network’s Thursday night games usually feature a 5:45 or 6:00 p.m. start time.

CU was in the top 10 for the most televised games nationally in 2007 with 11 appearances, including a school-record nine national games.? “These are opportunities to feature the outstanding elements of CU and Boulder,” Bohn added.?

ESPN and Fox Sports Net reached an agreement to subcontract several games to the former, which will televise seven games in each of the next two seasons.? In addition to selecting the CU-WVU game, ESPN also will televise the Texas-Texas A & M on Thanksgiving Day.? The seven games each year will either be Thursday or Saturday games.

"Big 12 football was a great addition to our schedule last year and we look forward to continuing our coverage," said Dave Brown, ESPN vice president, programming and acquisitions. "The addition of games to our Thursday primetime schedule will make a big impact to the popular series. With the cooperation of FSN and the Big 12, fans will be able to see even more action from this premier conference for two more years."

With ESPN back in the Big 12 picture, more league schools will now have opportunities to occasionally host Thursday night games on national television.? Previously, in the first 12 years of the conference, schools basically only appeared for a rare non-league road game.

2008 SCHEDULE

Date?????????????????????? Opponent????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????

Aug.????? 30 ?????? #Colorado State (in Denver)?

SEPT.????? 6??????? EASTERN WASHINGTON (1:30 p.m.)?????

SEPT. ? 18??????? WEST VIRGINIA (6:30 p.m.)??????

Sept.??? 27??????? Florida State (at Jacksonville)???????????????

OCT. ?????? 4??????? *TEXAS (Homecoming)????????

Oct.????? 11??????? *at Kansas ??????????????

OCT.???? 18??????? * KANSAS STATE (Family Weekend)?

Oct.????? 25??????? *at Missouri ???????????? ???????????????

Nov.??????? 1??????? *at Texas A & M ?????????????????????

NOV.?????? 8??????? *IOWA STATE??????????