June 25, 2008

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – For the second year in a row, the Winston-Salem State Rams and Florida A&M Rattlers will square off in a nationally televised game when the two teams meet on October 9 in Tallahassee, Fla. this fall. Last season, the Rams’ exciting 27-24 win over the Rattlers in the 2006 Coca-Cola Circle City Classic was televised on the NFL network in the first collegiate broadcast for the network.

The Rams and Rattlers game is scheduled for a live broadcast on ESPU at 7:30 p.m. The game is a part of a nine-game schedule of televised Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference games, which features all 10 football-sponsoring MEAC schools on three different channels, including Hampton taking on the Jackson State Tigers in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge on ESPN2. The Rams and the Rattlers will meet in one of five live broadcasts while the other four games will be shown on tape delay.

“We are excited and eager to kick off the 2008 ESPN television schedule,” said MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas. “This football season promises to be another competitive season with many teams capable of being in the hunt for the conference title. The 2008 television schedule highlights our fine institutions, athletic programs, coaches, and student-athletes by showcasing their tremendous efforts on a national platform.”

ESPNU, which was launched in 2005, features extensive studio programming and live coverage of games. ESPNU has secured distribution agreements with Charter, Cox, DirecTV (Channel 609), Echostar’s DISH Network (Channel 148), Insight Communications, Mediacom, Time Warner, and Verizon, along with many smaller affiliates, and is close to distribution agreements with others. ESPNU reached 20 million households at the start of the 2007 college football season.