UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State will open its 19th Big Ten Conference campaign with a noon kickoff on Oct. 1 at Indiana. The contest from IU’s Memorial Stadium will air on ESPNU, the Penn State Sports Network and www.GoPSUsports.com.
ESPNU is available in approximately 73 million homes. On Comcast Cable in the Centre Region, ESPNU airs on channels 272 and 853 (HD).
The Nittany Lions and Hoosiers will be opening Big Ten competition as members of the Leaders Division, joining Illinois, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin as division rivals. The Big Ten welcomed Nebraska into the conference for its 116th season and launched the Legends and Leaders Divisions, with the two winners meeting in the Big Ten Championship game on Dec. 3 in Indianapolis.
Penn State will be playing in Bloomington for the first time since 2007. The Nittany Lions posted a 41-24 win over the Hoosiers last year at FedEx Field to take a 14-0 series advantage. The teams will be playing in the Big Ten opener for just the second time, with Penn State winning in Beaver Stadium in 1999 in the only previous occasion.
The contest against the Hoosiers is the Nittany Lions’ seventh announced kick time and sixth announced telecast of the season. Penn State will be making its fourth appearance of the season on an ESPN-owned network, with this Saturday’s game vs. Eastern Michigan airing on ESPN2 at 12:00 p.m. Last week’s game at Temple was on ESPN, the Sept. 10 Alabama clash was an ESPN on ABC national telecast and the Big Ten Network televised the Lions’ 41-7 season opening win over Indiana State.
The Nittany Lions’ Oct. 22 primetime clash at Northwestern also will air on BTN and additional Penn State games could be selected to air on the network, which is not available to Adams, Armstrong and Blue Ridge Cable customers in Pennsylvania and Ohio. BTN is available to approximately 80 million homes on more than 300 providers in the U.S. and Canada.
The Nittany Lions (2-1) host Eastern Michigan on Saturday at 12 p.m. The contest vs. the Eagles is Jersey Day and fans are encouraged to wear the jersey of their all-time favorite Nittany Lion. Photo opportunities with stand-ups of favorites players will be available for fans outside Beaver Stadium. Fans wearing Penn State jerseys will be counted upon entry to the stadium and a special Top 10 video countdown of the fans’ most popular jerseys of the day as counted will occur at halftime.
Indiana visits North Texas on Saturday before hosting Penn State.
Penn State has appeared on TV in 206 of its last 208 games. The Nittany Lions’ remaining kick/TV times that have been announced:
Sept. 24 vs. Eastern Michigan, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN2)
Oct. 1 at Indiana, 12:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
Oct. 15 vs. Purdue, 12:00 p.m. (TV TBA)
Oct. 22 at Northwestern, 6:00 p.m. CT (BTN)
All remaining Penn State kick times and TV information will be announced 6 or 12 days prior to game.
Tickets are available for Penn State home games with Eastern Michigan, Purdue (Oct. 15-Homecoming) and Illinois (Oct. 29). A limited number of tickets remain for the Big Ten home opener with Iowa (Oct. 8) and the Nebraska (Nov. 12-Senior Day) contest is sold out. Tickets are available at www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets or by calling 1-814-865-5555 weekdays from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.