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September 29, 2008

Big Ten Network to Televise Two Football Games Oct. 11

90-minute Michigan football special 'Hail to the Victors' to follow games

CHICAGO – The Big Ten Network announced today that it will televise the Michigan-Toledo and Iowa-Indiana football games at noon ET on Oct. 11. Both games will be produced in high definition.

Immediately following the football games, at approximately 3:30 PM ET, the Big Ten Network will premiere Hail to the Victors: Greatest Stories of Michigan Football, a new show which traces the lineage of the storied program.

"To sports fans everywhere, the University of Michigan is synonymous with tradition and excellence. In Hail to the Victors, fans will enjoy seeing how that tradition was built and maintained by some of the greatest coaches and players the game has ever seen," said Leon Schweir, Big Ten Network executive producer and vice president for production.

Narrated by Thom Brennaman, Hail to the Victors: Greatest Stories of Michigan Football will examine some of the most successful seasons of Michigan football with archived interview footage with legendary coach Bo Schembechler. Through rare footage and interviews, fans will get the inside story on Schembechler's "10-year war" with Ohio State coach Woody Hayes and experience the games against the Buckeyes that defined one of the most heated rivalries in sports. The program also will include rarely-seen practice footage of Schembechler interacting with his teams. Interviews with many of his former players will reveal the inner workings of one of college football's most influential coaches.

The program features footage from the Wolverines' undefeated 1997 season, their first national title in almost 50 years, and the best individual performances from Michigan football legends Tom Brady and Heisman Trophy winners Charles Woodson and Desmond Howard.

From Heisman winners to national championships, from the Big House to the Rose Bowl, Hail to the Victors: Greatest Stories of Michigan Football offers an in-depth look into the moments and events that have helped the Michigan football program evolve into its status among college football's elite.

Hail to the Victors: Greatest Stories of Michigan Football was produced in association with Genius Products, LLC. A DVD of the program which includes bonus features will be available in stores beginning Oct. 14.

About the Big Ten Network:
The Big Ten Network is the first national network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With more than 400 live events, and nearly all of them in HD, the network is the destination for Big Ten fans across the country and allows fans to see their favorite team, regardless of where they live. Operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the Big Ten Network showcases a wide array of classic-to-current sports and televises more Olympic sporting events and women's sports than has ever been aired on any other network. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation's finest universities. Each year, the network offers approximately 35 football games, 105 regular season men's basketball games, 55 women's basketball games, dozens of Big Ten Championship events, a nightly studio show, coaches' shows and classic games. Available to all cable and satellite providers nationwide, the network currently has agreements with AT&T U-Verse, Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV, DISH Network, Insight, Mediacom, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS and 230 cable operators.

For updated information on the Big Ten Network, go to www.BigTenNetwork.com.

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