Weekly show to offer glimpse of pre-game pageantry

CHICAGO – Excitement for Big Ten football games starts long before Saturdays.  The Big Ten Network program, "Friday Night Tailgate (FNT)," will capture that excitement while letting viewers experience the passion and fervor on Big Ten campuses come alive as players, students, fans and faculty get ready for the big game.

Capping a week of in-depth football analysis, FNT will use the Chicago studio as well as a campus presence to provide an unparalleled look at the next day's games, as well as the excitement and anticipation that surround Friday nights.  The show will air every Friday night at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Blending X's & O's with a light-hearted look at what it's like to be on campus the night before the big game, Friday Night Tailgate delivers the true Big Ten Football weekend experience.

The host of FNT is Mike Hall, a Chicago native who is joining the Big Ten Network after a three-year stint at ESPN, where he was the lead anchor for ESPNU.  The winner of ESPN's first season of "Dream Job," Hall has anchored ESPN's SportsCenter and ESPNEWS.

Hall will talk to members of the local media, Big Ten Network football analysts and a pair of on-location campus correspondents.  The show will feature a weekly competition between two Big Ten schools to see which has the better atmosphere and traditions on football weekends.  By the end of the football season, FNT will crown the university with the best campus football experience.

"What makes college sports so great isn't just the game, but everything that surrounds it," Hall said.  "Friday Night Tailgate is a show that gives viewers a taste of the local flavor."

"Friday Night Tailgate will be a show unique to the Big Ten Network," Vice President of Programming Mike Feller said. "It will truly give a sense of what it's like to be on-campus leading up to a home football game."  

The official launch of the Big Ten Network comes Aug. 30, two days before the kick-off of the 2007 Big Ten college football season. Big Ten Tonight, a nightly studio show hosted by Dave Revsine, will preview the upcoming season and closely examine all of the weekend's conference teams in action. The network will televise more than 400 live events, including more high-definition programming than any other new network in television history. The network announced a commitment to gender equality by 2010, when all Big Ten Network-controlled television, Internet and mobile media will provide equal men's and women's athletic coverage.

About the Big Ten Network: The Big Ten Network is dedicated to covering the Big Ten Conference and its 11 member institutions. The Big Ten Network will provide unprecedented access to an extensive schedule of conference sports events and shows; original programs in academics, the arts and sciences; campus activities; and associated personalities. Sports programming will include live coverage of more major men's and women's events than ever before, along with news, highlights and analysis, all complemented by hours of university-produced campus programming. The network is available to all cable and satellite carriers and television distributors nationwide, with most programs offered in stunning high-definition television (HDTV). The Big Ten Network is a joint venture between subsidiaries of the Big Ten Conference and Fox Cable Networks