July 26, 2007

PARK RIDGE, Ill. - For the third consecutive season, the opening session of the Big Ten Football Media Days will appear live on an ESPN Network.  All 11 head coaches will appear on both ESPNEWS and ESPNU when they address the assembled media from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. CT on Tuesday, July 31, from the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Mike Hill will host live coverage from the ESPNEWS studios in Bristol, Conn., while Lowell Galindo and Tom Luginbill will manage the live broadcast from the ESPNU studios in Charlotte, N.C. In addition, Joe Schad will be in Chicago to provide live one-on-one interviews with selected coaches and student-athletes for ESPNEWS and College Football Live, the new daily college football show on ESPN from 2:30 to 3 p.m. CT.
 
The Big Ten Conference annually presents the largest and most exciting preseason celebration of college football in the country as the 36th Annual Kickoff Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 1. The 2007 Kickoff Luncheon will begin at 10 a.m. at the Hyatt Regency Chicago with the annual player and coach autograph and photo session, followed by the luncheon at approximately 11:30 a.m.  The Big Ten Network's Dave Revsine will serve as the master of ceremonies.

The Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon annually draws some of the most interesting and talented names in college sports. The list of former Kickoff Luncheon attendees includes coaching legends like Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes, along with each of the Big Ten's Heisman Trophy winners in the last 36 years - Archie Griffin, Desmond Howard, Eddie George, Charles Woodson, Ron Dayne and last year's winner Troy Smith. In all, over 660 of the conference's finest players, more than 50 head coaches and 38,000 supporters have made the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon a yearly stop in their preseason college football schedules.

This year's Kickoff Luncheon officially sold out in late June, marking the fastest sellout in the history of the event by nearly one month.  More than 1,700 college football fans are scheduled to attend.