FOX SPORTS ANNOUNCES STUDIO & GAME BROADCASTERS FOR EXPANDED COLLEGE FOOTBALL COVERAGE
Andrews, George, Klatt, Papadakis, Pereira and Travis Team for New
Two-Hour Saturday Pregame Show on FOX Sports 1
Gus Johnson and Charles Davis Reprise Roles as Lead Game Announcers
New York, NY - As the college football season rapidly approaches and with conference media days underway, FOX Sports unveils the on-air teams and studio personalities calling its expanded college football coverage this season. The announcement was made today by FOX Sports Co-President and COO Eric Shanks. The FOX college football season begins Thursday, Aug. 29, with three straight days of coverage on FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports Networks (FSN) and FOX College Sports (FCS).
Debuting this season is a two-hour edition of the FOX COLLEGE SATURDAY pregame show airing Saturday mornings from 10:00 AM-12:00 PM ET on FOX Sports 1, America's new sports network. Erin Andrews (@ErinAndrews) hosts the program alongside former college football players Eddie George (@EddieGeorge27), Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) and Petros Papadakis. Also joining the studio crew is rules analyst Mike Pereira (@MikePereira), a former NFL and college official, and college football writer and FOXSports.com writer Clay Travis (@ClayTravisBGID). FOX COLLEGE SATURDAY makes its season debut on Saturday, Aug. 31.
Andrews, George and Pereira handled studio coverage on the FOX broadcast network last season, while Klatt, Papadakis and Travis are newcomers this season. Klatt has previously worked as a game and studio analyst on FSN, while Papadakis has served as a sideline reporter on FOX and FSN and hosts a daily show on FOX Sports Radio. Travis runs the popular blog Outkick the Coverage (http://outkickthecoverage.com/), which is the official college football blog of FOXSports.com. He formerly worked as a columnist at CBSSports.com, FanHouse and as an editor at Deadspin.
Also returning this season are the lead broadcast team of play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson (@gusjohnson), one of the most exciting voices in sports, and analyst Charles Davis (@CFD22), a former standout at the University of Tennessee. The pair team up for their third year of college football on FOX Sports and are joined by sideline reporter Kristina Pink (@Kristina_Pink), who started with FOX in 2012 as an NFL on FOX sideline reporter. Johnson, Davis and Pink make their 2013 debut Saturday, Sept. 7, as Oklahoma hosts West Virginia (7:00 PM ET) on FOX.
College football games on the FOX broadcast network are preceded by a 30-minute edition of FOX COLLEGE SATURDAY featuring George and Klatt as analysts, with Rob Stone (@RobStoneONFOX) hosting. Stone has worked with FOX Sports since 2012 as a studio host for soccer programming on network and cable programs.
Stone also hosts pregame coverage leading up to Thursday evening games on FOX Sports 1, sitting alongside analysts Coy Wire (@CoyWire) and Ryan Nece (@ryannece). Wire played nine years in the NFL and was a running back and linebacker at Stanford. He worked as a game analyst for the Pac-12 Networks during the 2012 season. Nece is a former NFL player and was a four-year starter at UCLA. He served as a sideline reporter for the United Football League and was an analyst and sideline reporter for the Pac-12 Networks last season.
Calling Thursday night games on FOX Sports 1 are Justin Kutcher (@JustinKutcher) on play-by-play, Klatt and Papadakis as analysts and Pink on the sidelines. FOX Sports 1 makes its college football debut on Thursday, Aug. 29, as Utah hosts Utah State (8:00 PM ET). A special one-hour pregame show, hosted by the FOX COLLEGE SATURDAY studio crew, precedes the Thursday night matchup.
Stone, Wire and George, Klatt or Papadakis will provide halftime and between-game updates during FOX Sports 1's Saturday games. Patrick O'Neal provides game breaks during Saturday's broadcast coverage. O'Neal most recently worked as a studio host and reporter for FOX Sports West/Prime Ticket.
Other broadcast crews for FOX Sports 1, FSN and FCS games include play-by-play broadcaster Craig Bolerjack (@BuckleUpBoler) with analyst Joey Harrington and Nece on sidelines; Kutcher with analyst James Bates and Brady Poppinga on the field, and Adam Alexander on play-by-play with Chris Simms providing analysis.
FOX Sports televises approximately 165 college football games nationally and regionally on its broadcast and cable networks, which include FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports Networks and FOX College Sports. FOX air Saturday games on the broadcast network beginning Sept. 7, while FOX Sports 1 carries one game each Thursday, starting Aug. 29, and two or three contests each Saturday, beginning Aug. 31. Pregame coverage is highlighted by a two-hour studio show each Saturday from 10:00 AM-12:00 PM ET on FOX Sports 1. Saturday games on the broadcast network and Thursday games on FOX Sports 1 are each preceded by a 30-minute pregame show.
For more on FOX College Football, follow @CFBONFOX on Twitter and "Like" FOX Sports on Facebook (facebook.com/foxsports).
The full list of FOX Sports' 2013 college football broadcast teams can be found below:
FOX
Play-by-Play: Gus Johnson
Analyst: Charles Davis
Sideline Reporter: Kristina Pink
FOX SPORTS 1 THURSDAY NIGHT
Play-by-Play: Justin Kutcher
Analyst: Joel Klatt/Petros Papadakis
Sideline: Kristina Pink
FOX SPORTS 1
Play-by-Play: Craig Bolerjack
Analyst: Joey Harrington
Sideline: Ryan Nece
Play-by-Play: Justin Kutcher
Analyst: James Bates
Sideline: Brady Poppinga
Play-by-Play: Adam Alexander
Analyst: Chris Simms
-FOX SPORTS-
About FOX Sports
FOX Sports is the umbrella entity representing 21st Century FOX's wide array of multi-platform US-based sports assets. Built with brands capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, FOX Sports includes ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing partnerships. FOX Sports includes the sports television arm of the FOX Broadcasting Company; FOX Sports 1; Fox's 22 regional sports networks, their affiliated regional web sites and FSN national programming; FOX Soccer, FOX Soccer Plus and FOX Soccer 2Go; FUEL TV; FOX Deportes and FOX College Sports. In addition, FOX Sports also encompasses FOX Sports Digital, which includes FOXSports.com on MSN, FOX Sports GO, Whatifsports.com, Scout.com and Yardbarker.com. Also included in the Group are FOX's interests in joint-venture businesses Big Ten Network, BTN 2Go and STATS, LLC, as well as licensing agreements that establish the FOX Sports Radio Network and FOX Sports Skybox restaurants.
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