Texas A&M & Arizona State Football to Matchup Opening Weekend at Reliant Stadium in 2015

The Texas A&M Aggies and the Arizona State Sun Devils will open the 2015 college football season in the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The game will mark the first match-up in their school's histories. LSU and Wisconsin will play in the second installment of the kickoff-weekend game on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014, continuing the tradition of championship caliber opponents facing off at Reliant Stadium.

This will be Texas A&M's third time appearing in an opening weekend event (1988 and 1998), while the contest will mark Arizona State's first time playing in such a game.

The Aggies are currently ranked No. 12 in the BCS Standings with an 8-2 record. The Aggies have totaled a record of 691-450-47 in their history, including three national championships and 20 combined Big 12/Southwestern Conference titles.

"Playing Arizona State is a wonderful opportunity to compete against one of the best teams in the Pac 12," said Eric Hyman, Texas A&M Athletics Director. "We are excited about the matchup in Houston and especially playing in Reliant Stadium with such a large number of our former students in the area."

The No. 17 ranked Sun Devils hold an identical 8-2 record. ASU has compiled a 569-362-24 record, including one Rose Bowl and five Fiesta Bowl victories.

"We are excited to participate in this unique college football event in the state of Texas against an SEC opponent in Texas A&M," said Steve Patterson, Arizona State Athletics Director. "Our fans and alumni experienced a fabulous time in Dallas with the Notre Dame game at AT&T Stadium earlier this year and we are excited to provide another similar opportunity for our fans, alumni and student-athletes. Todd Graham and his coaching staff recruit the state of Texas and this can only serve to enhance that effort."

"The AdvoCare Texas Kickoff continues to develop into one of the finest labor day weekend events in the country," said Pete Derzis, ESPN Sr. Vice President and General Manager of ESPN Regional Television. "These two outstanding programs will treat the college football fans in Houston to an exciting launch of the 2015 season."

"We are very excited to host two of America's elite collegiate football programs and look forward to experiencing the atmosphere their passionate fans will create at Reliant Stadium," said Jamey Rootes, Houston Texans President. "Our goal in establishing the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff was to position Houston and Reliant Stadium as a premier destination for college football. Having these two outstanding institutions in our 2015 game helps to enhance the credibility of that positioning significantly."

The game will mark the third year of a four-year agreement between Lone Star Sports & Entertainment and ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, to bring a top college football game to Reliant Stadium during the Labor Day weekend to start the college football season. Oklahoma State defeated Mississippi State 21-3 in the inaugural AdvoCare Texas Kickoff on Aug. 31, 2013.

For more information on ticket packages for the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff, log on to www.advocaretexaskickoff.com. For information on luxury suites call 832-667-2160.

ESPN Events

ESPN Events, a division of ESPN Regional Television (ERT), owns and operates a large portfolio of collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes two Labor Day weekend college football games; 11 college bowl games and eight college basketball events, which accounts for approximately 200 hours of programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over a half a million attendees each year. With satellite offices in Boise, Birmingham, Dallas-Fort Worth, Albuquerque, St. Petersburg and Las Vegas, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.

A subsidiary of ESPN, ERT is also the production headquarters for ESPNU; syndication rights-holder and producer of national and regional shows for college conferences (American, Big 12, Mid-American, SEC) and manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.

Collegiate Football

AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); BBVA Compass Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg; Boca Raton Bowl (Florida); Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Heart of Dallas Bowl Presented by PlainsCapital Bank (Dallas-Fort Worth); MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.); Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.); Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl; Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl (Honolulu); Texas Bowl (Houston) and The Home Depot College Football Awards

Collegiate Basketball

Armed Forces Classic (Camp Humphreys, South Korea); Charleston Classic Presented by Gildan (S.C.); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Men's & Women's Basketball Classics presented by Corona Extra (Madison Square Garden & Durham, N.C.); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan, PR); State Farm Champions Classic (United Center, Chicago) and DIRECTV Wooden Legacy (Orange County, Calif.)

For more information, visit www.espnevents.com or follow on Twitter and Facebook.

About Lone Star Sports & Entertainment

Lone Star Sports & Entertainment (LSSE) is an independent event management company. Since being founded in 2003, LSSE has established itself as the leading sports event promoter in Houston. In addition to the Texas Bowl and the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff, LSSE has emerged as a premier promoter for international soccer matches, including the 2010 MLS All-Star Game featuring Manchester United, the 2006 FC Barcelona U.S. tour, 2003 and 2008 matches between the United States and Mexico, and the 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cups. LSSE has also reinvigorated the "Battle of the Piney Woods" rivalry between Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State and has promoted a pair of major concerts featuring country superstars George Strait and Kenny Chesney.