NEWS

The South Atlantic Conference football game between Newberry College and Catawba College will be broadcast on ESPN3 as part of the 2016 NCAA Division II Football Showcase, as announced by the NCAA office Thursday. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 1, at Newberry's historic Setzler Field as the culmination of Family Weekend and the City of Newberry's Oktoberfest celebration.

The Newberry/Catawba game is one of 22 Division II football games to be broadcast on ESPN3 and the American Sports Network as part of a three-year agreement between those outlets and the NCAA to showcase Division II sports.

This will be the first live televised game at Newberry College since the 2005 Wingate game. Of this year's 22-game slate, 18 games have been predetermined. An additional four flex games (two per network) will be finalized later in the football season and played Nov. 5 and 12. The flex games are expected to highlight premier and pivotal matchups.

The game will be the 80th meeting between the long-time conference rivals, with Catawba holding a slight 40-36-3 edge in the all-time series. Catawba has won the last two meetings by a combined seven points. Prior to that, Newberry had won seven of the previous nine meetings.

Both teams made the NCAA Division II playoffs last season, with Catawba as the third seed in Super Region II and Newberry as the seventh seed in Super Region II.

"Our team, our coaching staff and our student body are very excited to put on a great show for a national television audience," said Newberry College head football coach Todd Knight. "Our home games are always well attended and we have some of the best fans in small college football. With a 6 p.m. kickoff after Family Weekend and Oktoberfest, I anticipate a tremendous atmosphere and that makes this game even more exciting to me."

"We couldn't be more excited for our student-athletes to be able to play in a televised game against a quality opponent in Catawba on our Family Weekend," said Newberry College director of athletics Matthew Finley. "This will bring great exposure to Newberry College and the City of Newberry with such a big day planned and now an even bigger audience on the ESPN3 platform. There are so many great things going on at Newberry College and this game will be a fantastic way to highlight the positive energy here."

“This second year, with an expanded broadcast schedule, continues to give Division II student-athletes a chance to play in front of a national audience,” said Terri Steeb Gronau, vice president of Division II. “Division II student-athletes balance community engagement and strong academics with their athletics, and this national platform gives the division the opportunity to highlight the successes of these student-athletes on and off the field.”

“We’re excited to once again give fans an opportunity to watch Division II football on their mobile and handheld devices, on their computer and on TV,” said Michael McBroom, incoming chair of the Division II Football Committee and director of intercollegiate athletics at West Texas A&M University. “The schedule continues to feature some of the best teams in DII and it should make for great games for our audience and our local communities.”

ESPN3 is ESPN's live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through WatchESPN. The network is currently available nationwide at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. It is also available at no cost to U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.

The Division II broadcast schedule kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN3 and WatchESPN.