Athletics

'Unrivaled: The Penn State Football Story' to debut Aug. 28

First-year head coach James Franklin encouraged his team as Penn State started the first on-field practice of the 2014 season on Aug. 4 at the Lasch Football Facility. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Athletics and Penn State Public Media are continuing their partnership this fall to produce "Unrivaled: The Penn State Football Story," Presented by Pepsi, a weekly preview show that will chronicle coach James Franklin’s Nittany Lions throughout the 2014 season.

Penn State Public Media will produce "Unrivaled: The Penn State Football Story," which will debut Aug. 28 in some markets and air on WPSU-TV, across the commonwealth and in numerous markets in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast (see affiliates and schedule below).

Fans are encouraged to check local listings for possible schedule changes, particularly for the first episode and final episode, which will air during Thanksgiving week.

The 30-minute preview program will debut on Thursday, Aug. 28, two days before the Nittany Lions meet UCF in the Croke Park Classic in Dublin, Ireland. The program will provide a fast-paced, intimate look inside the Nittany Lion football program. It will include a look at game week preparation, an all-access look at the coaching staff and visits with selected players on and off the field throughout the season.

The coverage also may include a review of the previous week’s game with highlights, sideline and locker room coverage. An enhanced game highlight package from each week’s game can be found on the Penn State All-Access Channel on www.GoPSUsports.com for free every Sunday following a game.

Penn State Public Media is in its third year working with Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics to produce the Nittany Lion football team’s weekly in-season TV show. Last year’s program, “Penn State Football 2013 – The Next Chapter,” recently was nominated for a Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award.

Penn State Public Media also works in partnership with Penn State Athletics to produce weekly in-season TV shows for men’s basketball, “Penn State Basketball: In The Paint” and women’s basketball, “Courtside With Coquese.” “In The Paint” was nominated for a 2013 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award. “Courtside With Coquese” received a Mid-Atlantic Emmy award in 2008 and was nominated for an Emmy in 2013. 

Ten outlets with coverage in eight states and Washington, D.C., will carry the program. Among the outlets carrying "Unrivaled: Penn State Football Story" are:

-- WPSU-TV, Ch. 3 (State College/Central Pa.) – Friday, 9 p.m. and Saturday, 11 a.m.

-- WTAJ-TV, Ch. 10/32 (State College/Altoona/Johnstown) – Thursday, 7 p.m.

-- CSN-Philadelphia (Philadelphia/New Jersey) – Thursday, 11 p.m.

-- Root Sports (Western Pa./Eastern Ohio/West Virginia) – Friday, 2:30 p.m.

-- WLYH-TV, Ch. 15/EHP MyNet 21.2 (Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lebanon/York) – Saturday, 4 p.m. and Saturday, 11 a.m.

-- WNEP2 (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) – Thursday, 9:30 p.m.

-- WFMZ-TV, Ch. 69 (Allentown/Northeast Philadelphia) – Saturday, 11:30 a.m.

-- WFXP-TV, Ch. 66 (Erie) – Saturday, 6:30 a.m.

-- MASN (Baltimore-Washington, D.C.) – Thursday, 10:30 p.m.

Penn State Public Media/WPSU serves central Pennsylvania and national audiences with programming, educational services and community outreach. This public media service produces, acquires and distributes programs that address local interests and reflect the diverse cultural, political, geographic and demographic characteristics of an audience within central Pennsylvania.

The Nittany Lions are in their third week of training camp in preparation for the Aug. 30 season opener vs. UCF in the Croke Park Classic in Dublin, Ireland. The contest will kick at 8:30 a.m. and air on ESPN2, the Penn State Sports Network and www.GoPSUsports.com.

Last Updated August 22, 2014

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