Minnesota Announces Football Start Times

The Minnesota athletics officials received word from the Big Ten Conference that the Golden Gophers’ home football games vs. Montana State on Saturday, Sept. 13, and Florida Atlantic on Saturday, Sept. 20, will both kickoff at 11 a.m. (CT) and be televised by the Big Ten Network. With the announcement, kickoff times for all four of Minnesota’s 2008 non-conference games have now been set.

In addition to the back-to-back appearances on the Big Ten Network on Sept. 13 and 20, Minnesota will also make its 2008 debut on the BTN, when the Gophers take on Northern Illinois on Saturday, Aug. 30, at 6 p.m. (CT) at the Metrodome. Minnesota’s lone non-conference road trip at Bowling Green on Saturday, Sept. 6, will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. (ET)/6:30 p.m. (CT) and will be televised live by ESPNU.

Four of Minnesota’s Big Ten Conference game times were also set earlier this spring. The Gophers’ games at Illinois (Oct. 11) and Purdue (Oct. 25) as well as the team’s Homecoming tilt against Northwestern (Nov. 1) will each kickoff at 11 a.m. and be televised by either ESPN, ESPN2 or the Big Ten Network. The Maroon and Gold’s 2008 regular season finale against Iowa has been set for a 6 p.m. start and will air on the Big Ten Network.

Kickoff times and television information for the Gophers’ four remaining games at Ohio State (Sept. 27), vs. Indiana (Oct. 4), vs. Michigan (Nov. 8) and at Wisconsin (Nov. 15) will be announced 12 or six days in advance of each game in accordance with the Big Ten’s television agreements.