Gator Country

(July 22, 2009) Sun Sports, FOX Sports South and FOX Sports Southwest announced today that their seven-game Southeastern Conference (SEC) football package will kick off on Saturday, September 5 when the 2009 BCS Champion Florida Gators host the Charleston Southern Buccaneers. The live, high-definition telecast begins at 7 p.m. ET on the FSN regional networks serving the SEC territory (Sun Sports in Florida).

Two SEC conference matchups will follow with Mississippi State at Auburn on September 12 at 7 p.m. ET and Mississippi State at Vanderbilt on September 19 at 7 p.m. ET.  All SEC football games this season will be televised in high definition.  SEC football will be distributed to more than 24 million cable and satellite households on the FSN regional networks throughout the SEC territory (Sun Sports in Florida).

Play-by-play announcer Bob Rathbun will be joined by analyst Dave Archer and sideline reporter Jenn Hildreth in the FSN booth.  Rathbun served as the play-by-play announcer for FOX Sport South’s 2008 telecast of the Central Michigan at Georgia football game, for which the network won an Emmy for excellence in live sporting events.  Archer had a 13-year NFL and Canadian Football League career and spent the past two college football seasons as an analyst for Lincoln Financial Sports.  Since 2004, Archer has also served as the analyst for the Atlanta Falcons Radio Network. Hildreth has reported for and hosted SEC-TV, FOX Sport South’s weekly SEC magazine show, and the network’s highly acclaimed college football preview shows.  She is also the lead analyst for FOX Soccer Channel’s inaugural coverage of Women’s Professional Soccer.

All seven SEC football games will feature a live studio halftime show hosted by anchor Fred Hickman.  Hickman hosts Braves Live on FOX Sports South and has hosted ESPN’s SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight, as well as CNN’s Sports Tonight.

SEC football on FSN (Sun Sports in Florida) will be directed by Ric LaCivita.  LaCivita won an Emmy Award for FOX Sport South’s 2008 coverage of the Central Michigan at Georgia football game. The 35-year sports television veteran and multiple Emmy Award winner was also a longtime producer for ABC and CBS, including World Series, Monday Night Football and Final Four telecasts.

“To have the top-rated team in the country kick off its season on our family of networks in the Southeast –Sun Sports, FOX Sports South and FOX Sports Southwest – is a great start to our seven-game SEC football package,” said Steve Liverani, senior vice president and general manager of Sun Sports.  “The broadcast team of Bob, Dave, Jenn and Fred, with Ric directing the telecasts, will provide SEC fans with comprehensive, in-depth coverage of their favorite local SEC teams throughout the season.”
The seven-game football package is part of a multi-year television rights agreement with ESPN for regional cable and satellite rights to more than 90 Southeastern Conference (SEC) events each academic year.

The FSN regional networks serving the SEC territory reach more than 24 million cable and satellite households.  SEC programming will be distributed on Sun Sports in Florida; FOX Sports South in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Mississippi; FOX Sports Carolinas in North Carolina and South Carolina; FOX Sports Tennessee in Tennessee; and FOX Sports Southwest and FOX Sports Houston in Arkansas and Louisiana.

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