Published on October 18, 2011 by Brad Radice  

Samford's football game against Chattanooga on Saturday, Nov. 5, at Seibert Stadium on the Samford campus will be televised locally on ABC 33/40, Samford Athletics announced today.

 The game, which kicks off at 11 a.m., will be referred to as "The Southern Rail Rivalry presented by BBVA Compass" as Samford has entered into a partnership with the Birmingham based financial institution that includes presenting sponsorship of the game.

 The broadcast crew for the game will reunite the ESPN College Football Primetime team of Ron Franklin and Mike Gottfried. The duo began working together starting in the 1990 season and last called a game together in the 2004 season. They became synonymous for the "game of the week" on ESPN and were the network's number one broadcasting team for 15 years. Fans of college football knew that it was a "big game" when Franklin and Gottfried were in the booth.

 In addition, Samford will utilize breaks during the game and halftime to showcase the students, faculty and alumni of the University. 

 "To have a game on local television is very important for the growth of our program," Samford Director of Athletics Martin Newton said. "I believe that athletics is the front porch to our institution and being able to share the entire Samford story in this medium will benefit us all. We can thank our friends at BBVA Compass and ABC 33/40 for helping us tell this story."

 ABC 33/40 General Manager, Mike Murphy, added, "We are committed to provide local programming for Central Alabama, and we are extremely proud to be able to broadcast the Samford vs. UT Chattanooga game."

 This will be the first of back-to-back games that Samford will have televised as the following week; Samford at The Citadel will be televised regionally on the SoCon Sports Network and streamed nationally on ESPN3.com. WABM-TV in Birmingham will broadcast the game at The Citadel, as well as the SoCon Game of the Week each week. Broadcast information on Samford's regular-season finale at Auburn will be made available at a later date.

Courtesy: samfordsports.com

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.