College football is nigh. In a few short hours, coaches and players from Big Ten football teams will take to the podium, full of hope. Eleven Warriors will have live coverage from Chicago, so be sure to follow along on Twitter: @11W, @KyleRowland and @maksimuspatrick.
Here's what you need to know about Big Ten Football Media Days.
WHO: Big Ten coaches, select players past and present, BTN President Mark Silverman, College Football Playoff COO Michael Kelly and Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany
WHAT: 43rd annual Big Ten Football Media Days and Kickoff Luncheon
WHEN: Monday, July 28 and Tuesday, July 29, 2014
WHERE: Hilton Chicago (carried live on BTN and BTN2GO)
WHY: #B1G (so #B1G)
Opening Media Session with Coaches
The festivities kick off at 10:30 a.m. ET with Pat Fitzgerald taking the mic. Each coach will receive 15 minutes, of which part will be an opening statement and then Q&A from the press. All of this will be televised live by BTN.
Of note: Brady Hoke is on at 11:30 a.m., Mark Dantonio is up at 12:30 p.m., Urban Meyer goes on at 1:30 p.m. and James Franklin is up at 2 p.m.
The full schedule:
| Coach | Time (ET) |
|---|---|
| Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern | 10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. |
| Darrell Hazell, Purdue | 10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. |
| Gary Andersen, Wisconsin | 11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. |
| Tim Beckman, Illinois | 11:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. |
| Brady Hoke, Michigan | 11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. |
| BREAK | 11:45 a.m. – noon |
| Kyle Flood, Rutgers | noon – 12:15 p.m. |
| Jerry Kill, Minnesota | 12:15 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. |
| Mark Dantonio, Michigan State | 12:30 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. |
| BREAK | 12:45 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. |
| Bo Pelini, Nebraska | 1:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. |
| Randy Edsall, Maryland | 1:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. |
| Urban Meyer, Ohio State | 1:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. |
| BREAK | 1:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. |
| James Franklin, Penn State | 2:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. |
| Kevin Wilson, Indian | 2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. |
| Kirk Ferentz, Iowa | 2:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. |
BTN President Mark Silverman will follow the coaches, going on at 2:45 p.m., with College Football Playoff COO Michael Kelly next at 3:00 p.m. and Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany closing things out at 3:15 p.m.
One-on-One Podium Interviews
Players and coaches will break out for interviews following the coach's morning media session. You'll want to have Twitter handy – be sure you're following @11W, @KyleRowland and @maksimuspatrick – because some of the day's best information will come from these sessions and they won't be televised.
Braxton Miller, Michael Bennett and Jeff Heuerman are in town for Ohio State. They hit the podium at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Here's a full list of players attending Big Ten Media Days:
| East Division | |
|---|---|
| INDIANA | David Cooper - LB (SR), Nate Sudfield - QB (JR), Shane Wynn - WR (SR) |
| MARYLAND | C.J. Brown - QB (SR), Stefon Diggs - WR (JR), Jeremiah Johnson - DB (SR) |
| MICHIGAN | Frank Clark - DE (SR), Devin Gardner - QB (SR), Jake Ryan - LB (SR) |
| MICHIGAN STATE | Shilique Calhoun - DE (JR), Connor Cook - QB (JR), Kurtis Drummond - FS (SR) |
| OHIO STATE | Michael Bennett - DL (SR), Jeff Heuerman - TE (SR), Braxton Miller - QB (SR) |
| PENN STATE | Bill Belton - RB (SR), Sam Ficken - PK (SR), Mike Hull - LB (SR) |
| RUTGERS | Michael Burton - FB (SR), Darius Hamilton - DL (JR), Lorenzo Waters - DB (SR) |
| West Division | |
| ILLINOIS | Simon Cvijanovic - OT (SR), Jon Davis - TE (SR), Austin Teitsma - DL (SR) |
| IOWA | Carl Davis - DT (SR), Brandon Scherff - OL (SR), Mark Weisman - RB (SR) |
| MINNESOTA | David Cobb - RB (SR), Mitch Leidner - QB (S), Cedric Thompson - S (SR) |
| NEBRASKA | Ameer Abdullah - RB (SR), Kenny Bell - WR (SR), Corey Cooper - S (SR) |
| NORTHWESTERN | Ibraheim Campbell - S (SR), Collin Ellis - LB (SR), Trevor Siemian - QB (SR) |
| PURDUE | Raheem Mostert - RB (SR), Sean Robinson - LB (SR), Ryan Russell - DE (SR) |
| WISCONSIN | Melvin Gordon - RB (JR), Rob Havenstein - OT (SR), Warren Herring - DL (SR) |
Television
BTN will provide more than five hours of live coverage Monday, airing the opening media session for all 14 coaches, BTN President Mark Silverman, College Football Playoff COO Michael Kelly and Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany.
Gerry DiNardo and Rick Pizzo will host the network's live coverage beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET on BTN and BTN2GO.
If you miss the live coverage, BTN will re-air the press conferences beginning at 7 p.m. ET on Monday night.
ESPN networks with analysts Kevin Carter and Tom Luginbill, along with hosts Matt Schick and Anish Shroff, will cover B1G media days from 1–4 p.m. on Monday, July 28 and Tuesday, July 29.
Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon
On Tuesday, July 29 at 11 a.m. ET, fans in attendance will take part in autograph sessions with the head coaches and one former player from each school, while current players will take part in live interviews highlighted by questions from fans on-site and and through social media channels.
Former players in attendance:
| Dana Howard, Illinois (1991-94) | Anthony Thompson, Indiana (1986-89) |
| Chuck Long, Iowa (1982-85) | Kevin Glover, Maryland (1982-84) |
| Jon Jansen, Michigan (1995-98) | Flozell Adams, Michigan State (1994-97) |
| Laurence Maroney, Minnesota (2003-05) | Kris Brown, Nebraska (1995-98) |
| Darnell Autry, Northwestern (1994-96) | Tito Paul, Ohio State (1991-94) |
| Anthony Adams, Penn State (1999-2002) | Dave Butz, Purdue (1970-72) |
| L.J. Smith, Rutgers (1999-2002) | Mark Tauscher, Wisconsin (1997-99) |
Wait, is that Tito Paul's music?
Coaches and former student athletes will be available for a photo session around noon ET and then the luncheon begins at 12:30 p.m. The luncheon will showcase interviews with all 14 head coaches, and include speeches from B1G commissioner Jim Delany, Tournament of Roses president Rich Chinen and Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah, an All-Big Ten running back and academic all-league honoree.
The luncheon will be carried live by BTN and BTN2GO and will feature Rece Davis as emcee.
