Football is back!
Well, sort of.
Big Ten Media Days kicks off Monday at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago to unofficially start the college football season.
Like last year, there is a two-day format. Half of the league's teams will spend time at the podium and roundtables Monday, while the other half will take their turns in the spotlight Tuesday.
Eleven Warriors will have live coverage from Chicago over the next two days, so be sure to stay glued to the site. You can also follow along on Twitter: @11W, @TimShoemaker and @EricSeger33.
Let's take a look at what you need to know about Big Ten Media Days.
WHO: Big Ten coaches and select players, BTN President Mark Silverman, College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock, Big Ten Coordinator of Football Officials Bill Carollo and Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany
WHAT: 45th annual Big Ten Football Media Days and Kickoff Luncheon
WHEN: Beginning 1 p.m. ET Monday, July 25 and 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 26
WHERE: Hyatt Regency McCormick Place (Chicago, Illinois)
TV: Carried live on BTN and BTN2Go
Opening Media Sessions With Coaches
The first day of Big Ten Media Days kicks off 1 p.m. ET on Monday with Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald taking the podium. Each coach will be up at the podium for 15 minutes for an open Q&A with reporters. All 13 press conferences with head coaches will be aired live on BTN. Nebraska and its representatives will not be in attendance following the tragic death of punter Sam Foltz.
Ohio State's Urban Meyer will not be at the podium until 10:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday. Meyer will be the very last Big Ten coach to hold a press conference. Michigan's Jim Harbaugh will close out the first day of press conferences with his scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Monday.
The full schedule is as follows:
| COACH | TIMe [ET] |
|---|---|
| PAT FITZGERALD (NORTHWESTERN) | 1 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. |
| DARRELL HAZELL (PURDUE) | 1:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. |
| CHRIS ASH (RUTGERS) | 1:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. |
| JAMES FRANKLIN (PENN STATE) | 1:45 p.m. - 2 p.m. |
| TRACY CLAEYS (MINNESOTA) | 2 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. |
| JIM HARBAUGH (MICHIGAN) | 2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. |
| COACH | TIME [ET] |
|---|---|
| LOVIE SMITH (ILLINOIS) | 9 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. |
| KEVIN WILSON (INDIANA) | 9:15 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. |
| MARK DANTONIO (MICHIGAN STATE) | 9:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. |
| PAUL CHRYST (WISCONSIN) | 9:45 a.m. - 10 a.m. |
| D.J. DURKIN (MARYLAND) | 10 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. |
| KIRK FERENTZ (IOWA) | 10:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. |
| URBAN MEYER (OHIO STATE) | 10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. |
One-On-One Podium Interviews
Following each day of press conferences, coaches and select players will break out for separate media appearances. You'll want to have Twitter refreshing all day — again, it's @11W, @TimShoemaker and @EricSeger33 — because most of the day's best content will come during this one-on-one time.
Ohio State's three player representatives are, unsurprisingly, fifth-year senior center Pat Elflein, redshirt junior quarterback J.T. Barrett and junior linebacker Raekwon McMillan — the three 2016 captains for the Buckeyes. They will take their individual podiums at 3:15 p.m. ET Tuesday, while Meyer will not be at his until 5 p.m.
Here is the full list of players attending Big Ten Media Days:
| East Division | |
|---|---|
| INDIANA | Dimitric Camiel - OL (Sr.), Dan Feeney - OL (Sr.), Marcus Oliver - LB (Jr.) |
| MARYLAND | William Likely - CB (Sr.), Jermaine Carter - LB (Jr.), Michael Dunn - OL (Sr.) |
| MICHIGAN | Jake Butt - TE (Sr.), Amara Darboh - WR (Sr.), Jourdan Lewis - CB (Sr.) |
| MICHIGAN STATE | Riley Bullough - LB (Sr.), Josiah Price - TE (Sr.), R.J. Shelton - WR (Sr.) |
| OHIO STATE | J.T. Barrett - QB (Jr.), Pat Elflein - OL (Sr.), Raekwon McMillan - LB (Jr.) |
| PENN STATE | Brandon Bell - LB (Sr.), Brian Gaia - OL (Sr.), Nyeem Wartman-White - LB (Sr.) |
| RUTGERS | Darius Hamilton - DL (Sr.), Andre Patton - WR (Sr.), Julian Pinnix-Odrick - DL (Sr.) |
| West Division | |
| ILLINOIS | Wes Lunt - QB (Sr.), Dawuane Smoot - DL (Sr.), Ke'Shawn Vaughn - RB (So.) |
| IOWA | C.J. Beathard - QB (Sr.), Josey Jewell - LB (Jr.), Desmond King - CB (Sr.) |
| MINNESOTA | Mitch Leidner - QB (Sr.), Jack Lynn - LB (Sr.), Damarius Travis - S (Sr.) |
| NORTHWESTERN | Matthew Harris - CB (Sr.), Justin Jackson - RB (Jr.), Anthony Walker, Jr. - LB (Jr.) |
| PURDUE | Ja'Whaun Bentley - LB (Jr.), Jake Replogle - DL (Sr.), DeAngelo Yancey - WR (Sr.) |
| WISCONSIN | Vince Biegel - LB (Sr.), Dare Ogunbowale - RB (Sr.), Sojourn Shelton - CB (Sr.) |
Television
BTN will carry more than 13 hours of live coverage from Big Ten Media Days over the span of the two days. The coverage includes press conferences from 13 coaches in addition to remarks from Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany. The press conference for Delany is scheduled for 11:20 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
Following Monday's press conferences, at 3 p.m. ET, tune into BTN for a four-hour edition of BTN Live. Dave Revsine, Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith will discuss the day's remarks, plus all coaches and select players will make brief appearances on the BTN set.
It will be much of the same Tuesday as the seven press conferences will be aired live with BTN Live airing from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET featuring appearances from coaches and select players.
