NSU and Cox Team Up To Televise Oklahoma Kickoff Classic

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. --- Northeastern State University announced Wednesday it has signed an agreement with Cox Communications to television the Oklahoma Kickoff Classic later this month.

NSU will host Bacone College at 6:05 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, at Doc Wadley Stadium in Tahlequah. It is the first official football game of 2011 in the state at any level, and will be distributed by Cox to subscribers across Oklahoma, including the Tulsa and Oklahoma City metropolitan areas.

Veteran broadcaster Chris Lincoln, Sports Director at KTUL-TV in Tulsa, will call the action. Allan Trimble, Jenks High School's football head coach and NSU alumnus, will provide color analysis.

"Oklahomans are excited about the football season beginning and Northeastern State has the distinct honor of playing the first game in the state," said Tony Duckworth, director of athletics and chief athletics officer at NSU. "The opportunity to partner with Cox Communications doesn't come along every year. Televising the game to some 400,000 households is an unbelievable way to begin the year and provide exposure of our university, and football program, to the thousands of our alumni in the state."

For more than four decades Chris Lincoln has been covering sports. He has written about it and talked about it in newspapers, magazines, radio, television and the Internet.

Wherever there have been major sporting events to cover, Chris has gone! On American Airlines alone he has logged over 7.5 million miles of travel. He has been to 47 states, and traveled to 16 foreign countries on four continents.

He has done network television play-by-play of over 20 different sports and has been to major sporting events from the Super Bowl; World Series; the Winter and Summer Olympics; Indianapolis 500; the Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby-Preakness and Belmont); The Breeders Cup; NCAA & NIT basketball tournaments; World Cup Soccer; golf; tennis; National Finals Rodeo, etc.

Lincoln has also written, produced and voiced many national sports specials including ESPN Sports Classic shows.

In Tulsa he is remembered as the Voice of the Tulsa Roughnecks (NASL soccer team); the Oklahoma Outlaws (USFL Pro Football); and the Tulsa Twisters (professional team rodeo). He is featured on radio locally as a weekly announcer on the Sports Animal 97.1 FM show. He has also done local high school football play-by-play for KRMG radio.

The Cox telecast is one of several multimedia enhancements Northeastern State is making this season.

NSU has contracted with Payne Radio Group for the 2011 football season. KTLQ-AM will carry every RiverHawk broadcast live, while KEOK-FM will carry games that do not conflict with Oklahoma State games.

Just recently, RiverHawks Athletics signed on for another year with The Sports Animal, KYAL 97.1 FM in Tulsa. This year, The Sports Animal will air three games live on 97.1 -- Bacone on Aug. 27, UT-San Antonio on Sept. 3 and Midwestern State on Nov. 12 -- and rebroadcast the remainder of the slate after 10 p.m. on Saturdays. RiverHawk Talk will continue for its third season on Sunday at 9 a.m.

Also this season, NSU Athletics will stream live video of its home football and basketball games, and selected away games, from America One on the Internet. Fans can purchase the football video stream for $8 per game, or purchase a season pass for $69.95. The basketball pass will be $89.95. The entire schedule with America One clients will be posted on the NSU Athletics web siteshortly.

Live audio will continue to be streamed live via the NSU Athletics web site at no charge through an agreement with Stretch Internet.

The final enhancement will be E-Scores, where fans can subscribe free of charge for score updates and quick recaps during all RiverHawks athletic events this season. A link will become active on the NSU Athletics web sitein the next week.