For the fourth consecutive season, the stars of NCAA Division I soccer will have an opportunity to shine on Fox Soccer Channel.

Under an ongoing agreement with the NSCAA, Fox Soccer Channel’s live and exclusive NSCAA College Game of the Week telecasts will include eight women’s matches played on Thursdays and 12 men’s matches on Fridays.

The 20-game telecast schedule features 10 men’s and eight women’s teams ranked in the NSCAA/adidas® pre-season national rankings. A men’s showdown between No. 2 UCLA and No. 8 Maryland kicked off the slate on Aug. 29 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Later in the season, Maryland hosts defending NCAA champion and Atlantic Coast Conference rival Wake Forest – the pre-season No. 1 – on Sept. 26.

Women’s action commences on Thursday, Sept. 11, with 12th-ranked West Virginia hosting Kentucky. The women’s schedule is loaded with top-flight teams, as 12 of the 16 College Game of the Week participants advanced to the 2007 NCAA Tournament, including NCAA semifinalist and pre-season No. 2 UCLA, which travels to 22nd-ranked Santa Clara Sept. 25.

“Fox Soccer Channel is pleased to once again be the home for the best in NCAA Division I soccer, bringing viewers the pride, passion and rivalries of the collegiate game,” said David Sternberg, executive vice president and general manager of Fox Soccer Channel. “Our live and exclusive NSCAA College Game of the Week package is a key component of Fox Soccer Channel’s year-round coverage of the top international and domestic soccer competitions.”

Some of the brightest stars in the collegiate game will appear this season on Fox Soccer Channel. A total of 33 players – 19 women and 14 men – scheduled to appear on NSCAA College Game of the Week telecasts were recently named to the 2008 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List. Presented annually to the top NCAA Division I male and female players in the country, the two MAC Hermann Trophy winners are selected by a vote of current Division I NSCAA member coaches.

Play-by-play responsibilities will be shared throughout the season by a quartet of accomplished broadcasters:

Steve Bell – Voice of United Soccer Leagues telecasts on Fox Soccer Channel and MLS Saturday on FSC sideline reporter
Dave Johnson – Television voice of D.C. United, the Washington Wizards and regular Fox Soccer Channel match commentator
Dean Linke – Radio voice of the United Soccer Leagues’ Carolina RailHawks
Mark Rogondino – Fox Soccer Channel match commentator and sideline reporter

The color commentator for a majority of NSCAA College Game of the Week telecasts will be Keith Tabatznik, who served as head men’s soccer coach at Georgetown University for 22 seasons and finished with 220 career wins.

“The NSCAA is proud to work with Fox Soccer Channel to showcase NCAA Division I soccer,” said Al Albert, NSCAA president and former men’s coach at the College of William and Mary. “This partnership has helped raise the visibility of the sport in the past three years, and we look forward to offering another exciting schedule featuring some of the nation’s top programs and players."

Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Cultural Videos and Sports Communications is returning for a fourth season to coordinate the production of all men’s and women’s NSCAA matches on Fox Soccer Channel. Cultural Videos Founder David Bolton, who also produces USL and MLS coverage on Fox Soccer Channel, will again serve as director/producer of the FSC college package.

2008 NSCAA College Games of the Week on Fox Soccer Channel

Date Men/Women Home Team (Pre-Season Rank) Visitor (Pre-Season Rank) Time (ET)
Aug. 29 Men UCLA (14) Maryland (8) 10 p.m.
Sept. 5 Men UC Santa Barbara (21t) Kentucky 11 p.m.
Sept. 11 Women West Virginia (12) Kentucky 8 p.m.
Sept. 12 Men Portland Washington 11 p.m.
Sept. 18 Women James Madison Penn State (9) 8 p.m.
Sept. 19 Men Stanford Creighton (6) 11 p.m.
Sept. 25 Women Santa Clara (22) UCLA (2) 11 p.m.
Sept. 26 Men Maryland (8) Wake Forest (1) 8 p.m.
Oct. 2 Women Duke (16) North Carolina (3) 8 p.m.
Oct. 3 Men Connecticut (2) West Virginia (15) 8 p.m.
Oct. 9 Women Binghamton Boston University 8 p.m.
Oct. 10 Men South Florida (18) Louisville 8 p.m.
Oct. 16 Women William & Mary Virginia Commonwealth 8 p.m.
Oct. 17 Men Cal Poly UC Santa Barbara (21t) 11 p.m.
Oct. 23 Women Georgia (18) Auburn 8 p.m.
Oct. 24 Men Furman (25) College of Charleston 8 p.m.
Oct. 30 Women South Carolina Florida (20) 8 p.m.
Oct. 31 Men St. John's Cincinnati 8 p.m.
Nov. 7 Men Army Navy 8 p.m.
Nov. 14 Men Dartmouth Brown (11) 8 p.m.

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