NORMAL, Ill. – The 104th playing of the Mid-America Classic between Illinois State and Eastern Illinois on Sept. 19 will be carried live across the region in prime time, as announced by Eastern Illinois Athletics and WCIA Channel 3 in Champaign.
The game will be carried by CBS affiliate WCIA in the Champaign market and will also be seen on CBS affiliate WMBD in Peoria and NBC affiliate WTWO in Terre Haute, Ind. In order to broadcast the game in prime time on all three network stations, the kickoff time has been moved back one hour to 7 p.m.
The talent for the game will be provided by Nexstar Broadcasting, the parent organization of all three stations. Play-by-play will be Jason Pensky (WTWO), with Brett Behrens (WCIA) and television voice of the Redbirds, Kurt Pegler (WMBD), doing color.Â
"Localism is in our DNA and we love highlighting local schools," said WCIA vice president and general manager Coby Cooper. Â "So often, games are not available to us because of conference situations or because of the major sports networks picking up games. Â This is one of those times that all the stars just aligned to show this great rivalry game that is part of Central Illinois."
Illinois State, ranked No. 2 in both national FCS polls, opens the season Saturday in Iowa City, Iowa, against Big Ten Conference foe Iowa. Â Kickoff is schedule for 11 a.m., and the game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
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