ARCATA — Far beyond the comfortable confines of Redwood Bowl, Lumberjack supporters and other football fans nationwide will be able to watch HSU's anticipated toughest matchup of the fall on Thursday, Sept. 8.
Humboldt State's game against rival Central Washington is among six games this fall planned for telecast, according to an announcement released Tuesday by NCAA Division II and CBS Sports Network. The first game of the season planned for broadcast, the HSU vs. CWU matchup will be aired live on the CBS Sports Network, syndicated on regional and local networks, and simulcast live on www.NCAA.com starting at 5 p.m. PT.
Two years ago the Jacks' basketball program was featured on a similar telecast from Lumberjack Arena. HSU claimed a one-sided win over Cal State Monterey Bay in front of a raucous crowd in a game that was described by CBS production crew members as the best atmosphere they'd encountered all year. The only hitch, they said, was the easy win instead of a tight, more exciting game.
That shouldn't be a problem this time when the Lumberjacks match up with the Wildcats, who won their sixth straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship last fall. Central Washington finished its season with an 8-3 overall record and 7-1 conference mark, the lone blemish a 25-24 loss to the Lumberjacks on Oct. 2, 2010.
Humboldt State ended an outstanding season with an 8-3 record and 6-2 GNAC mark, placing second in league. Directed by third-year head coach Rob Smith, the Lumberjack program achieved its first winning season since 2006 and second in 15 years.
Prior to falling to HSU, Central Washington had rolled to 34 consecutive wins over GNAC or former GNAC opponents, and had defeated Humboldt State 16 straight games. The Jacks had been unable to knock off the Wildcats since 1997.
The national TV game also directs the spotlight on HSU stars Mike Proulx, at quarterback, and Lyndon Rowells, at running back. Both players set school records a year ago when Proulx achieved a new Jacks' career record of 4,827 yards passing in his three years at HSU, and Rowells rushed for 1,308, yards to set a new single-season standard.
This package marks the sixth year of Division II and CBS Sports Network's partnership to provide Division II schools live national television exposure for their football and basketball programs.
“Our partnership with CBS Sports Network has provided a national platform to help us tell the Division II story,” said Division II Vice President Mike Racy. “We have been able to showcase the high-level regular season competition of more than 100 Division II colleges and universities to a national audience.”
CBS Sports Network is available to over 95 million U.S. households through a variety of cable and satellite providers. For more information, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.
This will be the first appearance as a part of the CBS Sports Network partnership for 10 of the 12 schools. Central Washington and Indiana (Pa.) have each appeared before. The schedule also includes three 2010 NCAA Division II football tournament participants – Bloomsburg (Pa.), Colorado School of Mines and Missouri Western State.
2011 NCAA Division II Football Game of the Week TV Schedule
Sept. 8 Central Washington at Humboldt State
Sept. 15 Bloomsburg (Pa.) at Indiana (Pa.)
Sept. 22 Missouri Western State at Washburn
Oct. 6 Colorado School of Mines at Colorado State-Pueblo
Oct. 20 Ashland at Saginaw Valley State
Oct. 27 Augustana College (S.D.) at Minnesota State Mankato
