Springfield, Ohio — The Wittenberg football team may be locked in on arch-rival Wabash, which visits the Tigers for a key North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) game Saturday, Oct. 18, but at least a few of its nearly 30,000 living alumni can be forgiven for looking a few days ahead. After all, it isn't every day that an NCAA Division III team – even Wittenberg's program, which can boast the most wins in small college history – has the chance to play a game before a national television audience.

The Tigers' game at Carnegie Mellon University, scheduled for 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 25, at CMU's Gesling Stadium, will be videotaped and rebroadcast to a national television audience on ESPNU at 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 26. The re-broadcast of the game is part of Carnegie Mellon's Homecoming Weekend festivities.

Wittenberg stands 4-1 overall at the halfway point of the 2008 season, including a 3-0 mark in the NCAC. The preseason conference favorite Tigers have overcome a rash of injuries to post convincing wins over Ohio Wesleyan, Hiram and Earlham the last three weeks. With an early-season loss to Washington University on their record, the Tigers have no margin for error as they welcome the fifth-ranked Little Giants to Edwards-Maurer Field this weekend.

Carnegie Mellon, which is off to a 4-2 start to the 2008 season, has a week off to prepare for the Tigers. Thanks to a new scheduling agreement between the NCAC and Carnegie Mellon's University Athletic Association (UAA), the two teams are meeting for the first time ever on the gridiron. The Tartans have already defeated four NCAC foes this season.

Launched in 2005, ESPNU is a television channel that specializes in college sports while operating under parent network ESPN. The network is available in the Springfield area on Time Warner Cable Channel 114. Satellite provider DirecTV offers ESPNU on Channel 614, while satellite provider DishNetwork offers it on Channel 148. Subscribers should check with their local cable or satellite provider to find out if ESPNU is available in their area.

Written By: Ryan Maurer

Related Links: Wittenberg Football Home Page ESPNU