ESPN to air Northwestern’s games against Michigan State and Maryland, Duke and Penn State start times announced

ESPN will broadcast Northwestern’s games against Maryland and Michigan State as part of their 2017 college football coverage. One of FOX, ESPN or BTN will broadcast Northwestern’s Homecoming game against Penn State.

Northwestern also announced that the game against Penn State will start at 11 a.m. CST. The game at Duke on September 9th will also occur at 11 a.m. CST.

The start times for the Maryland and Michigan State contests have not been announced. However, both games will apparently avoid relegation to ESPNU, which has happened to Northwestern in the past.

Provisional Schedule:

9/9 - Northwestern at Duke, 11 a.m. CST, broadcast TBA

10/7 - Penn State at Northwestern, 11 a.m. CST, broadcast TBA

10/14 - Northwestern at Maryland, time TBA, ESPN/ESPN2

10/28 - Michigan State at Northwestern, time TBA, ESPN/ESPN2

Granted, it’s not much information yet, but the schedule will come together over the summer. Northwestern could certainly have more nationally televised games if the season goes well.

Northwestern’s road game against Maryland will be the football team’s first encounter with the Terrapins since Maryland joined the conference. Northwestern will also host Michigan State for the first time since 2011.

The Big Ten signed a new deal with ESPN and Fox in 2016, with both networks buying half the rights. The Big Ten receives $440 million in revenue per year.